Walk of life: October 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Tonkatsu / Steak Aki とんかつ・ステーキ亜希

Visited 15.05.2016 (Sun)

Time for pork. About half a year ago when I first visited Aomori city with my parents, we have tried one of the B grade gourmet food in Aomori Prefecture - miso curry milk ramen 味噌カレー牛乳ラーメン, but did not find it exceptionally outstanding. On Day 4 of my solo trip, after returning to Aomori train station 青森駅 after visiting Aomori Museum of Art, I set out to look for an eatery/restaurant along Shinmachi-dori 新町通り to have an early dinner before heading back Hachinohe, where I stayed for the night. Shinmachi-dori is lined up with shop houses on both sides of the road and the sheltered walkways bring convenience to pedestrians both rain or shine. Chanced upon Aki 亜希, an old school Japanese restaurant which specialises in fried dishes. Took a quick glance at the food replica placed in the display window; deep fried breaded pork cutlet (tonkatsu とんかつ), fried ebi (prawn) and hamburger steak (ハンバーグステーキ), available in ala carte or set meal (teishoku), were some of the food items offered on its menu; typical to many Japanese eatery/shokudo. Already had beef (in Maesawa) and mutton (in Tono) on the previous days of my trip, so today it shall be pork! With tonkatsu in mind for dinner, I ended my search and made my way into the eatery. The interior design and furnishing, such as the wooden boards displaying the name of the dishes, spoke nostalgia and are testimonies of its long establishment in the community.

Fulfilling. Chose the counter seat and placed my order. Had the hire (pork fillet/tenderloin) teishoku (ヒレ定食) which was accompanied by miso soup, tsukemono (pickled vegetables) and rice. From my seat, I had a good view of the dynamics behind the scene; the chef started to prepare my meal as soon as the order sheet was within sight. My ears were enjoying the sizzling sound generated from the deep fryer during the wait. Shortly after that, my eyes took turn to be dazzled by the tonkatsu which were fried to beautiful golden brown when the food was served. Aki uses the panko rather than fresh breadcrumbs as the crusting for its meat. The breading was crispy and so satisfying to bite on, while the juices were adequately retained/locked within in its lightly seasoned and tender meat.

Yet another fulfilling episode of dinner!

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Tonkatsu / Steak Aki とんかつ・ステーキ亜希
青森県青森市新町2-1-16
Operating hours: 1100 - 1400 hrs; 1700 - 2000 hrs; closed on Tuesdays

How to get there?

(1) By foot. Approx 7 minutes walk from Aomori JR Station 青森駅. Walk along the sheltered pedestrian walkway of Shinmachi-dori 新町通り and keep a lookout of a corner shop.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Aomori Museum of Art 青森県立美術館

Visited 15.05.2016 (Sun)

Art journey. Looked forward to embark on an art expedition at Aomori Prefecture, the birthplace of renowned artists such as Yoshitomo Nara 奈良美智, Toru Narita 成田亨(the late designer and sculptor for the heroes and demons appearing in Ultraman series) and Shiko Munakata 棟方志功 (the late printmaker who became the first Japanese to receive an award for his artwork at Venice Biennale in 1956). Covered two art museums, Aomori Museum of Art in Aomori city and Towada Art Center in Towada city (about 1.5 hour drive away from Aomori city), during my second trip to Tohoku region and the artworks, presented in various forms of media, left a deep impression in me. One common feature which I like most about both art museums was its layout, as the intriguing exhibits were carefully and cleverly arranged to induce anticipation and spark curiosity in visitors.

Design. Missed out on Aomori Museum of Art on my first trip to Tohoku region (in Oct 2015) because the museum was closed for refurbishment/change of exhibits between Sep 2015 to Mar 2016. Aomori Museum of Art is situated just beside Sannai Maruyama Archaeological Site, and is easily accessible by public transport from the city center. The geometric building comprised of two underground floors, where the exhibition halls are located in, and the two storeys above ground are occupied by a theatre, community gallery, cafe and souvenir shop. The footprint of the museum looks like trenches created during archaeological excavation (said to be inspired by Sannai Maruyama Archaeological Site), while the contemporary style building took on a neutral colour scheme, with two contrasting colours, white and gray, being the main colours applied inside out.

Visual identity. Art appreciation at the museum began right upon arrival. The first thing which caught my attention was the tree like motifs, which were formed from blue neon tubes, occupying the several walls of the museum. The motif, which represents both a tree and the letter "A" (A for Aomori), was a visual identity specially created to represent Aomori Museum of Art. Upon stepping into the museum, I felt that I have entered into a completely different space from the outside world. The interior has a strong minimalist and homogeneous concept, extended to almost every corner one can venture into - the lockers room, elevators and even the toilets! Though I have not been to many art museums in my life and definitely far from being an expert in this field, numerous art works were able to provoke my interest and made me delve deeper in thoughts after I gained understanding of the intent/meaning behind the creations.

