Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Higashiyama Onsen Shousuke no yado Tainoyu 東山温泉 庄助の宿 瀧の湯

Stayed 22.05.2016 (Sun)
Booked thru' Jalan.net
Half board = 16,200 yen + 150 yen (Bathing tax)

Fushimiga taki 伏見ヶ滝, one of the waterfalls found along Yugawa.

Last hot spring equipped ryokan for this trip! Situated in Aizu Wakamatsu city (takes about 15 minutes by car from Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅), Higashiyama Onsen 東山温泉 was first discovered 1,300 years ago by Gyoki 行基, a Buddhist priest (668 - 749) who travelled around Japan to preach Buddhism. The hot spring waters of Higashiyama Onsen has been known for its healing properties since the olden days and the area prospered as a hot spring health resort during Edo Period. Most hotels and inns here are strategically located just beside Yugawa 湯川 (Yu River), the main river that runs through this quiet hot spring town. For my trip, I stayed in Shousuke no yado Tainoyu 庄助の宿 瀧の湯, a ryokan that has been in operation in Higashiyama Onsen for more than a century (130 years).

Exploring the hot spring town.

Prelude. After returning to Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅 from Ochijuku by bus, I hopped onto the last Machinaka Shuyu Bus from Aizu Wakamatsu Station and alighted at the bus stop in front of Higashiyama Onsen Tourism Association Office. Decided to explore the hot spring town a little bit more before checking into Tainoyu. Walked upstream alongside Yugawa and gradually  the valley terrain which the town was built upon was unveiled. Surrounded by a backdrop of cliffs, I was captivated by the tranquil atmosphere that the town has to offer. Stumbled upon an ashiyu (footbath) along the way; sat down to soak my legs to relieve the sore muscles while admiring the beautiful landscape around me.



Tainoyu looks like any typical, traditional Japanese inn from the outside. On the contrary, the interior design of the ryokan leaned towards modern, contemporary style. Received a warm welcome by the front desk staff upon stepping into Tainoyu and I was surprised that she could speak extremely fluent English! To me, it felt good to be able to converse in a familiar language again after staying in a foreign country for close to two weeks!





Facilities. After completing the check-in procedure, I was led to my room by another staff. Along the way to the lift, I passed by the lounge and shop selling local produce and souvenirs, and spotted an outdoor stage (known as a Noh stage) erected on the other side of the river. At 2100 hrs daily, guests get to enjoy special performances played on this outage stage from the comfort of the lounge. One other perk, exclusive to ladies only, is that they get to choose their own yukata design from a colourful selection.



Room. Was assigned to a spacious eight-tatami mats room with attached toilet and bathroom. A pair of Okiagari Koboshi, Japanese equivalent of roly-poly toy made of papier mache, was placed on the center table. These dolls, which are given to guests as souvenirs, are traditional good luck charms in Aizu region and is a symbol of resilience. Peering out of the window, a beautiful landscape of Yugawa and its surrounding greenery can be seen from the room. The staff prepared my room for the night when I out for dinner - the center table was shifted to one side and futon was nicely laid on floor for me to tuck myself into comfortably.





Hot spring. Shousuke has two large communal bathhouses (Fushimi no yu 伏見の湯 and Shousuke Furo 庄助風呂) separated by gender, each having both indoor and outdoor pools. In addition, guests can also enjoy other smaller private pools/tubs with prior reservation made. The hot spring waters is weakly alkaline, containing calcium and sodium sulfate, and has demonstrated therapeutic effects on ailments such as rheumatism, chronic skin problems, chronic gynecological problems, sports injuries, arteriosclerosis, menopausal disorder, etc.





