VLOG #10. 5 Days Trip to Tohoku
Hello and welcome to my new vlog My tenth vlog This vlog is going to be a travel vlog I'm going on a 5 days trip to Tohoku Or northeastern Japan It is Golden Week and well... Here I am It is... Quarter past six I'm at the Tokyo Sta. And my first destination is going to be... Hachinohe A city in the high north You've probably not heard of it Me neither Therefore I'm really looking forward to it The weather is expected to be quite unsettled It's going to be cloudy, rainy But let's see I mean What does matter Is not the weather but the attitude You know, I carry the sun inside And I can lighten things up So Let's check it out The reason I am going to Tohoku now Is not only because of the Golden Week But also because since April this year You can buy a so called JR Tohoku Pass For the Tohoku region Meaning You can travel for 5 consecutive days In the Tohoku region With any Shinkansen you want Previously this was possible Only for foreign tourists Coming to Japan But now it's also possible for foreign residents Living in Japan And this is a great deal Because you pay 20.000 Yen for this ticket
And as I said You can travel for 5 days with this ticket Which is really cheap Because if you buy a regular ticket There and back It can already cost more than 20.000 Yen So it's a great deal Hachinohe Sta. We are only 8 minutes walk From the main station Quite provincial, isn't it? Kabushima shrine Nesting place for seagulls or "Umineko" Tanesashi coast Same (Shark) Sta. Nejo castle site Well, so far so good I would say today's highlight Was definitely Kabushima and the seagulls I also liked the coast I'm now on the grounds of... A former castle Nothing of the castle remains But I think it's a nice park Nejo Castle Reconstructed in 1994 Shuden (main building) Nejo Castle was built in 1334 And was home of the Nanbu clan Nanbu clan inhabited Nejo castle for 300 years And later relocated to another place Workshop for armour and weapons Storehouses Interesting Although not original I think it's a decent way to imagine How this castle area Could have looked back then Interesting historical site Well, I think that's it for today See you tomorrow Hello again It's the second day of my Tohoku trip I'm moving further south And I'm now in Iwate prefecture In Mizusawa Sta. Mizusawa is not my destination for today It is Hiraizumi A little town with several old temples Which are in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list But the point is I'm now delayed by...
More than two hours There was a relatively strong earthquake On the way here The train stopped And now both trains I mean trains in both directions Are now halting And are waiting for instructions And are aligning their schedule So, already delayed by two hours And I don't know how long it will take To get me to Hiraizumi But we'll see So, finally I am in Hiraizumi I was waiting in the train At Mizusawa Sta. for a while And after the delay hit the mark of 3.5 hours I thought "So be it" "I take a taxi" And so I did I took a taxi from Mizusawa Sta. to Hiraizumi
And checked in at the hotel I have now less than an hour of daylight left So, unfortunately I won't be able To see all these historic sites All those temples, which are in the... UNESCO World Heriatge Site list But this is life Shit happens At least I've checked in At a very nice onsen ryokan Or a spa hotel So... A very nice dinner and a hot bath await me But before that I take a walk In the neighbourhood The train is moving again That's nice Hiraizumi Sta. Actually I still can visit one temple Motsuji temple This might be interesting for those Who never stayed In a Japanese ryokan style hotel Let me show you my room Bath Toilet Sink And the room itself With tatami mats and a futon bed Nice, isn't it? I think that's it for today See you tomorrow It's not yet tomorrow It's still today After a splurge dinner And hot spa I just wanted to share with you The sound of the May 1st frogs It's wonderful Hear it for yourself It's great to be out in the country And now for real See you tomorrow Hello Today is the third day of my Tohoku trip I am now... In the coastal town of Kesennuma In Miyagi prefecture Like many towns on the Tohoku coast Kesennuma was heavily hit by tsunami Now almost 10 years ago And although they have removed All the rubbish since then Lots of open space still remain As you can see And this is not a train station But a bus stop They use a so called BRT system here Bus Rapid Transit What does Kesennuma have to offer? Mostly coastal area Fish markets Sea rocks Etc.
And they have also Japan's only Shark Museum And I'm going there now And after that I will... Take the BRT system to the south coast Little fish market under the Shark Museum Shark museum 2011 tsunami videos Shown in the Shark Museum Ice Aquarium The Prayer Square "Let us pray while turned to the sea" Kesennuma City Memorial Museum The museum stands at the site Of Koyo High School Ruined by tsunami in 2011 Portions of the school building Have been left untouched To show the impact of the disaster Kesennuma: 1.152 dead 214 missing Wow What a museum The atmosphere of sadness and graveness Is probably comparable to that Of the atomic bomb museums In Hiroshima and Nagasaki I was really moved If you ever come to Kesennuma You should definitely visit this museum Sanriku Fukko National Park Unsettled weather Rainy and cold I would say That sightseeing for today is over Definitely, it was woth coming to Kesennuma I really... I can't say "enjoyed" But it was a tremendous experience Going to that... Kesennuma City Memorial Museum The rest of the day I will enjoy a hot spa Again And looking forward to...
