A Japanese Summer Road Trip Through… Fukushima!? Beautiful Weather and Natural Scenery in Minamiaizu
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CONTENTS
A road trip through some of the best summer spots of Minamiaizu, Fukushima.
Ever visited Minamiaizu? Fukushima isn't well known as a tourist destination outside of Japan, but the reality is that places all over the vast Fukushima Prefecture have been popular among domestic Japanese sightseers for many years. The Aizu area is particularly famous for its summertime Aizu Tajima Gion Festival, but with the 2020 edition of the event canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I found myself putting together a unique off-the-beaten-path road trip through this part of Tohoku (northern Japan) instead. If you're looking to take a drive through Tohoku's breezy early-summer weather, check out some green scenery, and indulge in both local Japanese cuisine and traditional onsen hot springs, try out this little road trip route for yourself!
Aizu Kogen Resort (会津高原リゾート)
This resort in the mountainous Aizu highlands offers zip lines and great places to mountain bike, making it popular among outdoorsy types. It's a good place to get out into the great outdoors, and see some picturesque scenery. Once you're nice and tired after a day in the sun, you can relax in the park's onsen facilities.
Aizu Kogen Resort (会津高原リゾート)
535 Takatsuehara, Minamiaizu-machi, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima
Mountain Biking:
Children 3,500 yen/Adults 5,000 yen | Available mid-May to early November
Ziplines:
3,500 yen | Available late April to early November
Soba at Sobadokoro Magariya (そば処曲家)
The facade looks like a traditional Japanese kominka home, but walk in the door and you'll be served soba noodles made with buckwheat flour produced in the local Tateiwa area (舘岩) of Minamiaizu itself. Despite the shop's location, far from the city and along a country road, it has more than 100 Google reviews and has an average rating of over 4 stars!
Sobadokoro Magariya (そば処 曲家)
381 Maezawa, Minamiaizu, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima
Hours: 10:30 – 16:00 (only open early April to mid-November)
Maezawa Magariya Village (前沢曲家集落) L-Shaped Farmhouses
In the same area as the popular soba noodle spot, visiting this little village feels like traveling back in time. When it comes to traditional Japanese homes with thatched roofs, Fukushima's Ouchijuku area has much better name recognition, but Maezawa's thatched-roof farmhouses are just as charming―and they have their own designation as an official cultural property, meaning the buildings are specially preserved.
Wandering through the peaceful atmosphere of this little town, you can see people stopping to just appreciate the natural beauty of their surroundings.
Maezawa Magariya Village (前沢曲家集落)
Maezawa, Minamiaizu, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima
Hours: 8:30 – 16:30
Admission: 300 yen (April to early November, admission free in Winter!)
River Fishing – With Your Hands! (ヤマメつかみどり)
Every summer, Tanose Furusato Park comes alive with activity for the Yamame Tsukamidori Festival (ヤマメつかみどりまつり), where locals and travelers gather to catch Japanese masu salmon (or yamame)… with their hands! That's right, with a little skill and a good dose of luck, you can take part in the festivities and literally grab the little salmon right out of the shallow stream. Then you can actually prepare the fish on the spot, and eat them sprinkled with salt.
Yamame Tsukamidori Festival
Tanose Furusato Park, 36 Tanose, Minamiaizu, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima
Admission: 1,100 yen
Kaboku no Yado (花木の宿) Minamiaizu Ryokan
For a relaxing end to a fun but exhausting trip, I chose Kaboku no Yado as a hotel surrounded by the four seasons of Minamiaizu!
Open-air onsen baths, traditional Japanese hot spring cuisine, and spacious guest rooms―if you want to enjoy a little ryokan atmosphere during your Minamiaizu road trip, I heartily recommend Kaboku no Yado.
Minamiaizu gets cold and snowy during the winter, and like many parts of Tohoku, many people imagine the region as more of a winter destination. But after seeing the green leafy vistas and wonderful warm weather of the area during this road trip, I don't think you should miss it during the summer, either!
Kaboku no Yado (花木の宿)
Hirasawayama-1041-1 Omomo, Minamiaizu, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima
Official Website (jp)
For more pictures of Minamiaizu, and up-to-date news from the area, check out their Instagram (below). For more updates and info from Japan, don't forget to follow Japankuru on twitter, instagram, and facebook!
