This autumn, I visited Showa Village, in rural Okuaizu region. (I wrote about Showa Village in my last post as well.) One of the places I took a trip to was Michi-no-Eki Karamushi Orinosato Showa (Roadside Station) – pictured below – where I was able to try traditional ramie weaving! From shirts to bags, decorationsContinue reading Trying out Ramie Weaving in Showa Village
Autumn at Kuimaru Elementary School in Show Village is like something from a postcard. Kuimaru Elementary School closed in 1980 after years of population decline in Showa Village. This beautiful building was due to be torn down in 2012, but was bought by the village and reopened in 2018 as a museum and community building,Continue reading History Paused in Showa Village
I recently visited Suirakuen Gardens, which are located in Nanko Park in Shirakawa City. I visited the park a couple of years ago during autumn, when the leaves looked amazing. At that time I wasn’t able to visit the gardens due to time restrictions. So I was really glad to have the chance to takeContinue reading Green tea in Suirakuen Gardens
Hi! I recently visited Hanawa Town to the south of Fukushima Prefecture. Hanawa is a really small town. It is so small, in fact, that my recent visit was the first time I’d ever passed through it during my 3 years of living in Fukushima Prefecture! Although I hadn’t been to Hanawa before, I’ve knownContinue reading Dahlia Flowers & Hand-Dyeing in Hanawa
I loved visited Sannokura Highlands in Kitakata City last month. I have always wanted to visit the sunflower fields there, and I managed to time my visit perfectly! The sunflower fields are home to over 1.5 million sunflowers! They’re located at a height of 650 m above sea level, meaning it was really nice andContinue reading Photoblog: Sannokura Highlands Sunflower Fields
It’s August! Which means that anyone passing along Fukushima City’s Fruit Line will be greeted with sights of countless orchards, most with trees full of bright, pink peaches. Fukushima Prefecture’s peaches are famous both at home and abroad. Fukushima’s peaches are particularly popular in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, where they are imported byContinue reading Peach Picking in Fukushima
Recently there have been sightings of bears in a couple of popular sightseeing spots in Fukushima Prefecture, including Goshiki-numa Ponds. It made me realise that I had no idea what to do in the event of coming across a bear when travelling around the Prefecture. So I decided to make this simple guide, using informationContinue reading Wild bears in Japan – What to do
Tsuruga Kimono Rental Shop (English-language website here) opened up in April in central Aizu-Wakamatsu City. Its main store is located right next to Tsurugajo Castle. We headed over a couple of weeks ago to find out more about the shop and the experience it offers! Tsurugajo Kaikan The main store is inside Tsurugajo Kaikan (map),Continue reading Aizu-Wakamatsu’s New Kimono Rental Shop
I discovered an awesome temple in Fukushima City! I’ve known that Ioji Temple existed for a long time, because one of the train stations on the Iizaka Line is named after it, but I visited it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The architecture and traditional garden in the temple grounds makeContinue reading Making Bamboo Lanterns in a Temple
Last month I visited Yunokami Onsen during the cherry blossom season! This is something I’ve wanted to do since coming to Fukushima 3 years ago. I was first inspired to visit Yunokami Onsen in spring after seeing the photo below. We visited on the station on April 24 – which just so happened to beContinue reading Yunokami Onsen in Spring
