Sendai Aoba Festival
The Sendai Aoba Festival was revived in 1985, the 350th anniversary of Lord Date Masamune’s death, to restore Sendai’s tradition of vibrant, large-scale festivals. Today, it is one of Sendai’s three major festivals and a seasonal summer tradition that attracts visitors from Japan and abroad.
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-machi
Bordering Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures, Hita flourished during the Edo period as a merchant town under the direct control of the shogunate, an area known as a tenryo. Historic buildings and earthen walls reminiscent of that era remain throughout the city, earning it the nickname “Little Kyoto of Kyushu.” About a 15-minute walk from Hita Station, Mameda-machi retains the homes of merchants who served the shogunate during the tenryo era. Its atmospheric streetscape has been designated a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
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.
Sannohe Castle
The ruins of a castle built on a plateau with an elevation difference of about 295 feet. It is said to have been the residence of the Sannohe Nanbu family from the late Muromachi period to the early Edo period. Even after Morioka became their main residence during the Edo period, a castellan remained at Sannohe Castle because of its strategic importance.
The cherry blossoms in the park are absolutely beautiful!