Walk of life: Tohoku 2015 Day 6

Showing posts with label Tohoku 2015 Day 6. Show all posts

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Tohoku 2015, 2016 東北の旅 - Oirase Keiryu Hotel 奥入瀬渓流ホテル

Stayed 14.10.2015 (Wed)
Booked through hotel's website.
One night stay with half board = 28,500 yen/pax + 150 yen/pax bathing tax
- Half board: Kaiseki course for dinner and buffet for breakfast

Stayed 20.05.2016 (Fri)
Booked through hotel's website.
One night stay with half board = 19,000 yen
- Half board: Buffet for both dinner and breakfast

Visited Oirase Keiryu 奥入瀬渓流 on both trips to Tohoku region (with family in Oct 2015 and went solo on May 2016) and stayed at Oirase Keiryu Hotel 奥入瀬渓流ホテル on both occasions because of its proximity to this nature reserve. Oirase Keiryu Hotel is part of Hoshino Resort Group, which manages the luxurious Hoshinoya (星のや) brand, which has establishments outside of Japan such as Taiwan (Gu Guan) and Bali, and Kai (界) brand, which comprises of hot spring ryokan. Overall, I rate Oirase Keiryu Hotel excellent in all aspects that I can think of and will highly recommend this hotel to those who plan to stay over at Oirase Keiryu.

Board the Yu Yu Keiryu Shuttle Bus at the entrance of west building.

Convenient. There is a 14 km long nature trail, that runs alongside Oirase Keiryu, from the hotel to Lake Towada, and it takes approximately 5 hours to just complete one way. Found out that Oirase Keiryu Hotel operates a regular complimentary shuttle bus service (Yu Yu Keiryu Shuttle 悠遊渓流シャトル), which starts as early as 6.00 am, ferrying guests between the hotel and Kumoi no taki 雲井の滝 (Kumoi Waterfall), which is located around the halfway mark of the nature trail. On my second visit, I explored Oirase Keiryu with the help of this convenient bus service as well as JR Bus Tohoku, since the bus fees were covered by the nationwide Japan Rail Pass (I purchased a 14 day pass for my trip).

Sharing below my itinerary which combined the usage of both bus services:
- Hotel > Kumoi no taki, by Yu Yu Keiryu Shuttle
- Kumoi no taki > Choshi otaki 銚子大滝, by walking (~2 hours)
- Choshi otaki > Kumoi no taki, by JR Bus Tohoku Oirase-go おいらせ号 / Mizumi-go みずうみ号
- Kumoi no taki > Sanmidare no nagare 三乱の流れ, by walking (~1.5 hours)
- Sanmidare no nagare > hotel, by Yu Yu Keiryu shuttle

[Oct 2015] Hotel decorated by autumn foliage backdrop.

[Oct 2015] Come up close to Oirase Keiryu at Keiryu Terrace.

[May 2016] Same spot at Keiryu Terrace, but different season.

More activities. The hotel also has an activity center which organises a variety of activities. Differing from season to season, the activities include guided tour of Oirase Keiryu, discovering the miniature world of mosses along walking trail between Kumoi no taki and Shirogane no nagare (Moses Trail 苔さんぽ) with a magnifying glass, or enjoying a cup of coffee just beside one of the rapids, Shirogane no nagare 白銀の流れ, early in the morning (Keiryu Morning Cafe 渓流モーニングカフェ). Do take note that some of these activities come with additional fee. During my first trip here with my parents, we signed up for a autumn trekking course in which the guide brought us to two recommended viewing spots to admire Hakkoda mountain range 八甲田山 as well as two out of Tsuta seven swamps 蔦七沼 (Kagaminuma 鏡沼 and Tsutanuma 蔦沼). Some of these activities can be really popular (for example, Keiryu Morning Cafe, which was free-of-charge, was over-subscribed during both of my stays with the hotel), therefore it is advisable to book your desired activities as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

[Oct 2015] Visited the lounge twice. First time was to savour their exquisite apple desserts and French press coffee in the afternoon after checking into the hotel. Second time was to drink a cup of hot chocolate before turning in for the night.