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NAME:Minamiaizu, Fukushima (福島県南会津)
【A Taiwanese Girl Living in Senda: The Tohoku Girl】 I like Kotaro Isaka's novels so I ended up in Sendai. Let me introduce you to the beauty of Tohoku! ♡
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Nara Prefecture's important history reaches back to 710, a time now called the Nara era, when it was once capital of Japan. Called "Heijo-kyo" during its time as a capital, it's said that nara was once the end of the silk road, leading it to flourish as a uniquely international region and produce important cultural properties of all kinds. To make the most of each season, travelers head to Nara Park, where the Nara deer who wander freely, or climb Mount Yoshino, a famous cherry blossom spot.
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Osaka is known for friendly (and funny) people, but its history is nothing to laugh at, playing a major part in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 16th century unification of Japan. Thanks to long years of economic activity, it's one of Japan's biggest cities, and Osaka's popular food culture earned it the nickname "The Kitchen of the Nation." To this day Osaka is the model of western Japan, and alongside historic structures like Osaka Castle, it also has major shopping malls like Umeda's Grand Front Osaka and Tennoji's Abeno Harukas. Osaka is a place to eat, eat, eat, with local specialties like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushi-katsu, and for extra fun, it's home to Universal Studios Japan.
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The Chugoku Region (中国地方) consists of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In Chugoku you’ll find the sand dunes of Tottori, and Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site, plus centers of ancient history like Grand Shrine of Izumo.
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Hiroshima Prefecture has everything, from world heritage sites to beautiful nature and delicious local cuisine, and it's either an hour and a half from Tokyo by plane, or four hours by train. Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island and the Atomic Bomb Dome, two Hiroshima UNESCO sites, are famous around the world, but in Japan it's also famous for food. Seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, especially oysters, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, and Setouchi lemons are all popular, and the natural scenery alone is worth seeing.
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On the other side of the Seto Inland Sea opposite Japan’s main island, Shikoku (四国) is a region made up of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, and Tokushima. The area is famous for its udon (in Kagawa), and the beautiful Dogo Onsen hot springs (in Ehime).
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Kagawa Prefecture is on the northern part of the island of Shikoku, facing Japan's main island and the Seto Inland Sea. It's known for being the smallest prefecture in Japan, by area, but at the same time Kagawa is called the "Udon Prefecture" thanks to its famous sanuki udon. Aside from Kotohiragu Shrine and Ritsurin Garden, the prefecture's small islands are popular, and Kagawa is full of unique destinations, like Angel Road. They say that if you lay eyes on Zenigata Sunae, a huge Kagawa sand painting, you'll never have money troubles ever again.
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Located in the most southwestern part of Japan, Kyushu (九州) is an island of 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. The island's unique culture has been influenced by Chinese and Dutch trade, along with missionaries coming in through Nagasaki's port. Modern-day travelers love the lush natural scenery and fresh food, plus the natural hot springs found all throughout the area (thanks to volcanic activity)!
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Fukuoka Prefecture has the highest population on the southern island of Kyushu, with two major cities: Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Thanks to growing transportation networks, Fukuoka is more accessible than ever, and so are the many local attractions. On top of historical spots like Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, travelers shouldn't miss Fukuoka's food scene, with motsu nabe (offal hotpot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and famous Hakata ramen―best eaten from a food stall in the Nakasu area of Hakata. Plus, it's full of all sorts of destinations for travelers, like trendy shopping centers, and the beautiful nature of Itoshima and Yanagawa.
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Kagoshima Prefecture played a major role in Japan's modernization as a backdrop for famous historical figures like samurais Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who pushed Japan out of the Edo era and into the Meiji. Because of that, Sengan-en Garden is just one of many historical destinations, and when it comes to attractions Kagoshima has plenty: the active volcano of Sakurajima, popular hot springs Ibusuki Onsen and Kirishima Onsen, World Heritage Site Yakushima Island, even what Japan calls the "island closest to heaven," Amami Oshima. Kagoshima might be found on the very southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu, but there's plenty to see.
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OKINAWA
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The island chain of Okinawa (沖縄) makes up the southernmost tip of Japan, which is why it's also the most tropical area in the country. Thanks to a history of independence and totally distinct political and cultural events, Okinawa has a unique culture, and remnants of the Ryukyu Kingdom are still visible all over the islands. Food, language, traditional dress, it's all a little different! It's also said to be the birthplace of karate.
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