Walk of life

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Sole Inn Hotel ソーレインホテル, Matsuya Yamagata Ekimae Branch 松屋山形駅前店

Stayed 23.05.2016 (Mon)
Reserved thru' Jalan.net
Single room = 4,100 yen

Competitive. Transferred to a more bustling city on my last night in Tohoku. While searching for affordable accommodation near Yamagata JR Station, I found Sole Inn Hotel ソーレインホテル which is situated just opposite the train station, closer than the nearest Toyoko Inn branch. What attracted me most was despite the proximity to the train station, its rate for single plan which came with complimentary breakfast was pretty competitive to other nearby hotels. Though Sole Inn Hotel is not part of large hotel chain network, I found out that it follows similar concept and provide same type of services from its homepage. Upon arrival at the hotel, the outlook was way better than expected. The lobby, which is used as the dinning area during breakfast, is very spacious decorated with casual furniture.

Satisfied. The size of their single room is slightly below 10m2, one of the smallest I have stayed before (typically it ranges between 10 to 12 m2). The hotel is a corner building with chamfer; the layout and the way the furniture were arranged made the room looked spacious visually. The bed was also smaller than Toyoko Inn’s equivalent; only 90 cm in width. Apart from that, I would say the hotel provides all basic amenities similar to most budget business hotels, including coin operated clothes washing and drying machines catered for those intending to do their laundry. Complimentary breakfast, included in the room plan, is available between 0700 to 0900 hrs in the lobby. There are no buffet spread, instead a variety of onigiri, made on the spot by the staff, accompanied with miso soup and drinks (coffee/tea) are served during breakfast. There are six flavours to choose from; had the mentaiko and tuna mayo flavour, and both tasted pretty decent.

Lobby

Onigiri for breakfast.

Overall, I will say Sole Inn Hotel is a bang worth the buck; an excellent accommodation option that I will recommend to budget travellers.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Yamagata JR Station 山形駅 and bus terminal, a minute walk from the hotel.

(2) Matsuya Yamagata Ekimae 松屋山形駅前店, about 2 minutes walk from the hotel.
I have this craving for Matsuya’s signature beef or grilled pork donburi whenever I am in Japan (still crossing my fingers that they will expand their businesses to Singapore one day, just like Yoshinoya) and is always on the lookout for one if I am in city area. To my delight, I found one branch readily accessible from the train station and hotel while searching for a place for dinner.

https://pkg.navitime.co.jp/matsuyafoods/spot/detail?code=0000000775

(3) Kajo Park 霞城公園, about 10 minutes walk from the hotel.

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Sole Inn Hotel ソーレインホテル
〒990-0038 山形県山形市幸町1-1
http://www.sole-inn.com/

How to get there?

(1) By foot. One minute walk from Yamagata JR Station East Exit 山形駅東口.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Tohoku 2015, 2016 東北の旅 - Yamagata JR Station 山形駅

Yamagata JR Station 山形駅 is a train station on Yamagata Shinkansen line 山形新幹線, Ou main line 奥羽本線, Senzan line 仙山線 and Aterazawa line 左沢線.

Oshin. Yamagata Prefecture, one of the six prefecture of Tohoku region, is well known for its bountiful harvest of fruits (such as cherries, pears, grapes, peaches and apples), breathtaking natural scenery, temples (Yamadera and Hagurosan) and hot springs (such as Ginzan Onsen, Akayu Onsen and Tendo Onsen). For me, the first thing that comes to my mind when Yamagata Prefecture is mentioned is Oshin おしん, a 15 minutes morning drama serial produced by NHK and first aired in Japan in 1983. I first watched the English dubbed version of Oshin when it was broadcast on Singapore television back in 1994 (when I was still in primary school), and caught its broadcast again on Waku Waku Japan channel. Yamagata Prefecture was the hometown of Oshin, the most inspiring character of this long running drama serial and places such as Sakata 酒田市, Ginzan Onsen 銀山温泉 and Mogamigawa 最上川 were featured in the drama.

Trains serving this station include:

(1) Tsubasa つばさ commutes northwards towards 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 Zao 蔵王駅, Kaminoyama Onsen かみのやま温泉駅, Akayu 赤湯駅, 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.

