Coast to coast: Day 5

Today I took a special rapid service train called the Resort Shirakami. I stumbled upon information about this train around the end of last year when I was planning my January trip to Hokuriku. The line is said by some to be one of the most beautiful train journeys in Japan, and since it's in my favorite region of the country I decided I wanted to try and make time for it.

For about three hours of my 4.5 hour trip, the train travels along the northwest coastline of the island of Honshu (Japan's largest island), and the big picture windows afford breathtaking views of jagged boulders, turbulent waves and wide open sky. We were also treated to a shamisen performance, which is a type of Japanese music that I love--it is an instrument native to this region and it is a part of the culture that is still strong today. Along the way, the land on either side of the tracks is spread with rice paddies, where Akita prefecture's famed komachi rice is grown.

One of my last views of Mt. Iwaki

I arrived in Akita City in time to do some late-afternoon sightseeing at the city's Senshu Park, a quick 5 minute walk from the station.  Visitors come here to see Kubota Castle, azaleas in full bloom, and a Japanese-style garden.  A group of retired men finishing up a picnic in a corner of the Japanese garden had had enough to drink that they shouted greetings to me in English as I walked by.

From the park I headed to check in at my hotel and settle in a bit before going out again.  My last excursion for the night was to the Kawabata district, which the tourist office says is "for dining and evening entertainment", so I thought it might be an interesting place to try out a little night photography with my new camera. (A downtown "entertainment" district is usually not my cup of tea in the evening otherwise...)  It was a little less interesting than I expected, so I'll have to find something better to take pictures of tomorrow night. :)

The view from the window of my hotel room

In a public space near the train station, young men practice for the
Akita Kanto summer festival.  These poles represent ears of rice and are
balanced on the hand, shoulder, forehead (shown here), or lower back.

Entrance to the entertainment district

~~~

Yesterday it occurred to me that I should've had a map with these posts so it's easier to see where I've been...so I've cobbled one together with Google maps, and come up with this:

Key:
Day 0: night bus departs Tokyo.
Day 1: Hiraizumi, a little to the south of Morioka.
Day 2: Morioka
Day 3: Hachinohe
Day 4: Aomori City and Hirosaki
Day 5: arrival in Akita

It's a rather horseshoe-shaped trip.  But for the remainder of my vacation I'm staying put--no more hotel changes or lengthy train trips, until the bullet train back to Tokyo on Wednesday...