Good Times in Japan
One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2011 is to spend more time getting to know the Tohoku Region. I've been living in Sendai for almost a year now, but I still haven't seen much beyond the Miyagi Prefecture. Tohoku, which means North East, refers to the northern part of Honshuu, the main island of Japan. It's not a very well-known area among tourists, but it has a lot to offer and like all of Japan is rich with history.
In keeping up my resolution, I've taken a couple of day trips recently. I've got a limited budget, but fortunately Japan has amazing bus tours that you can take for very little money. I know the phrase "bus tour" will probably inspire images of a truck-load of old people and tourist traps, and there's some truth to that- but in Japan at least, they're also a great, inexpensive way to travel.
My first day trip last weekend was to Miyagi's Mt. Zao. I went with a large group of friends for a day of skiing and snowboarding. It was my first time snowboarding and luckily a member of our group was kind enough to give me a free lesson. If you ignore all the pain and potential for injury, it's fun- but I think I still prefer skiing. In Tohoku there are many mountains, so opportunities and equipment for snow sports abound. I got snow pants for about $10 at a recycle shop and our bus plus ski lift package was pretty reasonable.
This past Friday was a national holiday in Japan, so I was lucky enough to have a 3 day weekend. I did my best to make the most of it, and it was pretty spectacular. Thursday night I joined a nomikai- a Japanese drinking party, very common here. Many bars and restaurants cater to these parties by offering all you can drink or eat during a set period, called nomihodai and tabehodai respectively. It usually costs about $15-30 for about 2 hours of eating or drinking (or both). Afterward was nijikai (after party) at karaoke. If you have a big group, karaoke is a fairly cheap and fun way to spend a night out.
Next up was a baking party at a friend's house. Everyone brought their own ingredients and cooked together while drinking- incredibly, the awesomeness of the food was not effected by the alcohol consumption! I made scalloped potatoes.
And on Sunday, I went on my 2nd day trip this month to Yamagata Prefecture. There's a Mt. Zao in Yamagata as well, which is famous for its "Snow Monsters". Since that post will be pretty long and picture heavy, it'll posted separately just after this one.
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| Tohoku (NE Japan) |
In keeping up my resolution, I've taken a couple of day trips recently. I've got a limited budget, but fortunately Japan has amazing bus tours that you can take for very little money. I know the phrase "bus tour" will probably inspire images of a truck-load of old people and tourist traps, and there's some truth to that- but in Japan at least, they're also a great, inexpensive way to travel.
My first day trip last weekend was to Miyagi's Mt. Zao. I went with a large group of friends for a day of skiing and snowboarding. It was my first time snowboarding and luckily a member of our group was kind enough to give me a free lesson. If you ignore all the pain and potential for injury, it's fun- but I think I still prefer skiing. In Tohoku there are many mountains, so opportunities and equipment for snow sports abound. I got snow pants for about $10 at a recycle shop and our bus plus ski lift package was pretty reasonable.
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| Miyagi's Mt. Zao |
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| That slope there? That's where I had to learn how to stand up... |
This past Friday was a national holiday in Japan, so I was lucky enough to have a 3 day weekend. I did my best to make the most of it, and it was pretty spectacular. Thursday night I joined a nomikai- a Japanese drinking party, very common here. Many bars and restaurants cater to these parties by offering all you can drink or eat during a set period, called nomihodai and tabehodai respectively. It usually costs about $15-30 for about 2 hours of eating or drinking (or both). Afterward was nijikai (after party) at karaoke. If you have a big group, karaoke is a fairly cheap and fun way to spend a night out.
Next up was a baking party at a friend's house. Everyone brought their own ingredients and cooked together while drinking- incredibly, the awesomeness of the food was not effected by the alcohol consumption! I made scalloped potatoes.
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| Drunken Baking Party!! So very delicious :D |
Of course you made scalloped potatoes!
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