(4) Local train commutes eastwards towards Yamadera 山寺駅 via Senzan line.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Bus terminal, on the east exit of train station.
Bekochan bus べこちゃんバス is a feeder bus service, with two different routes covering three areas of the city, referred to as the east, west and downtown area. When I visited the city in May 2016, I made use of the previous version of this bus service, known as Downtown 100 yen Loop Bus 中心街100円循環バス, which only served the downtown area.
The two bus routes are as follows:
- East route (東くるりん) covers both the east and downtown area
- West route (西くるりん) covers both the west and downtown area
There is a designated bus platform located in between Platform 1 and 2. The bus fare is only 100 yen for passengers getting on and off in the same area; 200 yen for passengers travelling from one area to another.
Bus schedule: https://www.city.yamagata-yamagata.lg.jp/kakuka/kikaku/kikaku/sogo/pd0510085137.html

(2) Kajo Park 霞城公園, about 10 minutes walk from the east exit of train station.
Operating hours: 0500 - 2200 hrs (Apr - Oct); 0530 - 2200 hrs (Nov - Mar)
Free admission.
This is a public park where the ruins of Yamagata Castle, one of Japan Top 100 castles, can be found.
https://www.city.yamagata-yamagata.lg.jp/shisetsu/sub2/shisetsu_kankobunka/ecb45kajou.html

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Commemorative stamps:

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Zao Okama 蔵王御釜

Visited 23.05.2016 (Mon)

2nd time lucky. In fact, this is my second attempt to come up close to a crater lake. Visited Mt Aso, an active volcano in Kyushu, in 2014 but did not manage to come up close to Nakadake 中岳 crater due to erratic volcanic activity. Was luckier this time round as I got to see a crater lake of Mt Zao 蔵王連峰, an active volcano which stands at 1,841 tall and spans across two prefectures - Yamagata and Miyagi. Situated within the perimeter of Miyagi Prefecture, the crater lake was given the name "Okama 御釜" due its resemblance to a cooking pot containing hot boiling waters.　

Arrived at Kaminoyama Onsen Station to catch the Green Echo-go bus, a complimentary shuttle service, for Katta chairlift station. The entire bus journey took an hour, inclusive of a 15 minutes brief stop at Zao Liza World 蔵王ライザワールド, where passengers can alight here for toilet break and / or take a quick bite at the restaurant. Upon reaching Katta Parking Area, the terminus station of the Green Eco-go bus, I made my way swiftly to the ticket counter to purchase the round trip chairlift ticket and hop onto the chairlift. As the next bus departing from Katta Parking Area for Kaminoyama Onsen Station was an hour later, I had to move fast such that I could maximise my stay here to admire Okama, as much as possible.

Crossover. During the ascend, the mountainous landscape with growing ground cover and scattered patches of melting snow was gradually unveiled. While on the chairlift, I caught sight of a small wooden signboard which said "ここから山形県 (from this point onwards, Yamagata Prefecture)". This was when I realised that I have already crossed the prefectural border once from Yamagata to Miyagi Prefecture during the bus ride from Kaminoyama Onsen Station to Katta Parking Area.

Breathtaking. Alighted excitedly at the summit station, but discovered Okama was not within sight yet. Followed the directional signs and walked along the path made up of volcanic sand to the first observatory spot. I was totally blown away by the unobstructed, panoramic landscape that came into sight - a huge crater surrounded by mountain ranges and filled with still, emerald green coloured waters. White patches of snow cover which were remnant from winter, further enhanced the contrast of this breathtaking scenery. Zao Okama truly fits the description of being a dangerous yet beautiful place that one can find on earth.

More breathtaking. Noticed most tourists continued to trek towards the direction where Kattamine Jinja 刈田嶺神社 (Kattamine Shrine) is situated and decided to follow suit. Glad that I did that as I found the view here better than the former. Maybe due to the slight gain in altitude and shift in viewing orientation, the scenery has less disturbances from man-made installation (such as fences) and looked even more impressive!

Symbol. Prior to this trip, I only know Mt Zao for the intriguing snow monsters (odd-looking, snow covered trees due to heavy snowfall and freezing winds) that appear during the bitter cold winter period. In my opinion, the mysteriously beautiful and stunning Okama (which is closed during winter) is equally deserving to be known as the symbol of Mt Zao and is an amazing nature's work of creation which is precious to come by.

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Zao Okama 蔵王御釜
宮城県蔵王国定公園内
Closed between Nov and Apr
http://www.town.zao.miyagi.jp/kankou/guide/look.html#look02

How to get there?

(1) From Kaminoyama Onsen Station かみのやま温泉駅 , board the Green / White Echo-go bus グリーンエコー号/ ワイトエコー号バス. This is a complimentary shuttle service which departs from the train station for Katta Parking Area 刈田駐車場. Transfer to a chairlift here and alight at the summit station 刈田リフト山頂駅. Green Echo-go bus makes two round trip per day during its operational period from late April to early November, while the White Echo-go bus operates one round trip between November to mid December.

