Fukushima - Aizu-Wakamatsu 福島県、会津若松
Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima
Fukushima was the last of Tohoku's six prefectures that I traveled to - mostly because of distance (for the count, I've now been to 36/47 prefectures in Japan). The prefecture covers a fairly large area, but of the most interesting things seem to be in the area surrounding Aizu-Wakamatsu. I was really surprised by how nice it was, especially helped by some nice weather.
Ouchi-Juku 大内宿 (http://ouchi-juku.com/)
Just a little out of the city, Ouchi-Juku is an old post town from the Edo Period, on the road from Aizu-Wakamatsu to Nikko and continuing on to Edo (now called Tokyo). They have restored the traditional thatched-roof buildings for tourism and as a historical site.
One very strange specialty of the area is eating soba with a leek instead of with chopsticks. It is unclear why, although one theory (mine) is that a long time ago (during samurai times) some men were full of sake and wanted to eat soba, but couldn't find chopsticks, so they just went to the garden and picked leeks. There is zero fact accuracy to this story, but it seems right.
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| Yes, I ate soba with a leek. |
Aizu-Wakamatsu 会津若松
Aizu-Wakamatsu was an important castle town and one of the last strongholds against the Meiji Restoration 150 years ago. They were on the losing side of history, but it is a very interesting place to visit with very few foreign tourists due to the distance from other major sightseeing areas in Japan.
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| old tea house near the castle |
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| view from the castle |
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| Tsurugajou Castle 鶴ケ城. It has a uniquely red-tiled roof. |
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| Oyakuen 御薬園. A garden near the castle. Way off season, so nothing really in bloom, but still nice. |
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| Oyakuen 御薬園 |
Aizu Samurai House 会津武家屋敷
In Aizu-Wakamatsu, there is a samurai house with many historical buildings and some of the history of the manor. It includes museum displays of old samurai armour as well as items of daily use. Plus, it details the last days of the family, which ended in mass-suicide.
Iimori Mountain - Sazae Hall and The White Tigers Suicide Hill さざえ堂、白虎隊
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| View of the city from Iimori Mountain |
The second thing relates to the defeat of the town. The White Tigers were a group of teenaged boys, who were an army reserve for the Aizu army. As they saw smoke rising from the castle, they assumed it meant the castle was burning (it was not), but out of loyalty, the 18 boys committed mass-suicide. This story is popular as a story of loyalty - so much so that the the Fascist Italian government of the 1920s sent a monument to be placed on the hill in tribute to their loyalty.
Lake Inawashiro and Kitakata 猪苗代湖、喜多方
Within a short drive of the city is beautiful Inawashiro, although we were well off-season, so it was very cold and windy. Still, it felt like a lake at the top of the world.
45 minutes north of the city, there is a town called Kitakata, which used to be a thriving mining town. It left behind a tradition of ramen, specifically Kitakata ramen, and it has a disproportionate amount of ramen shops. It is shoyu flavoured - the one pictured has a little bit of extra pork. There are noodles there as well, I assure you.
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| Bandai Ramen in Kitakata |
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| Shingu Kumano Shrine, Kitakata |
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