The approach to the mountaintop shrine is paved with stone steps that pass through two rows of sugi (cedar) trees which are more than 350 years old. While making your way up to the shrine, make sure to pause at the magnificent five-story pagoda. The natural beauty is striking enough to have earned a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide Japan.
Ishinomaki was the area hit hardest by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Memorial Park was developed as a place for memorial services, and as a base for passing on the memories and lessons of the disaster to posterity.
On the Shonai Plain, expansive agrarian scenery stretches out to the feet of Mount Gassan and Mount Chokai, and the ochre rays of the sun setting over the Shonai Coast are breathtaking. Cherry blossom lovers will delight in a visit to Tsuruoka Park, one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom spots.
Life is returning to normal for people along the coast after a strong-spirited recovery from the 2011 tsunami. Meet these people and hear their stories through an engaging fishing experience.
Experience living cultural treasures such as traditional grains and fresh fruit by harvesting them by hand or learn how to pound buckwheat for soba.
Animal husbandry is flourishing in the soil of Towada volcano. There is plenty of meat that is essential for bara-yaki, such as ‘Towada Shorthorn Beef’ which uses recycling-based agriculture, and is low in fat and has a lot of umami. There is also the ‘Oirase Garlic Pork’, which feeds on garlic, that has the largest in production in Japan.
Towada volcano, which started its activity about 200,000 years ago, erupted repeatedly and became a caldera, and because of its high altitude, there were no inflowing rivers and a highly transparent Lake Towada was created.
The Oirase Stream is home to about 300 different kinds of moss. You can enjoy a ‘moss walk’ with a loupe in hand.
Wappa-meshi—rice is seasonal vegetables, and other ingredients steamed together in a wooden container. To this day, sake brewing continues in the traditional manner that was developed during the Edo period. As you try each local dish, enjoy how the flavors of the surrounding nature are brought to life.
Aizuwakamatsu’s old samurai residences evoke an image of a bygone warrior era, and the agrarian scenery of rice paddies against the background of Mount Bandai and the Iide Mountains captures the essence of Aizu’s landscape. Tsurugajo Castle, a symbol of the city, provides a wide view of the changing beauty of the seasons in Aizu Basin and the old castle town.