Room and facilities. The hotel is made up east and west buildings. The main entrance and lobby is located on the second floor of the east building, while the activity desk is located on the second floor of the west building, and both blocks are connected by a passageway on the same floor. There is a shop just beside the lobby, making it convenient for guests to purchase local souvenirs such as food and handicrafts to bring back home with. On my previous visits, the lounge in the east building was a cafe serving apple inspired desserts in the day and a bar at night. Coincidentally, I was assigned to a room located in the east building on both occasions. When I stayed at the hotel with my parents in Oct 2015, we had the modern room (44 m2), which came with two single beds and a sofa bed. On the second occasion in May 2016, I slept in a twin room (28 m2) as the hotel did not have rooms with only one single bed. There is a spa corner located in the east building. On my second stay with the hotel, I indulged in a 30 minutes foot message for the very first time in Japan, to soothe the muscle ache from the hiking carried out in the day.

Forest Myth (Mori no Shinwa 森の神話)

River God (Kashin 河神)

Art. The hotel has dedicated spaces for art work displays. There are two large fireplaces, one in each of the buildings. The chimneys of both fireplaces were masterpieces of the late Taro Okamoto 岡本太郎, a Japanese artist known for his abstract and avant-garde paintings and sculptures. The 8.5 m tall bronze chimney in the east building is named Forest Myth (Mori no Shinwa 森の神話) and was completed in April 1991, while the 10 m tall aluminium alloy chimney in the west building is named River God (Kashin 河神) and was completed in April 1996. Both chimneys were inspired by Oirase Keiryu and the latter was a posthumous work of Taro Okamoto (1911 - 1996). The hotel also collaborates with Towada Arts Center 十和田市現代美術館 to put up contemporary artworks in Oirase Art Cube, an art exhibition space located at the ground floor of the east building.

Art Cube.

Hot spring. Previously, there were two communal bathhouses equipped with hot spring pools, one in each building. The hotel has undergone renewal works over the last couple of years and the hot spring facilities have been revamped. There are indoor and outdoor pools in the communal bathhouses which is separated by gender. Guests will be treated to a panoramic view of Oirase Keiryu and the seasonal decoration of the surrounding vegetation, while soaking in the rotenburo (open air bath). In addition to the in-house facilities, the hotel has another open air bath located about 2 km away. Named Yaekokonoe no yu 八重九重の湯, this secluded open air bath overlooks Kokonoe no taki 九重の滝 (Kokonoe Waterfall) and makes one feel close to nature, while soaking in the slightly white hot spring waters that originates from Hakkoda mountain. As this is a mixed gender bath, guests are allowed to use bathing suits that the hotel provides. There are also stipulated time frames blocked out for respective gender (there are more females only sessions as compared to males), so do check out the schedule before hopping onto the shuttle bus, which operates between the hotel and Yaekokonoe no yu, at entrance of the west building. Visited this remote outdoor hot spring during my second stay with the hotel. Missed the only blocked out period catered for males (at 1700 hrs) and had to settle for the mixed gender session at night. Not embarrassing since all of us (there were a few couples and myself at that point of time) wore bathing suits, just like what we would do in swimming pools. Would have preferred to visit it in the daytime to better make out the surrounding scenery that encapsulates this beautiful hot spring spot.

[Oct 2015] The former Restaurant Oirase.

[Oct 2015] Dinner splendor.

Meals. There are two restaurants in the hotel, one in each building. When I visited the hotel in Oct 2015, I had a kaiseki style dinner in Restaurant Oirase (west building) and buffet breakfast in Restaurant Akayama 紅山 (east building). On my subsequent stay in May 2016, Restaurant Akayama was transformed into Aomori Ringo Kitchen 青森りんごキッチン but remained as buffet style. In recent years, Restaurant Oirase was converted into a full fledged French cuisine restaurant named Sonore ソノール. Personally I am not a big fan of buffet but I am say I was very impressed by the extensive buffet menu offered by Aomori Ringo Kitchen. As the name of the restaurant suggests, many of the dishes incorporate apples, which is the pride of Aomori, as one of their ingredients. For dinner, I had apple tempura, beef steak drizzled with apple sauce, grilled pork served with apple slices, hot from the oven apple pie and apple sherbet. On the following day, I had a couple of glasses of freshly pressed apple juice, fluffy omelette, apple toast, etc for breakfast.

[May 2016] The revamped Aomori Ringo Kitchen where I had both my meals at.

[May 2016] Fully utilising apples in the buffet menu. Top right: Beef steak with apple sauce; Bottom right: Apple pie; Top left: Apple tempura; Bottom left: Grilled pork with apple slices.

