Sendai Aoba Festival
On the 350th anniversary of Date Masamune’s death, in 1985 the Sendai Aoba Festival began to revitalize the boisterous and proud festival culture of Sendai. It is now considered the three festivals of Sendai, attracting visitors worldwide as a summer favorite.
The sparrow dance is super cute! Everyone dancing together feels so united!
Komezuka
Komezuka, a cone-shaped volcano, is located at the base of Kishimadake, one of the central peaks of Mount Aso's five peaks. This small mountain stands about 80 meters high and is believed to have been formed by an eruption around 3,300 years ago. The slopes are covered with grasslands, turning a vibrant green from spring to summer. In autumn, the slopes glow golden with susuki (Japanese pampas grass), and in winter, they are beautifully blanketed in snow.
Komezuka has such a unique shape—it really looks like a perfect little volcano! The whole thing is covered in green grass, which makes for a view you just don't see anywhere else.
Tokachigawa Onsen
Tokachigawa Onsen is located in the Tokachi Plain in the center of Hokkaido. The "Moor hot springs" are rare in Japan, and rich in organic plant matter. As a result, the hot water has a high temperature of 55-60 degrees Celsius and gushes out from a location 500-700 meters underground.
Stayed at Tokachigawa Onsen in winter. At night, we took the hotel shuttle to the Sairinka event. The lights and music really made the snowy landscape come alive.
Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
During the Edo period, Nagasaki was actively engaged in trade with China, and the land reclaimed from the sea to build a baggage warehouse to store goods from Chinese ships was called Shinchikurasho. Today, a monument to the Shinchikurasho site stands in the center of Chinatown.
The area is really small—you can walk through it in no time. It's quite different from what I remember of Yokohama Chinatown.
America-mura
In the 1970s, the area around Nishi-Shinsaibashi came to be known as "America-mura" because the warehouses were converted into stores that began selling used clothes, records, and miscellaneous goods that were imported from the west coast of the United States.
After eating in Dotonbori, it's fun to come here and walk around. There are so many unique things to check out.
Mameda Town
Hita City, neighboring Fukuoka and Kumamoto, was a prosperous “Tenryo (directly ruled by the Shogunate)” merchant town in Edo Period. The city is still dotted by classic buildings and earthen walls, which earned the nickname “Little Kyoto in Kyushu.” Roughly a 15-minute walk from Hita train station will take you to Mameda Town, where houses of merchants still remain who were providing goods to the Shogunate during the Tenryo Era.
The old shops and houses from the Edo period are still here, each with its own unique style. You can rent a kimono and stroll around the streets, or ride a bike through the castle town.
Mito Castle
The ruins sit on a plain 90m above the ground. The castle was inhabited by the Mito Nanbu Clan from the late Muromachi period to the early Edo period. In the Edo period, the Morioka became the main residence in this heavily fortified castle, which explains the time period.
The cherry blossoms in the park are absolutely beautiful!