Northern Japan Delights: Discovering Tohoku
Hot and cold vending machine offerings
Yes, you can get a warm green tea or a cup of coffee from this vending machine. Genius.
By Ruksana Hussain
If you want a taste of the real Japan, you must discover Tohoku. Move over Tokyo and Kyoto! While larger cities have their charm, the magic that smaller, lesser-known destinations offer can only be experienced with a local or guide to take you through your adventure. Walk Japan offers that and more on their Basho Tour which covers quite a few cities in the 10-day trip, with lodging in hotels, inns and even a Shinto shrine!
Living in Ryokans
An authentic Japanese experience would be incomplete if devoid of ryokans. Staying at a traditional Japanese inn is very different from a posh hotel. Rooms are spacious but you will miss a bed when you enter. Rooms are organized as per the need of the day/guest so you are welcomed into a room with a floor level study desk and chair atop tatami mats. When you leave for dinner, your hotel staff will change in the furniture for a floor level bed made of cotton and buckwheat. A different kind of turn down service but done very graciously, they even dim down the lights for you and sometimes leave you a note letting you know they were in during your absence! Most rooms have some form of sweet welcoming snack and a variety of teas to get you ready for your stay.
Beautiful tea sets provided in each room
You in a Yukata
Any accommodation that hosts guests will present you with a yukata. It’s a Japanese ‘house robe’ made of cotton. It has no zippers or button but simply two sides you flap over and use the belt provided to tie it all together. Some might even offer a vest that goes over the robe as well as slippers and a little string purse for some of your belongings. The best part though is that it is perfectly acceptable for you to wear this on the hotel premises and not just in your room. Wear it to dinner, to the public bath, to the lobby area while you check your mail, to breakfast the next day…talk about making you feel at ease!
Yukata ready in the closet
Bathing in Onsens
Once you get over the shock of bathing in the nude in a public space, onsens are a fantastic experience. The male and female sections are divided with separate entrances. Once in, there is a changing area with a numbered locker or basket for your personal belongings. Enter the shower section where you soap and rinse and then enter the magnificent large baths for a good cleanse. Most baths have natural minerals and water temperature borders on scalding so ease yourself in. Stay as long as you like but remember that it is a place of calm and quiet, your alone time if you will. Most onsens are indoors but you will find some outdoors as well. When you head back in to dry and change, amenities in the dressing area include hair dryers, beauty products and some beverages as well to gain back fluids after that ‘hot’ experience. Some onsens, like the Akakura onsen, feature separate baths for couples that you can reserve in advance for an additional fee.
Feasting and Fun
Lunch feast in Kanazawa, Japan
Meals are hour-long affairs at most establishments, if not longer, with multiple courses, sometimes served individually, featuring local and seasonal produce. Rice, miso soup and a salad as well as locally caught fish are a staple. Other highlights could include delicacies found only in the area. Local etiquette demands that you accept everything served with a smile even if you do not consume or imbibe. Precisely the practice adopted when presented with raw horsemeat! Elaborate seating arrangements and presentation plates are a must. And no matter the spread, every guest at the table gets individual bowls, even if that means lighting 12 shabu shabu pots at the same time.
High-tech Happiness
Once you land in Japan, you will see that technology is big here and used a great deal to help the Japanese society function economically. Trains, including the Shinkansen speed trains, are punctual and the local transportation system works like a well-oiled machine. Vending kiosks all over the country offer not just small snack packs and cold beverages but also hot drinks like coffee with milk or ginseng tea. And of course, if you hadn’t already heard, toilets in Japan are a high-tech masterpiece. Numerous buttons make for an amusing experience but knowing those toilet seats are heated negates any other apprehensions. Play around with the different buttons – most of them have no English translations, so trial and error is your best bet.
Interesting toilet buttons on a Japanese Toilet
All of Walk Japan’s tours are walks/hikes and any of the feasts you partake at dinner are easily worked off during the next day’s sightseeing. While people might seem aloof and disconnected, one request for help is sufficient to bring forth the most genuine assistance on any matter of concern. Northern Japan makes for a wonderful ‘off the beaten path’ experience that many are not aware of yet so make the most of it – scenic views, lovely locals, fantastic food and a unique journey await you!
-RH
Photography By GG