Endearing. Photo-taking is generally not allowed in the exhibition halls except for one particular piece of art work, which I wanted very much to see in person. Named Aomori-ken (あおもり犬), this gigantic symbolic installation of Aomori Museum of Art is a masterpiece of Yoshitomo Nara 奈良美智. Standing 8.5 m in height and 6.7 m in width, Aomori-ken is actually a sculpture of a dog (realised that the kanji "犬" for dog can be pronounced as "inu" or "ken"), with half of its body submerged into the ground and a dog bowl placed in front of it. There are two ways to admire this outdoor installation from completely different perspectives. Either through the glass panels from the exhibition hall (admission fee required) which creates the impression that the dog is tapped behind the gates or go as close as possible to the dog by accessing the outdoor area through a separate walkway which does not require an admission fee. In the outdoor premises, I could capture a clearer expression of the endearing looking dog. Not sure why but while looking at Aomori-ken, it gave me an unknown sense of security and assurance. How about you?

Shop and eat. After fulfilling my wish of visiting Aomori-ken, I made my way to the museum shop located on the first floor. Bought a postcard featuring Aomori-ken to send back home and a pin badge depicting the girls created by Yoshimoto Nara. Took a break at yon hiki no neko 四匹の猫 (which means four cats), a cafe located on the second floor of the museum and savoured a delicious slice of apple pie before I concluded this memorable art journey.
Cafe yon hiki no neko 四匹の猫: http://www.jogakurakanko.jp/yonhikinoneko/index.html

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Aomori Museum of Art 青森県立美術館
〒038-0021 青森市安田字近野185
Operating hours:
Oct - May: 0930 - 1700 hrs (last entry at 1630 hrs)
Jun - Sep: 0900 - 1800 hrs (last entry at 1730 hrs)
Admission fee for exhibition halls = 510 yen
http://www.aomori-museum.jp/ja/

How to get there?

(1) By bus from Aomori Ekimae Bus Terminal.
There are two bus services that depart from the bus terminal in front of Aomori JR Station/Aoimori Railway Station for Aomori Museum of Art.

Platform #6: For Aomori City Bus 青森市営バス Sannai Maruyama Historical Site line 三内丸山遺跡線, heading for Aomori Museum of Art 青森県立美術館 and Sannai Maruyama Historical Site 三内丸山遺跡.
- Fare from Aomori Ekimae to Aomori Museum of Art = 280 yen
- Fare from Aomori Ekimae to Sannai Maruyama Historical Site = 310 yen
https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/koutsu/documents/20151001sannnaimaruyamasenn.pdf

Platform #7: For Nebutan-go Bus ねぶたん号バス, which covers attractions located in Aomori city such as Sannai Maruyama Historical Site 三内丸山遺跡, Aomori Museum of Art 青森県立美術館, ASPAM, Aomori Prefectural Museum 県立郷土館 and Shiko Munakata Memorial Museum 棟方志功記念館.
- Fare per trip = 200 yen
- One day pass = 500 yen
http://www.aomori-kanko-bus.co.jp/topics.html

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Commemorative stamps:

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Yokohama Nanohana Festival 横浜菜の花フェスティバル

Visited 15.05.2016 (Sun)
2019: 18.05.2019 (Sat) - 19.05.2019 (Sun)
http://www.town.yokohama.lg.jp/index.cfm/7,2255,19,html

Memorable. Aomori Prefecture, the northernmost region on Honshu island, bid farewell to cherry blossom season in April and welcomes nanohana otherwise known as rapeseed in May. While planning my itinerary, I found two places where rapeseed blossoming season is celebrated in Tohoku region:

(1) Yokohama-machi 横浜町 in Aomori Prefecture celebrates Nanohana Festival on the third weekend of May.
Facts. Rapeseed plantation is an important agricultural industry in Yokohama-machi. In 2014, 128 hectares of land was dedicated to rapeseed plantation in this town, making here the largest area in the entire Japan. Here, the rapeseed is harvested to produce excellent quality rapeseed oil, a specialty that Yokohama-machi is proud of.

(2) Chokai Kogen 鳥海高原 in Yuri Honjo 由利本荘市 of Akita Prefecture holds Nanohana Matsuri on the last week of May.

http://www.yurihonjo-kanko.jp/special/hanameguri/nanohana.html

Happened that Yokohama Nanohana Festival fell on the weekend of my travel period so I went on to research more about the place. After some tweaks in my itinerary and a rough idea on how to get to the event venue by public transportation (trains and buses), I firmed up my plan. After this trip, I have to say that participating in this flower festival was one of the major highlights during my stay in Aomori Prefecture; so memorable that I could still remember the details fondly.

Uncertainty. I started the day extremely early in order to catch the Aoimori Railway train 青い森鉄
道 departing from Hachinohe 八戸駅 at 0649 hrs for Noheji 野辺地駅. From here, I transferred to another local JR train to reach Mutsu Yokohama JR Station 陸奥横浜駅, the train station closest to the event venue. All along, I was a bit worried how I would eventually get to the main site from Mutsu Yokohama station. Firstly, the train station is unmanned with no tourist information center and bus stops nearby. Secondly, the website did not mention whether special bus services would operate between Mutsu Yokohama station and event venue during that weekend. Despite the uncertainty, I kept my fingers crossed, hoping that there would be taxi ferrying passengers between the two places. When the train was closing into Mutsu Yokohama station, I was enthralled to see the green fields transformed into bright yellow colour through the train window.