- Green / White Echo-go bus グリーンエコー号/ ワイトエコー号バス: http://kaminoyama-spa.com/access/
- Katta Lift 刈田リフト: http://www.zaoliza.co.jp/smmr/trekking/kattalift.html
Chairlift round trip = 750 yen; Single trip = 450 yen

(2) From Shiroishi Zao Station 白石蔵王駅, board Miyagi Kotsu Bus 宮城交通バス Zao High line 蔵王ハイライン and alight at Zao Katta Sancho / Zao Katta Summit 蔵王刈田山頂, the terminus bus stop. The bus makes two round trip per day during weekends and public holidays from late April to early November. Bus fare = 1,980 yen.
http://www.miyakou.co.jp/cp/zao/timesche.pdf

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Commemorative stamp:

Monday, December 18, 2017

Tohoku 2016 東北の旅 - Kaminoyama Onsen JR Station かみのやま温泉駅, Kaminoyama Castle 上山城

Kaminoyama Onsen JR Station かみのやま温泉駅 is located on Yamagata Shinkansen line, in Kaminoyama city 上山市. On my first trip to Tohoku region in the autumn of 2015, I visited an orchard (Yamagata Cherry Land 山形チェリーランド) in Kaminoyama city and participated in fruits picking for the very first time in Japan. On my subsequent visit in May 2016, I came to Kaminoyama JR Station and transferred to a complimentary shuttle bus (Green Echo-go グリーンエコー号) heading for Zao Okama crater 蔵王大釜. Located at the foot of Mt Zao, Kaminoyama city is well known for its therapeutic hot spring waters which was founded more than 560 years ago. In addition to its healing effects on minor ailments, the weakly alkaline, colourless hot spring waters’ high moisturizing content hydrates the skin. This explains why Kaminoyama Onsen is also affectionately referred to as "bijin no yu 美人の湯" which translates to mean “beauty spring”, by the locals.

Kaminoyama Onsen: http://kaminoyama-spa.com/

Trains serving this station include:
(1) Tsubasa つばさ commutes northwards towards 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 Akayu 赤湯駅, 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.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Bus stop for Green / White Echo-go bus グリーンエコー号/ ワイトエコー号バス, in front of the train station.

There are a couple of ways to come up close to Zao Okama crater 蔵王大釜. For my trip, I utilised Green Echo-go bus, a complimentary shuttle service which departs from the train station for Katta Parking Area 刈田駐車場. A chair lift operates between here and the summit station 刈田リフト山頂駅, crossing the boundary of Miyagi and Yamagata Prefecture during the ascend/descend. The chair lift journey takes approx 7 minutes and from the summit station, it takes another 5 minutes to walk to the best spot to capture a panoramic view of Okama. The Green Echo-go bus makes two round trip per day during its operational period from late April to early November; one round trip between November to mid December. In the winter months, the name of the bus is changed to White Echo-go ワイトエコー号.

Kaminoyama Onsen Ekimae かみのやま温泉駅前 > Katta Parking Area 刈田駐車場
1: 0920 > 1020 hrs
2: 1325 > 1425 hrs
Katta Parking Area 刈田駐車場 > Kaminoyama Onsen Ekimae かみのやま温泉駅前
1: 1115 > 1250 hrs
2: 1530 > 1625 hrs

http://kaminoyama-spa.com/access/

(2) Tourist information center 観光案内所, within the train station.

(3) Maegawa Ashiyu (foot bath) 前川足湯, 5 mins walk from the train station.
There are a total of five foot baths facilities in the city and Maegawa is the nearest one from the train station.

(4) Kaminoyama Castle 上山城, 10 minutes walk from the train station.
〒999-3154 山形県上山市元城内3番7号
Operating hours: 0900 - 1645 hrs
Admission fee = 410 yen
http://kaminoyama-castle.info/

The original Kaminoyama Castle was first built in 1500s and was touted as the Great Castle of Ushu 羽州の名城 (Ushu was the name of the province encompassing the modern day Yamagata and Akita Prefecture). The castle was demolished during the rule by Tokugawa Shogunate. The current keep, which serves as a local museum today, is not an exact replica of its predecessor and was constructed out of concrete. Did not manage to visit the museum as I returned to the train station, after visiting Zao Okama, at 4.30 pm, just 15 minutes before its closing time. Took my time to admire the castle from the outside and was able to capture a relatively good overview of the city from elevated grounds.