Soak in a pot. From both bathhouses, guests get to enjoy an unobstructed view of Fushimiga taki 伏見ヶ滝, one of the waterfalls found along Yugawa, while soaking in the hot spring pools/tubs. Found a big pot used as one of the bathtubs in the outdoor section of Shousuke Furo. There is a trivia about the origin of this pot - it was formerly used to store sake koji and was inherited from Hanaharu Shuzo 花春酒造, a famous sake maker in Aizu Wakamatsu city. After being rejuvenated by the hot spring soak, guests can help themselves to barley tea and tokoroten jelly in the resting area. During the night of my stay, guests were also treated to beer dispensed from tap (limited to one cup per person)! Unfortunately, not knowing that this complimentary service was available till 1900 hrs, I missed the treat as I came back here only after dinner.



My accommodation plan also came with the usage of one of the private hot spring pools. There are a total of five hot spring pools, each having a different theme, to choose from. Followed the staff's recommendation and chose Maboroshi no yu 幻の湯. Located on the ground floor, this outdoor pool is situated just beside Yugawa, but shielded from the river by natural vegetation.





Dinner. After refreshing myself from the hot spring soak, I made my way to Oharatei おはら亭, the main dining hall located on the second floor of the building, where my sumptuous dinner awaited. Apart from utilising seasonal ingredients sourced locally, the kaiseki menu was designed to incorporate regional cuisine that are unique to Aizu area. For example, Kozuyu 小づゆ, a soup made from dried scallop stock and seasoned with salt and soy sauce, and contains satoimo (taro), carrots, mushrooms, and tiny balls of wheat gluten, known as wheat gluten. Appearing on the menu were also some interesting and noteworthy dishes which I have not come across before, such as Awayuki nabe あわゆき鍋 and ramen kamameshi ラーメン釜飯.



For Awayuki nabe, the vegetables, mushrooms and meat were first cooked in a heated pot filled with soy milk. After scooping out the cooked items from the broth, a coagulant was poured into the soy milk to make tofu! I almost did not succeed in making the tofu because the flame was too strong and the waitress immediately came to assist me when she saw the situation. Both the waitress and myself heaved a sigh of relief when we finally saw the tofu formed in front of our eyes. Whereas for ramen kamameshi, the rice was cooked in soy based broth and topped with ingredients such as quail egg, char siew and seasoned bamboo shoots (menma メンマ), which we would normally find in ramen.

Dinner Menu:
Appetiser / Sakitzuku 先付: 小松菜菊花お浸し
Stewed dish / Nimonwan 煮物椀: Daikon mochi 大根餅 with Mitsuba (Japanese honewort) 三つ葉, Yuzu 柚子 and Ostrich fern こごみ
Dish placed at the far side of the table / Mukozuke 向付: Sashimi made up of salmon trout 川鱒 and sea bream いずみ鯛
Pot dish / Nabemono 鍋物: Shousuke's Awayuki nabe 庄助あわゆき鍋
- Spring onion 長葱, enoki mushroom 榎茸, soy milk 豆乳, potherb mustard 水菜, minced chicken 鶏ひき and free range chicken cuts 地鶏
Grilled dish / Yakimono 焼き物: Spanish mackeral (Sawara) 鰆, cabbage キャベツ, onion 玉葱, pan fried tofu 焼豆腐 and carrot 花人参 on ceramic hot plate.
Steamed dish / Mushimono 蒸物: Chawanmushi (Steamed egg) with shimeji mushroom 湿地茸, ginkgo nuts 銀杏 and prawn 小海老.
Small dish to fill stomach / Shinogi 凌ぎ: Soba 椀蕎麦
Meal / Shokuji 食事: Ramen kamameshi ラーメン釜飯
Pickled vegetables / Konomono 香の物: Sangomachizuke 三五八漬け, comprised of daikon and carrot.
Last soup / Tomewan 止椀: Aizu Kozuyu 会津の小づゆ
Dessert / Suikamono 水菓物: Fruit

Delicious mochi. Breakfast was buffet style with a wide array of food items to choose from. Since 20 years ago, the meals served here has been prepared based on the motto of "local production for local consumption". I was spoilt for choice in the seasonal recommendation corner - asparagus and cabbage marinade, yama-udo (Aralia cordata) with mayo miso dressing salad, spinach and aburaage with mustard dressing, organic yacon saute and simmered in sugar and soy sauce, etc. Mochi is another popular breakfast item that Shousuke takes pride in. The sticky rice cakes are made with Aizu koganemai (golden rice), one of the highest grade of rice in Aizu region, and are accompanied by various condiments such as red bean paste, black sesame, soybean flour (kinako), etc.