[May 2016] Sumptuous breakfast.

======

Oirase Keiryu Hotel 奥入瀬渓流ホテル
〒034-0398 青森県十和田市大字奥瀬字栃久保231
+81-176-51-1117
https://www.oirase-keiryuu.jp/

How to get there?

(1) By hotel complimentary pick up service from the following places:
- Hachinohe Station West Exit (1350 hrs) > Oirase Keiryu Hotel (1500 hrs)
- Shin Aomori Station East Exit (1415 hrs) > Oirase Keiryu Hotel (1600 hrs)
- Aomori Station Bus Terminal (1430 hrs) > Oirase Keiryu Hotel (1600 hrs)
- Aomori Airport (1500 hrs) > Oirase Keiryu Hotel (1620 hrs)
Reservation, either via hotel website or by phone call, is required (at least 3 days in advance of check-in date) to utilise this complimentary pick up service.
https://www.oirase-keiryuu.jp/access/

(2) By JR Bus Tohoku and walk.
- From Aomori Station Bus Terminal Bus Stop 11 or Shin Aomori Station East Exit Bus Stop 1, board JR Bus Tohoku Mizumi-go みずうみ号 heading for Hakkoda Ropeway, Oirase Keiryu and Towada-ko. Alight at Yakeyama 焼山 and walk for another 2 minutes to reach the hotel.
- From Hachinohe Station West Exit, board JR Bus Tohoku Oirase-go おいらせ号 heading for Towada-ko. Alight at Yakeyama 焼山 and walk for another 2 minutes to reach the hotel.
Bus schedule: https://www.jrbustohoku.co.jp/route/detail.php?r=80&rc=11

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Tohoku 2015 東北の旅 - Sendai Anpanman Children's Museum & Mall 仙台アンパンマンこどもミュージアム＆モール, Dokin's Heart Shape Cafe ドキンズハートシェイプカフェ, Uncle Jam's Bakery ジャムおじさんのパン工場

Visited 14.10.2015 (Wed)

Slot in. Returned to Sendai city from Akayu Onsen 赤湯温泉 in the morning to collect our luggage (safe kept at Toyoko Inn Sendai Higashi Guchi 2). Had some time to spare before making our way to Aomori Prefecture via Tohoku Shinkansen, where we would be visiting Oirase Keiryu 奥入瀬渓流. Decided to check out whether there are any places of interest near the hotel which we could visit during this interval and Sendai Anpanman Children’s Museum & Mall surfaced during the search. Was a bit skeptical when I realised that it is labeled as a children’s museum (different from another Anpanman Museum アンパンマンミュージアム which we have visited before in Kami city 香美市 of Kochi Prefecture) which gave the strong impression that the museum is catered to kids only. Nevertheless, we still proceeded to see what is in store there.

Kids friendly. Currently, there are a total of five Anpanman Children's Museum, including this one in Sendai, in Japan (Kobe, Fukuoka, Yokohama and Nagoya). Decided to give the museum a miss after checking its facilities in the layout map and affirming that it is designed for a younger audience indeed. The shopping mall contains a good variety of stores and restaurants, and was much larger and extensive than we thought. There are various shops, each specialising in a certain kind of Anpanman related merchandise, such as bookshop (Mori no Honya san 森の本屋さん), stationery shop (Anpanman Friends アンパンマンフレンズ), clothing and goods store (Anpanman Kids Collection アンパンマンキッズコレクション), enough to keep fans of this popular anime series exclaiming in delight continuously. In addition to that, there is a kids hair salon (アンパンマンヘアサロン) and a photography studio (アンパンマンにこにこ写真館) housed within the same shopping mall.

Plethora of food. There is also plenty of food choices in the shopping mall as well. From local fare to western cuisine; from a complete meal to light snacks; we were indeed spoilt for choice! Eventually, we chose Dokin's Heart Shape Cafe ドキンズハートシェイプカフェ which is designed to look like an American diner (distinct red leather seats, black & white checkered floor pattern and open concept kitchen) with Dokin chan ドキンちゃん being the lead mascot representing this kitchen.

Heart shaped bread? What appealed to me the most was their unique heart shaped loaf of bread! As there is crust on its circumference, I deciphered it is not created using a heart shaped cutter on a regular slice of bread and the loaf is directly taken out from a heart shaped bread mould. Quite a novel idea isn't it? Ordered both the savoury and sweet food items from their menu to try. Taste wise, both were decent but not mind blowing and I felt that their aesthetic value are way higher than being mouth-tasty dishes.

