Fukushima / Tohoku Summer

Trip Start Apr 01, 2001

Trip End Ongoing

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Where I stayed

Aizu Tsuruya Hotel Aizuwakamatsu
Read my review - 4/5 stars

Flag of Japan Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Japan
Sunday, August 19, 2012

August 10 - 14 2012, Cycling holiday: Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukushima, Tohoku, Japan

Day 1: arrived in Aizu Wakamatsu: Tsuruga Castle, Mt.Iimori, Byakkotai hill, Sazaedo Pagoda
Day 2: Cycled up into the mountains to Ouichijuku
Day 3: Rented a car. Drove to Southern Aizu area to search out the rural *magariya* L-shaped thatch roofed farmhouses
Day 4: Cycled to Kitakata. Sake breweries and 4100 kura (historic clay storehouses)
Day 5: Cycled around Aizu Wakamatsu: Samurai compound.

Slideshow

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Tsuruga Castle	Umeboshi on the train	Mt.Bandai, taken from the train	Soba with Mountain Veggies / Aizu, first meal
Making macha	Macha and wagashi	Steps to Mt.Iimori	Byakkotai (White Tigers) suicide location
Monument to the Byakkotai who died	Sazaedo Pagoda, Mt.Iimori	Sazaedo Pagoda, interior, up ramp	Sazaedo Pagoda, interior, Asako
Mt.Iimori, gardens	Tsuruga Castle, moat	TsurugaCastle	Tsuruga Castle, inside the grounds
Tsuruga Castle, sunset	Grilled komae fish & shiitake	Aji fish with lemon	Daikon salad
Deep fried Chikuwa stuffed with mentaiko	Sweet sticky riceballs wrapped in bamboo leaf	Asako, Good morning! in the hotel room	Our hotel, preparing for our 1st days ride
Japanese Pear orchards, just outside town	Japanese pears	Pottery village, just outside Aizu Wakamatsu	The cute potter village and waterwheel
Local kura (clay storehouse) 1	Local kura (clay storehouse) 2	Looking out from a pottery shop thru noren	Historic merchant house, main street
Merchant house detail	Beautiful shapes and colours	Beautiful local buildings	Beginning of the ride into the mountains
Looks like a painting!	Lunch on the road	Rice paddies all around, beautiful!	Riding through cute small villages
Natural lotus pond in full bloom!	Gorgeous riding conditions	Lovely lady invited us in for tea	Our host's homegrown beans for Obon meal
The beans dried naturally in the pod	Her beans drying naturally in the sun	We toured her garden.1	We toured her garden.2
The road is really starting to climb now	This is really difficult now!	Ok, I really can't ride anymore!	Still 6km. to go to Ouichijuku! I can't do it
We are really high now!	Tunnel coming up, not wide enough for bikes	Not fun in here	Other side of the tunnel, finally the lake!
The lake, high up in the mountains	Destination!! finally made it up the mountain!.	Time to explore Ouichijuku, our destination	Ouichijuku, our destination in the mountains
Ouichijuku.1	Ouichijuku.2	Ouichijuku. Hydrangea full bloom, August!!	Ouichijuku.3
Ouichijuku.4	Ouichijuku.5	Ouichijuku, shop	The grass used for the thatched roofs
Ouichijuku.5	Ouichijuku.6	The road up to the hillside shrine/Ouichijuku	Small hillside shrine.1
Small hillside shrine.2	Looking back to village from the shrine	Cedar boughs with ceremonial rope, for Obon?	Gravesite, metal crosses/swordhandles.1
Gravesite, metal crosses/swordhandles.2	Gravesite, metal crosses/swordhandles.3	Gravesite, metal crosses/swordhandles.4	The Shrine
Ouichijuku roadside	Yeahhh! a ride to the top of the mountain!!	Small shrine on the ride back	Asako at the roadside shrine heading back
Cooling off in the river, on the ride back	Riverside	Temporary housing for displaced people.1	Temporary housing for displaced people.2
Our rental car for the 3rd day-to S.Aizu area	Driving to Southern Aizu.1	Asako...fun driving!	Driving to Southern Aizu.2
Roadside Rest Stop in the mountains.1	Roadside Rest Stop in the mountains.2	Rest stop - local products	So many flowers roadside along the way
Flowers everywhere around the village	Entrance to Mizuhiki (magariya village)	Mizuhiki.1 more flowers	Mizuhiki.2
Mizuhiki.3 Magariya	Mizuhiki.4 Magariya	Mizuhiki.5 Magariya	Mizuhiki. Magariya. Obon stick & branch cross
Mizuhiki.5. 2nd level winter door.	Mizuhiki.6. Magariya	Mizuhiki.7. Magariya-2nd level winter door	Mizuhiki.7. Magariya - roof design / gardens
Mizuhiki. Winterdoor, good view	Mizuhiki. Magariya. good view.	Mizuhiki. Magariya. expensive to preserve.1	Mizuhiki. Magariya. expensive to preserve.2
Mizuhiki. Magariya. expensive to preserve.3	Mizuhiki. Magariya. expensive to preserve.4	Mizuhiki view	Leaving Mizuhiki.1
Leaving Mizuhiki.2	On the road to Maezawa (2nd Magariya village)	Bridge entrance to Maezawa, magariya village	Me and giant bike bag on the train.
Asako and her more reasonably sized bike bag.	Mt.Bandai, out the train window	Sazae-do front	Our first dinner out in Aizu / local izakaya.