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Higashiyama Onsen Shousuke no yado Tainoyu 東山温泉 庄助の宿 瀧の湯
〒965-0814 福島県会津若松市東山温泉108
https://shousuke.com/

Higashiyama Onsen Tourism Association: http://www.aizu-higashiyama.com/index.html

How to get there?

(1) By complimentary pick up service from Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅.
Prior reservation with ryokan is required to utilise this service.
- Departs from Aizu Wakamatsu Station for Tainoyu at 1800 hrs
- Departs from Tainoyu for Aizu Wakamatsu Station at 1100 hrs
https://shousuke.com/access/



(2) By Machinaka Shuyu Bus まちなか周遊バス
From Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅, board Machinaka Shuyu Bus Akabe まちなか周遊バスあかべぇ (anticlockwise direction) and alight at Higashiyama Onsen Iriguchi 東山温泉入口.
Bus fare per ride = 210 yen
One day free pass = 600 yen
Bus schedule: https://www.aizubus.com/rosen/machinaka-shuyu

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Ochijuku 大内宿

Visited 22.05.2016 (Sun)



Remember... Day 10 was a hectic day. In the morning, I enjoyed desserts on board a sweets themed train - Fruitea Fukushima フルーティーアふくしま while commuting from Koriyama to Aizu Wakamatsu. After alighting from the train, I transferred to the city loop bus to visit Tsuruga Castle 鶴ヶ城 (Aizu Wakamatsu Castle 会津若松城). Returned to the train station to catch Torroko Aizu Roman-go トロッコ会津浪漫号 and alighted at Yunokami Onsen Station 湯野上温泉駅 to visit Ochijuku. With such a packed schedule, I needed to be cautious of the duration spent in each place to avoid missing buses and trains. At Yunokami Onsen Station, I caught the last Saruyu-go bus  猿遊号 departing at 1500 hrs. The bus ride between Yunokami Onsen Station and Ochijuku takes about 20 minutes. My plan was to return to Aizu Wakamatsu from Ochijuku directly via another bus (Rosen Kankou Bus Shirakawa line 観光路線バス) departing at 1600 hrs, which was also the last bus for the day. This implied that I only had 40 minutes to spend at Ochijuku. I was the only passenger on board Saruyu-go which had a lady conductor. Had a chat with the lady conductor during the bus journey and when she found out about my plan, she gave me excellent tips on how to best enjoy the place in the shortest amount of time. When the bus reached Ochijuku, she even alighted the bus and walked me to the main street, pointing out the places which she mentioned previously and the bus stop to board the return bus to Aizu Wakamatsu. Very touched and grateful of the help rendered!

Hopped onto the last Saruyu-go bus for the day.

Retro looking interior of Saruyu-go bus. Very appreciative of the help rendered by the lady conductor!

Preservation district. Ochijuku was one of the former post towns along Aizu Nishi Kaido 会津西街道, a 130 km long road which linked Aizu Wakamatsu Castle with Imachijuku 今市宿, now part of Nikko 日光 in Tochigi Prefecture, during the Edo period. These post towns are equivalent of today's rest stations found along highways, where travellers can stop by to eat and/or find an inn to stay overnight in the past. Ochijuku was designated as a preservation district for important historical buildings in 1981 (Showa 56) and the area was restored to how it looked like during the Edo period.





Best. When I stood at the start of the main street overlooking the thatched roofed houses that lined both sides of the unpaved road, it feels like I have teleport into another era of time. Followed the lady conductor's instructions, I shuffled my feet to the other end of the main street and climbed up a flight of stairs to where a temple is located. Here, I could capture an excellent overview of the entire village at an elevation and imagine how life could have been in the past. This is definitely the best viewing spot in this village, which has been around for more than 400 years.





