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Living Out Of A Suitcase
青森 Aomori Prefecture
Tohoku Circuit
Apr 30th, 2008
Spent the last couple days bumming around Tohoku. First off was a visit to Akita City for Joe & Sayaka’s annual Hanami (Flower Viewing) party. The Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) had already come and gone, but that didn’t stop any of us from overdrinking and having a great time. Kyoko came up late the next evening to watch us continue to drink.
The next morning we took the 9am train north to Aomori Prefecture (Province), specifically Hirosaki Park, which is one of the most popular places to celebrate Hanami. We caught the tail end of the Sakura, which I actually liked more, as the cherry blossom petals fluttered around in the wind as they fell off the branches. An evening traverse across Aomori landed us in Hachinohe, where the Tohoku Shinkansen Line begins. A couple hours later we were back home in Miyagi. Total travel: 800km!
Summer vacation, day 2
Aug 3rd, 2007
Last night was the opening of the Nebuta festival. I shot mostly video of the parade, it'll be up on YouTube shortly.
Day 2 in Aomori begins with some sightseeing. We ran into the Nebuta floats storage area, where you can view them up close.
With temperatures expected to hit 36 degrees this afternoon, I think it's time to find some shade and a cold beer before we head off to Hirosaki for tonight's festival!
On the road
Aug 2nd, 2007
This road trip is off to a fantastic start. I’m hungover as hell, Toshi and Hiro (pictured) barely made the train because Hiro’s flight from Nagoya to Akita was late due to a typhoon, saving me from eating \15000 in train tickets. Oh, and the accomodations I had arranged for us in Aomori fell through — this morning!
But for now, all is well. Enjoying an Asahi Super Dry in a lovely air-conditioned train, posting this from my cell phone. Gotta love technology.