- Savory: Pastrami Jack パストラミジャック, comprised of two slices of heart shaped bread sandwiched with scrambled egg, pastrami (a type of smoked meat) and pickles, served with potato chips.

- Sweet: Dokin's French Toast ドキンズフレンチトースト, comprised of three slices of heart shaped french toast dusted with icing sugar on top, accompanied with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream and maple syrup.

Legit. The Japanese children's anime series is made up of characters which are actually bread themselves. For example, Anpanman アンパンマン is a red bean filled bun, Shokupanman しょくぱんまん is a loaf of bread and Melonpanna メロンパンナ, like the name suggests is a melon bun. Therefore, having a bakery producing bread depicting the characters of Anpanman is definitely the most legit thing to do here. After lunch, we visited Uncle Jam's Bakery (ジャムおじさんのパン工場) and were again spoilt for choice by the wide array of character inspired bread. Chose a bread for each of us; bought Anpanman, Uncle Jam and Cheese (a dog character), and we ate them during our break in the afternoon. The bread tasted as good as they looked; soft and fluffy with generous filling - looks like I have found a good reason to revisit Uncle Jam's bakery in any of Anpanman Shopping Mall in future.

======

Sendai Anpanman Children's Museum & Mall 仙台アンパンマンこどもミュージアム＆モール, Dokin's Heart Shape Cafe ドキンズハートシェイプカフェ, Uncle Jam's Bakery ジャムおじさんのパン工場
宮城県仙台市宮城野区小田原山本丁101-14
Operating hours:
- Museum: 1000 - 1700 hrs (last entry at 1600 hrs)
- Shopping Mall: 1000 - 1800 hrs
- Anpanman & Peko's Kitchen: 1000 - 1900 hrs (last order at 1800 hrs)
Admission fee (for museum) = 1,600 yen (before tax)
http://www.sendai-anpanman.jp/index.html

How to get there?

(1) By foot. About 9 minutes walk from Sendai JR Station East Exit / Higashi Guchi 仙台駅東口.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Tohoku 2015 東北の旅 - Akayu JR Station 赤湯駅, Akayu Onsen 赤湯温泉

Akayu JR Station 赤湯駅 is a train station on Yamagata Shinkansen line 山形新幹線 and located in Nanyo city 南陽市. Came to know about Akayu Onsen through Train Cruise, a travel documentary promoting train travel in Japan and is produced by NHK. In one of the episodes (Autumn Delights in Tohoku and Shin-etsu), railway travel in Yamagata, Fukushima and Niigata was featured and a stop by Akayu Station while travelling along Yamagata Shinkansen line was recommended. Akayu Onsen 赤湯温泉 traces its history to more than 900 years ago. It was said that in the past, soldiers miraculously recovered from their wounds, that were inflicted during battles, after soaking into the hot spring waters. During the therapy, the blood from their wounds dyed the water entirely red and this was how the name of Akayu, which means red coloured hot water, came about. The hot spring waters contain sulfur, sodium and calcium salts and said to have therapeutic effects on people suffering from cut wounds, burn, diabetes, minor high blood pressure and neuralgia. Followed the recommendation from Train Cruise and planned an overnight stay in Takinami 瀧波, one of the ryokan located in this historic hot spring town, on my very first visit to Tohoku region in Oct 2015.

- Nanyo city Tourism Association 南陽市観光協会: http://nanyoshi-kanko.jp/
- Akayu Onsen Ryokan Association 赤湯温泉旅館協同組合: https://www.akayu-onsen.com/index.html

Trains serving this station include:
(1) Tsubasa つばさ commutes northwards towards Kaminoyama Onsen かみのやま温泉駅, Zao 蔵王駅, Yamagata 山形駅, Tendo 天童駅, Oishida 大石田駅 and Shinjo 新庄駅 via Yamagata Shinkansen line
(2) Tsubasa つばさ commutes southwards towards Yonezawa 米沢駅 and Fukushima 福島駅 via Yamagata Shinkansen. Tsubasa combines with Yamabiko やまびこ at Fukushima JR Station and continues its journey southwards towards Tokyo.
(3) Toreiyu Tsubasa とれいゆつばさ is a special themed high speed rail equipped with foot bath. This train makes one round trip per day and usually operates on weekends and public holidays.