Shopping and eating. Spent the rest of the time here strolling along the street, popping my head into random buildings to see what they have to offer. There are about 40 buildings here, housing shops, restaurants and inns. A variety of traditional food are sold here, such as sweetfish/char grilled over charcoal, Takado Soba 高遠そば (buckwheat noodles topped with grated daikon and bonito flakes, and eaten with a leak instead of chopsticks) and Shingoro しんごろう (freshly cooked rice is wrapped onto a stick, coated with junen miso and grilled over charcoal). Was hopping to try Takada Soba here but only managed to grab a soft serve from one of the shops due to time constraint.









Also, keep a lookout for an antique post box which has been around since the Meiji era and still serving the community faithfully today. On the day of my visit, I also witnessed refurbishment works being carried out on one of the thatched roof houses. The roof is made of susuki or pampas grass and these thatched roofs keep houses cool in summer and warm in winter. Having said that, such roofs are very vulnerable to fire. 1st Sep is Disaster Prevention Day in Japan. On this day, all the water cannons in Ochijuku are commissioned for 3 minutes (at 1000 hrs) as part of disaster prevention exercise. This is a rare scene which is popular with photographers especially.

How the post box looked like in the past.

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Ochijuku 大内宿
福島県南会津郡下郷町大字大内
http://ouchi-juku.com/

How to get there?

(1) By bus
- From Yunokami Onsen Station 湯野上温泉駅, board Saruyu-go 猿遊号 and alight at Ochijuku.
One day free pass = 1,100 yen
Bus schedule: http://london-taxi.jp/pdf/saruyuTimeTable.pdf

- From Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅 Bus Terminal Platform 2, board Kankou Rosen Bus (Aizu Wakamatsu - Ochijuku - Shirakawa) 観光路線バス (会津若松~大内宿~白河) and alight at Ochijuku. The bus operates only on weekends and public holidays between April and November. There are two round trips made per day between Aizu Wakamatsu and Ochijuku and it takes approx 1 hr 10 mins per one way trip.
Bus fare (between Aizu Wakamatsu and Ochijuku) = 1,200 yen
https://www.aizubus.com/sightseeing/bus/shirakawa_line

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Torokko Aizu Roman-go トロッコ会津浪漫号, Ashinomaki Onsen Station 芦ノ牧温泉駅

Travelled on 22.05.2016 (Sun)

Torokko Aizu Roman-go train トロッコ会津浪漫号 is a limited express sightseeing themed train commuting between Aizu Wakamatsu 会津若松駅 and Aizu Tajima 会津但馬駅 via Aizu line 会津線 and operated by Aizu Railway 会津鉄道. The train operates usually on weekends and public holidays and makes 1 to 1.5 round trip on its day of operation. 

1 round trip itinerary:
Yumeguri-go 湯めぐり号: Aizu Tajima (1157 hrs) > Aizu Wakamatsu (1328 hrs)
Hoshi-go 星号: Aizu Wakamatsu (1358 hrs) > Aizu Tajima (1531 hrs)

1.5 round trip itinerary:
Hana-go 花号: Aizu Wakamatsu (0930 hrs) > Aizu Tajima (1059 hrs)

Kaze-go 風号: Aizu Tajima (1154 hrs) > Aizu Wakamatsu (1328 hrs)

Hoshi-go 星号: Aizu Wakamatsu (1358 hrs) > Aizu Tajima (1531 hrs)

*Hoshi-go train makes an 8 mintues stop at Ashinomaki Onsen Station 芦ノ牧温泉駅.
Normal ticket fare:
- Aizu Wakamatsu <> Ashinomaki Onsen: 610 yen
- Aizu Wakamatsu <> Yunokami Onsen: 1050 yen
- Aizu Wakamatsu <> Aizu Tajima: 1690 yen
An additional fee of 320 yen is required on top of normal ticket fare for Torokko Aizu Roman-go train.
Train schedule: http://www.aizutetsudo.jp/trip/ozatoro/