After disembarking from the train, I followed closely behind a small group of people (whom I believe were like-minded people going to the same location as me, some carrying sophisticated camera equipment) and exited the train station. There were no taxi but a mini bus waiting outside the train station and an usher inviting us to hop onto it. I boarded the bus aimlessly and heaved a sigh of relief when I found out that this bus was actually heading for the event venue. During the two day festival period, buses, which coincide with train arrival/departure timings, were arranged to ferry visitors between both sites at stipulated timings. Off we went to see the pretty flower fields!

Engulfed! Look at the "field", look at how they shine for you, and everything you do, yeah they were all yellow. This exact words came into my mind immediately upon stepping foot onto the event venue. For a moment, I could not believe my eyes when I stood in front of the breathtaking landscape. The view was so stunning and gorgeous. I was almost engulfed by the rapeseed plants, which were slightly over half of my height, covered with blooming bright yellow flowers. Facing east, tall windmills appear in the backdrop of the vast yellow fields, harnessing the power from the strong wind that swept past the Shimokita Peninsula.

Amazed by maze. How about walking in a maze made up of rapeseed flowers? This is a major highlight of Yokohama Nanohana Festival and the maze takes on a different theme/design every year. It was the year of Summer Olympics on the year of my visit and the five interlaced rings symbol formed the maze route. An observatory was also strategically situated in the field for visitors to capture a panoramic overview of the work of art at an elevation. Was beaming from ear to ear while walking through the route created in the yellow field, stopping every now and then to soak myself into this beautiful scenery. Volunteers were stationed at different parts of the field to guide visitors; one of them approached me to have a casual conversation and even offered to take a photo of me being surrounded by the pretty flowers especially when such scenery was hard to come by.

Look at the symbolic interlaced rings of Olympics!

Lost in the maze. Maze route could be seen clearly from the observatory.

The Katakana characters representing Yokohama ヨコハマ were also marked out by the bright yellow rapeseed flowers.

Marathon was the other main event that takes place on Sunday, the second day of Nanohana Festival, attracting around 10,000 runners yearly. Headed down to the bazaar to take a look at what was in store there after coming out of the maze successfully. Most of them were food stalls and the entire compound was bustling with people. Had a spring roll filled with apple and custard before I finally bade farewell to the festival.

Starting line for the marathon.

Bazaar bustling with crowd.

Hope to come back here again!

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Yokohama Nanohana Festival 横浜菜の花フェスティバル
Takes place on the third weekend of May.
Admission fee to Nanohana Maze 菜の花大迷路 = 100 yen

How to get there?

(1) Train followed by bus.

- During the weekend when the festival is held, free shuttle bus service operates between Mutsu Yokohama JR Station 陸奥横浜駅 and the event venue at stipulated timings.
Shuttle bus timing (subjected to changes): http://www.town.yokohama.lg.jp/index.cfm/7,5241,19,html

- If you are coming before and after the festival period, take Shimokita Kotsu Bus Noheji line 下北交通バス野辺地線 from Noheji Ekimae 野辺地駅前 and alight at Mameda 大豆田, the bus stop　along Highway 279 nearest to the event venue. Takes about 15 - 20 minutes to walk from here to the final destination. On the return trip, I took the bus from Mameda to Noheji instead of waiting for the free shuttle service heading for Mutsu Yokohama.
Bus schedule (Nohenji line): http://www.0175.co.jp/s/s-bus/noheji.pdf

Keep a lookout for this bus stand and shelter.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Tohoku Solo Trip 2016 東北一人の旅 - Day 4 Itinerary: Yokohama 横浜町, Aomori 青森

Day 4: 15.05.2016 (Sun)

Breakfast: Toyoko Inn Hachinohe Ekimae 東横INN八戸駅前

Hachinohe 八戸駅 (0649 hrs) > Noheji 野辺地駅 (0733 hrs)
by Aoimori Railway 青い森鉄道.

Noheji 野辺地駅 (0802 hrs) > Mutsu Yokohama JR 陸奥横浜駅 (0832 hrs)
by local train.

Visited Yokohama Nanohana Festival 横浜菜の花フェスティバル. [100 yen]
* Free shuttle service from train station.
http://www.town.yokohama.lg.jp/index.cfm/7,0,19,html

Mameda 大豆田 (1037 hrs) > Noheji 野辺地駅 (1121 hrs)
by Shimokita Kotsu Bus 下北交通バス [900 yen]

Lunch: Udon, at Noheji train station.

Noheji 野辺地駅 (1302 hrs) > Aomori 青森駅 (1343 hrs)
by Aoimori Railway 青い森鉄道.

Aomori Ekimae Bus Stop 6 青森駅前 (1402 hrs) > Aomori Museum of Art 青森県立美術館 (1424 hrs)
by Aomori City Bus 青森市営バス.