A group of elementary students bade farewell to passengers from the train station platform.

======

What's nearby?

(1) Bus stop, on the east exit of train station.
The main hot spring district is actually located about 2 km away from the train station. Board the Nakagawa area bus 中川地区バス from here (赤湯駅東口) and alight at Akayu Onsen Guchi 赤湯温泉口. Do take note that this bus service is very infrequent (only operates three times per day) and is only operational on weekdays.
If you intend to stay overnight at one of the ryokan/hotels in Akayu Onsen, some of them do provide complimentary pick up services to and fro from the train station. Do check with the staff from the ryokan/hotels to confirm whether this service is provided and make prior reservation if required.
Bus schedule: http://www.city.nanyo.yamagata.jp/bus/2078

(2) Karakoro-kan からころ館, located within Akayu Onsen district.
〒999-2211 山形県南陽市赤湯754番地の2
Operating hours: 0900 - 2000 hrs, closed on Wednesdays
http://www.karakorokan.jp/

This building, constructed in 1824, was originally situated in the village headman residences 庄屋屋敷 of Yoshino district 吉野地区. The building was transferred to its current location, underwent refurbishment and was transformed into a tourist information center in 2008. Apart from providing information on Akayu Onsen, visitors can rent bicycles, purchase locally produced merchandise or enjoy outdoor footbath for free in this one-stop facility.

======

Commemorative stamp:

======

Video: Take a look at NHK's Train Cruise documentary featuring Toreiyu Tsubasa train and Akayu Onsen.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Tohoku 2015 東北の旅 - Jubuichiyama 十分一山, Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山, Unkai 雲海

Visited 14.10.2015 (Wed)

Dreamy. I am a fan of NHK’s travel documentary series “Train Cruise” which promotes railway travel in Japan. In one of its episodes titled "Autumn Delights in Tohoku and Shin-Etsu", Toreiyu Tsubasa とれいゆつばさ, the foot bath equipped Shinkansen which commutes along Yamagata Shinkansen line 山形新幹線, and Akayu Onsen 赤湯温泉 in Nanyo city 南陽市 were featured. What attracted me the most from this particular episode was this spectacular scenery of a sea of clouds (otherwise known as unkai 雲海) that the host witnessed from a mountain in the early morning. How magical was that! Started to do some online research to locate where this particular place was in Nanyo city and found out that Takinami 瀧波, a ryokan in Akayu Onsen, actually offered guided tour for its guests to this same unkai viewing spot in the early morning. For my trip to Tohoku region in Oct 2015, I reserved a night stay in Takinami and signed up for the unkai tour hoping I could come up close to this dreamy scenery in person.

Not the day. Woke up way earlier than usual and gathered at the lobby before 0600 hrs. To our dismay, Suto san 須藤さん, the owner of Takinami (who was also the tour guide), informed us that the sighting of unkai was not possible today due to weather conditions. However, he promised that it was still worthwhile to make the trip up the mountain to capture a panoramic view of Okitama basin 置賜盆地 and the surrounding mountain ranges. So we proceeded with the original plan and set off on a mini van to ascend Jubuichiyama 十分一山 (482 m) and Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山 (693 m), where unkai supposedly could be seen from above. The best period to witness this breathtaking scene is actually during the autumn season (in October). Seen from an elevation, the lowland area appears to be covered by a thick, milky white fog and this phenomenon is known as unkai (sea of clouds). Radiation cooling results in a fall of temperature at night and water vapour in the cold, saturated air condenses to produce the clouds.

Phenomenal. Reached the observatory point at Jubuchiyama and we were totally captivated by the spectacular view unveiled right in front of our eyes! Though we were not able to witness the natural phenomenon, the absence of the sea of clouds in turn allowed us to clearly make out the well defined patchwork of agricultural fields, the settlements of Nanyo city and its surrounding mountainous ranges. In my opinion, this scenery was equally phenomenal and breathtaking. At the next higher observatory point, we caught sight of a runway platform which we found out later from Suto san that this was used as the take off point for hand gliding and paragliding. For us, the elevated platform enabled us to admire the picturesque scenery (and to take photos) from another perspective.

======

Jubuichiyama 十分一山, Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山

http://yamagatayama.com/?p=3430