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Highlights:

In memory of Basu. After visiting Tsuruga Castle 鶴ヶ城, I returned to Aizu Wakamatsu Station 会津若松駅 to catch the Torokko Aizu Roman-go train トロッコ会津浪漫号 to get to my next destination, Ochijuku 大内宿. The version of Torokko Aizu Roman-go train which I took in May 2016 was made up of two carriages, comprised of Torokko トロッコ and Ozashiki お座敷 seats. There is another version which has an additional compartment of Tenbo or viewing 展望 seats. When the two-carriage train pulled into station, I was immediately tickled by the pictures decorated on the exterior of the Torokko carriage. It is beautifully wrapped with pictures of a cute cat, who plays an important role in improving the train ridership along Aizu line. Named Bus ばす, this cat called Ashinomaki Onsen Station 芦ノ牧温泉駅 (one of the train stations along Aizu line) its home since 1999 and many people would specially drop by this train station to come up close with her, which in turn boosted the number of passengers utilising this local railway line. In 2008, Bus was bestowed the title of Honourary Stationmaster and she continued to serve the train station faithfully for another 8 years before she passed away.





Interior. Sat in the Torokko section, a trolley train with wide, open windows to ensure passengers are treated to an unobstructed view of the scenery throughout the entire journey. On the other hand, Ozashiki (translates as tatami room) section of Roman-go train will make the locals relate to home immediately, as the tatami seats and tables resembled kotatsu, in which heater can be placed beneath the table, with quilt covering the sides, and passengers can tugged their legs under the tables to keep themselves warm especially during cold weather. There is a small stall selling souvenirs, snacks and drinks set up in the Torokko section. A small post box is also placed in the train and postcards delivered through this post box are stamped with an exclusive postmark bearing the image of Bus.

Meow! The train made a brief stop at Ashinomaki Onsen Station to allow the opposite direction train to pass by. Together with most passengers, I alighted the train excitedly, hoping to see the stationmaster on duty today. Alas, I found Love らふ, the 2nd and current stationmaster who was feeling shy that day, hiding beneath the bench near the ticket gate. Love took over the position of stationmaster from Bus in 2015 and is as popular as his predecessor. There are numerous endearing photos of Bus and Love put up on display within the train station; and their fans will be delighted to find related merchandise (such as photographs, postcards, clear folders, tumblers, etc) available for sale in the train station as well. Bought a postcard depicting Bus from here and sent through the post box on board the train.

Tunnel theater. It was finally time to bade farewell to Love and continue my train cruise along the scenic Aizu line. Running alongside Aganogawa 阿賀野川 (Aga River), the train has to pass through several tunnels due to surrounding mountainous terrain. Fortunately, thanks to the creativity of a fan who was chosen through public recruitment, a surprise awaits passengers in these cold, pitch black tunnels. Images of Bus are painted onto the walls of the tunnels and these collective images are transformed into an animated movie as the train passed through these tunnels! Keep a lookout for luminous cat paws prints that would glow in the dark in the Torokko section of the train. Check out the video of Bus "chasing" the train when the train cruised through the tunnel below.




Stop and admire. One other unique experience on board Roman-go train, which makes it different from other local trains commuting along Aizu line, is that it will make brief stops at several scenic spots, such as railway bridges, along the way. The intent is to provide passengers with ample time to admire the beautiful scenery of Aganogawa and its surrounding terrain. An hour later after departing from Aizu Wakamatsu Station, the train arrived at Yunokami Onsen Station 湯野上温泉駅, where I disembarked and transferred to a bus heading for Ochijuku. Overall, I enjoyed myself thoroughly during the hour long, fun filled train ride.

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Video: Take a look at NHK's Train Cruise documentary featuring Torokko Aizu Roman-go train.