Ouchi-juku
A walk through Ouchi-juku, Fukushima: an Edo-era post town of thatched roofs and old Japan, famous for negi soba eaten using a leek instead of chopsticks.
Tohoku
The six prefectures of northern Honshu, from Aomori to Fukushima
Aizuwakamatsu: A Nanokamachi Stroll and the Samurai Residences
From Kitakata to Aizuwakamatsu: retro Nanokamachi, the homes of a former lord's retainers, and the room where women and children took their own lives in defeat. Far from today's values, yet their resolve struck me as remarkable.
Kitakata: Morning Ramen and a Sake Brewery Stroll
Sightseeing in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture: morning ramen at Kikusui, then a visit to a sake brewery to enjoy some sake tasting.
The Five-Story Pagoda of Mt. Haguro, Lit Up at Night
Down from Mt. Yudono, I head to the shukubo Tamonkan. After a shojin ryori dinner, I go out after dark to see the five-story pagoda lit up.
Mt. Yudono: The Mysterious Mountain Whose Secrets You Must Not Tell
Down from Dewa Sanzan Shrine, a meal at a café by the gate, then Mt. Yudono, whose sacred summit has one rule: never tell what you saw or heard.
Dewa Sanzan Shrine
After seeing the five-story pagoda on Mt. Haguro, I climbed toward Dewa Sanzan Shrine. Some 2,000 steps later, I made it.
The Five-Story Pagoda of Mt. Haguro
I headed to Mt. Haguro in Yamagata Prefecture, famous for its five-story pagoda in the forest, and started up the trail to Dewa Sanzan Shrine. Partway up, I stopped to look at the pagoda. Among the trees, it had a presence no other pagoda has.
Staying at a Shukubo on Mt. Haguro
A trip to Mt. Haguro, a site of mountain worship in Yamagata's Shonai region: a night at Daishinbo, a yamabushi-run shukubo in Dewa Sanzan Shrine's lodging district, a morning prayer ritual, then on to the shrine.