Hopefully a nice dinner That's it for today See you tomorrow Good morning It's a new day I am still in Kesennuma Since the rain has stopped For now I just wanted to show you A little of port of Kesennuma After that I will be off for breakfast And after breakfast I will be heading for the train station Heading for my new location for today It's quite early Little bit before 6 AM And it's really quiet At the port The 6 AM chime Kesennuma Sta. I'm now in the Shinkansen train On my way to Shiroishi-Zao My destination for today The local train I have filmed in Kesennuma Had a malfunction They could not start the engine Luckily, the train station staff Offered a free taxi ride From Kesennuma to Ichinoseki Where I could successfully And on time Board my Shinkansen Kudos to the Japanese service Shiroishi-Zao Sta. I am now at the Shiroishi-Zao Sta. In Miyagi pref.
Shiroishi-Zao is mostly famous For the mountain called Zao And for the Zao Fox Village This time I will pass On Mt. Zao Because I've been there once skiing But the reason I came here Is of course the Fox Village Actually, it's not a village It's a zoo with many foxes And I'm now waiting for the bus To get me there Zao Fox Village The foxes are obviously full of fleas And are moulting after the winter Shiroishi Castle Built during Kamakura Period Home of Karita, Gamo and Katakura clans Demolished in 1875 Reconstructed in 1995 Well That was another fun day And I will conclude it With a local noodle speciality Called "Umen" See you tomorrow Good morning I'm still in Shiroishi-Zao Before leaving, I just wanted to show you This beautiful landscape By the way How do you like my new mask? My "kitsune" mask A souvenir from the Zao Fox Village Cute, isn't it? Today is fifth And last day of my trip to Tohoku I am now in Shirakawa Of Fukushima pref. Which is not to be mixed up With Shirakawago That traditional farmhouse village In Gifu pref. Anyway, I'm now in front of the Shin-Shirakawa Sta. And behind me is the statue of Basho The famous Japanese haiku poet Who is said To have passed Shirakawa on his travels The weather is nice I'm feeling great The first sightseeing spot I will be heading to Is the Komine castle Komine castle moat Komine castle Built during Muromachi Period Home of multiple clans Place of many battles Demolished in 1868 Reconstructed between 1991 and 1994 Lake Nanko Suirakuen Garden I'm now in front of a very unusual museum I'm in front Of the Auschwitz Peace Museum Yes, you heard me right Auschwitz A museum you would rather expect In Poland or maybe in Germany Much less in such a Japanese provincial city Like Shirakawa Or in Japan in general Apparently, there were some...
History enthusiasts here in Japan Who acquired several Auschwitz related exhibits They were raising funds to built a museum To host these exhibits And after a while These exhibits settled here in Shirakawa No matter what kind of exhibits They might show here I think that alone the fact That there is such a museum here in Japan Deserves some recognition I have some thoughts On the Auschwitz Peace Museum I have visited today Although it was quite small It had lots of photos And sufficient information About the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp In Poland There were also several exhibits From Auschwitz The grandpa who works Or lives there Even let me watch A 20 minutes Japanese DVD About the history of Auschwitz This museum also tried to... Draw a parallel to Japan And there was a hall showing photos Of the war victims in Japan However This is a parallel Which I personally did not expect I mean If you talk about the atrocities Nazis did during the WW II About Holocaust and genocide That's right And as I said before This kind of museum here in Japan Is praiseworthy Talking about the Holocaust victims Etc. But if you talk About the Holocaust victims in Germany While doing it in Japan And not draw a parallel to Japan This is very strange I mean The fact the Japanese government Was an ally of Nazi Germany During WW II Is omitted And this is strange I mean, of course The Japanese government Did not have such genocidal acts During WW II Or at least not to the extent Nazi Germany did But Japan had its share of atrocities In South-East Asia And in China Well, we have the same old problem With Japanese And their acceptance Or interpretation of history Anyway My video tour of Shirakawa is over In about half an hour I will be sitting in the Shinkansen Heading back for Tokyo This was a great trip I really enjoyed it I am happy To be travelling again It's great Tokyo Sta. Alright This is it I'm back to Tokyo This was a great trip to Tohoku Five days well spent I immensely enjoyed it I hope you enjoyed it too At least a little bit If you have been to these cities or locations I've been travelling to Please leave your experience in the comments I would really like to know about it If you like what I'm doing Please become my patron on Patreon As usual Please like, share and comment And please subscribe to my channel Thank you for watching And see you next time
2021-05-22 04:21
