By Karyn Lo Nothing screams summer in Japan like sweat. In my opinion, sweating is only made slightly more tolerable if I am either next to a functioning air conditioner, or travelling on the road while eating copious amounts of ice cream. Where else is better to do the latter than in neighbouring Hokkaido, the … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo It’s that time of the year again – the battle of humidity and sweat! It is also the time for rice planting. Totally related. So for those who enjoy unique events that scream THISISHOWWEDOITINJAPAN, Inakadate is worth a visit this summer! This is a tradition that has been going annually since 1993. … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo ‘Nikko is Nippon’!!!!!!! The first time I saw this slogan splashed all over the trains en-route to Tochigi Prefecture, I did a double take. Wait, what? If Nikko is Nippon then…? *silence* Catchy or not, the tiny town of Nikko turns out to be a charming place to get your fill of … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo What does the fox say? Do I hear the echo of ‘that’s lame!’ resonating in the far off distance? No, I do not. Plus, who doesn’t like foxes? Especially tiny little baby foxes? And their little smushy faces? Well, luckily for us Tohoku region dwellers there is a lovely ‘Fox Village’ in … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo I’ll confess, I am one of those people. One of those people who have a terrible love for Ghibli films. For me, I have a soft spot for the older Ghibli films…One of which is Princess Mononoke. When I heard of the forest that inspired Hayao Miyazaki is on the other side … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo Understandably, by now you are probably drowning in snow. You probably walk out the door and encounter blinding white. At least, perhaps you’ve regularly slipped on ice even while wearing snow boots. Well, want to see MORE snow? Snow that is piled into shapes? Or ice blocks turned into glowing lanterns? Or … Continue reading
By Officer Jenny (Karyn Lo) Snowsnowsnownonono… The snow has hit early this year and I am sure you are scrambling to make sure your winter tires are on or that you have a jacket thick enough to ward off the snowy winds! One of my favourite things to do during early winter is going to … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo I won’t deny it; autumn is my favourite season. If you’re fond of colours such as red, orange, yellow, purple, and blue…Then this is the season for you! It even rhymes! The Hakkoda mountains are stunning in any season of the year. Now that autumn has arrived in Aomori, it’s the perfect … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo While most people are aware of the numerous water falls to be found in the stunningly beautiful Oirase Gorge (worth going to every season of the year, just sayin’), this UNESCO World Heritage site is another hiking area where Aomori smacks you in the face with a combination of breathtaking nature and powerful water features. Continue reading
By Karyn Lo Have you ever looked at a map of Japan and thought, “Well, doesn’t Aomori Prefecture look like a weird lumpy bicep, flexing in all its glory on top of Honshuu Island?” While I am not sure how many people would agree with me here (I swear I saw a drawing of Aomori … Continue reading
By Karyn Lo Ever wondered what a lake tastes like? Perhaps you have read about tasting lakes in a previous article about the lakes near Mt Bandai in Fukushima? Or perhaps you just really like to look at pretty and colourful mini-lakes? Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft Bet you’ve never thought of the airport as a tourist destination! But think about it! Those hard plastic chairs, the lacklustre food, the endless tedium of waiting in line upon line, and that indefinable nauseating quality of fluorescent lights, white walls, and no windows. It’s a jet-setter’s dream! Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft Well, if you’ve made it this far there’s hope yet. Stick with me! Say what you will, but Fukushima’s probably the one place in Tohoku that people outside Japan can actually name (my family still refers to Aomori as “Icecube”). As a Tohoku insider, I’m gonna give you the scoop on … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft No one ever told me hell was stinky. Plenty of other descriptors, depending on whether you’re reading Dante, Virgil, or what have you, but I can’t recall anyone mentioning it being stinky. Here in Aomori, however, we have our very own gate to hell, and the first thing you’ll notice about … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft Have you ever seen The Birds? Go during breeding season and Kabushima is a bit like that, but instead of pecking you to death they’ll probably just poop on you a lot. Umbrellas are encouraged and if you were foolish enough to forget yours some dilapidated excuses for covering may be … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft I’m not gonna lie, Sendai is my favourite city in Tohoku. Is that because there’s actual life in Sendai? Because there are food options? Because there’s shopping? Because there are people under fifty and they have good hair? All of these things, probably, plus the fact that there’s an H&M with … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft It’s beginning to look suspiciously like Spring, and with the warmer temperatures comes that most unique of Japanese holidays: Golden Week. During this most sacred period–which even schools take off–it’s almost contractually mandated for employees to traverse the country. Resistance is often met with being the only man in the office … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft If you have not converted to the Joy of Onsen since my last post about Kappa-no-yu, you will likely be less than thrilled over this post about yet another onsen. 残念. Perhaps, though, you do like onsen and were just turned off by the very real possibility of dying on the … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft There are two types of people on JET: those addicted to onsen and those who haven’t been yet. They’re the gateway drug of Japan. You may have come fully intending never to get near one, but one day you’re gonna break. Maybe you’re crashing at a friend’s and realize you haven’t … Continue reading
By Amanda Lynn Marcroft With February upon us, love is in the air. Continue reading
Good Morning Aomori 