Neon lights, busy streets and the Tokyo Tower were left behind the glass windows once our bus left Tokyo. The view along the road gradually changed from buildings to farmlands and forests while heading north to the Tohoku region.
"Tohoku has rich history and is known for traditional culture and food. The name means Northeast although the region is located on the northern part of Honshu [the country's main island]", said our guide.
Occupying about 30% of Honshu, the Tohoku region consists of six prefectures; Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima. It is a popular destination among Japanese people. They come to see cherry blossoms in spring, to pluck ripe fruits from orchards or join the famous Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, which is the traditional lantern festival held in August, or to ski and snowboard in winter.
However, Tohoku is not yet the first destination choice for first-time foreign tourists, said the guide. The number of both domestic and international tourists sharply dropped after the region was stuck by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that was followed by a tsunami that caused a nuclear accident in Fukushima in March 2011.
Fukushima has been declared safe since September 2015. Beaches were reopened to the public in July although some areas including roads around the Fukushima nuclear power plant are still off limit to visitors due to unsafe levels of radiation.
For tourists like us, we avoided the eastern area of Fukushima and explored the western site of the prefecture, which is about 165km away.
Tourist attractions are open as usual. One of the famous places is the symbol of the samurai, Tsuruga-jo Castle in Aizu.
The original castle was built in 1384 as a residence of the lord of the Aizu clan. It was once besieged by the legendary warrior Date Masamune, who was the regional ruler of Tohoku, from 1589-1590. The castle was one of the last strongholds of samurais. It was destroyed at the end of samurai era in 1874. Only its stone walls have been left untouched and remained in place for more than 600 years.
The castle was rebuilt in 1965 and later opened as a museum to highlight its rich samurai history. Once you enter the castle, you will see items used by samurai including their swords, costumes and old photos. The top floor provides a viewpoint where you can see the city of Aizu in 360 degrees.
"Tsuruga-jo Castle is a popular place for seeing sakura blossom in early spring," said our guide.
Not far from the castle is the site of Aizu Bukeyashiki, or the Aizu samurai residence. It used to be the resident complex of the highest-ranked samurai. The original building complex was burned down during the Japanese civil war, or the Boshin War, in 1868. The site was rebuilt and turned in to a museum.
You can wander around the samurai residence to have a glimpse of life through artefacts and wax figures in model houses, a museum and a shrine. You can try traditional archery and paint black-and-white colours on Akabeko, a red cow doll with a shaking head, which is a traditional toy in Aizu.
FOXES AND FRUITS
Fluffy and cute is the best description of the foxes at Zao Fox Village, Japan's largest fox-themed zoo, in Miyagi Prefecture.
The zoo has more than 100 red foxes and other varieties including cross fox, silver fox, gold platinum fox and platinum fox.
"Don't touch the foxes, although they are tame," said the guide before we entered the zoo. The idea was is a butterfly zoo in which you can walk with the butterflies.
The Zao Fox Village lets the big-tailed canines roam around freely under the shade of trees. Most of them slept lazily on lawns. A few of them used concrete walking paths as sunbathing spots. At first, I was slightly afraid to pass a group of foxes. When I came closer to them, I noticed their smell. As I walked past them, the foxes ignored me and the group before me. They seemed to be at peace with their sleep.
I also came across some curious red foxes. First, one fox walked slowly in my direction and started to sniff. Then it was followed by another fox and other two until I thought I should stop taking their pictures and move on before they smelled my panic. I couldn't read them because they did not wag their tails like dogs.
I recalled the guide's advice offered before I entered the fox village: "If you want to scare the foxes away, just thump your shoes and make bang-bang sound." It worked well too.
In addition to the fox village, Tohoku has orchards that offer an all-you-can-eat service in Yamagata Prefecture. The idea is similar to the fruit buffets in Rayong and Chanthaburi in Thailand, where tourists pay an entrance fee to pluck ripe fruits and eat as many as they can.
At Nakano Orchard, visitors can pick many winter fruits like cherries, peach and apple depending on the month.
According to the orchard representative Kobayashi Hiroyuki, the 9.7 rai plantation was founded about 42 years ago and has been open to tourists visit for 40. It grows four types of cherries ranging from orange-red to dark red. The fruits were juicy and sweet. I also tried the unripe green cherry. To my surprise, the taste was not sour, but a little sweet.
Unfortunately, the orchard has not yet grown their fruits in an organic way. Kobayashi said they stop using chemicals after the trees flower. The cherries were chemical free, he said.
ONSEN AND CULTURAL HERITAGES
Nothing beats fatigue like dipping yourself in a hot spring (onsen). One of the country's famous onsens is Ginzan Onsen (which literally means "Silver Mountain Hot Spring") town in Yamagata Prefecture.
The heart of the town is the preservation zone where you can find century-old ryokan, traditional Japanese inns, lining narrow streets that run parallel to the Ginzan River. The ambience can draw you back to a period where people still wore kimonos in their daily life.
The town was developed on an old silver mine, which stopped the long-operated business after hot springs were found, said Yutaka Kido, the owner of Notoya Ryokan. His ryokan is about a century old. It is one of the 13 inns in the area. Each hotel has its own hot spring facility and has a small number of rooms. Notoya Ryokan has only 15 rooms in total.
Notoya Ryokan has something special because it was selected as one of locations for shooting of Ochin, the well-known NHK drama series (1983-1984) that was broadcast in many countries including Thailand. The three-storey ryokan and the red bridge in front of the hotel was also chosen as a scene in the acclaimed Spirited Away (2001) animation movie by Studio Ghibli.
Tohoku also has a thousand-year-old temple in Iwate Prefecture. Chusonji Temple was originally built in 850 and expanded during the early 12th century to house more than 40 halls and pagodas, and residences for 300 monks. The temple was burned down in 1337, but the small golden Amida hall survived.
The structure was built to house Amida Nyorai (the Buddha of Infinite Light) of a Mahayana sect.
"It may be because of the thick and heavy coat of gold leaf placed inside and out by faithful followers over centuries that helped protect the hall from fire," said our guide. The shining golden hall that today houses numerous Buddha images and deities is exhibited in a mirror room. Visitors are not allowed to take any pictures of the golden hall.
Chusonji Temple also has a museum, shrines and several halls including Hondo, or the main hall, which house a 5.3m-tall seated Buddha. The temple is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Our last stop was in Aomori Prefecture. The province is famous for an apple and Nebuta festival, according to our guide.
The festival is organised yearly from Aug 2-9 when about 20 large-sized lanterns (Nebuta floats) join the eight-night parade to ward off sleep demons or bad luck after the farming season.
To educate visitors about the festival, Nebuta Museum Wa-Rasse was built to house those lanterns, about 9m wide and 5m tall, and to be a stage where you can dance and shout "rassera, rassera, rase-rase-rase-ra" with a troop of musicians.
After being shaken by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Tohoku has gradually regained its strength. The number of overnight foreign tourists is starting to increase. Last year was the first time total international tourists hit 1.02 million, up 40% from the year before.
In 2020, Tohoku will be the city host for baseball and softball games for the Tokyo Olympics. Before the event, the region is open for visitors to experience the history of the samurai, old culture and natural scenery that are charming all year round.
Tsuruga-jo Castle is open daily from 8.30am to 5pm. The admission fee is 410 yen (123 baht). Visit tsurugajo.com.
Aizu samurai residence is open every day from 8.30 to 5pm. The admission fee is 850 yen (253 baht). Visit fukushima-bftc.jp/en.
Zao Fox Village is open daily from 9am to 5pm, but closed on Wednesdays. The entrance fee is 1,000 yen (about 300 baht). Visit zao-fox-village.com.
Chusonji Temple is open daily from 8.30am to 7pm. The admission fee is 800 yen (240 baht). Visit chusonji.or.jp/en.
Nebuta Museum Wa-Rasse is open daily from 9am to 7pm. The entrance fee is 600 yen (180 baht). Visit nebuta.jp/warasse/foreign/english.html.
For more information about Tohoku, visit Japan National Tourism Organisation at jnto.or.th.
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