5/31/2012

The Capital of Ramen , Kitakata City

Kitakata City in Fukushima is now famous as one of the most popular ramen towns in the nation.  There are a lot of good ramen shops and restaurants in the city and they attract many tourists from all over the country. 

But what I heard about Kitakata is different than what people think about this city.  It was originally not a ramen town before. The city was a town of old beautiful warehouses and they attracted many tourists.  

And those tourists found out most of the ramen shops in the city were very tasty.  The reputation of those good ramen shops spread out by word-of-mouth and thru the media.
That has transformed the city from a warehouse town to the capital of ramen. 


Kitakata skyline, no skyscraper though,.

This is a warehouse of sake brewery. 

The main gate of the sake brewery. 

They open the inside as a museum to the public. 

Dried rice straws used for brewing sake. 

Their old-to-latest product bottles. 

Their old-to-latest product bottles. 

warehouse shrine of sake. 

The 2nd flr is a small gallery for artists. 

Empty sake bottles are used between the wooden bars. 

Hallway of the brewery. 

The water of this small well directly comes from Mt. Iide,
which is kind of a mother mountain of the area.

Back st of Kitaka.
Back to 70s.

Back st of Kitakata
Back to 70s
Back st of Kitakata. 
 

Closed pachinko (Japanese pinball game) hall.
It's retrospect atmosphere. 

Cute cats.


A st. of the city.

this old warehouse is now a clothes store.
Their items were still old fashioned though. 

@ Kitakata stn.

Sake barrels @ the stn.

@ Kitakata stn.


5/30/2012

Mystical Lake in Fukushima


Lake Hibara was formed by the eruption of Mt. Bandai on July 15, 1888.  It's a very beautiful, quiet, and mystical lake. The bets thing in the area is that it's not so commercialized. Very mellow and relaxed retreat.


A triangle shape mt in the middle of pic. is Bandai, I believe.

Very quiet.

Very beautiful 

Small boat hse.

Nobody. I saw only a few people on my way.

But only trees and birds.

Maybe some bears, monkeys, deer,,, like those.

Lake Hibara

From a bridge. 

The view is like this.
Look so mystical to me. 

Green in mt and on the lake. 

Lake shore highway. 

Very peaceful. 

Very peaceful

I'm 80% sure this mt is Bandai. 

Wild white arum.

Lake view from a hill.

A highway to a next destination.

I visited a neighbor town.


5/29/2012

Mountains so high.

Yonezawa City of Yamagata is surrounded by the high mountains.  It's totally a basin-shaped valley town.  


The mother river of yamagata, Mogami river, starts from this mt area.
That's what this sign pole is saying.
 

Downtown Yonezawa is barely visible.

The Azuma mountains.
Still a lot of snow remaining.
@ the top of the West Azuma Sky Valley Highway.

The sign says ”altitude 1404m". Quite high.

Cool classic car @ the parking lot.

The other side of the mt. This is lake "Hibara".
  
What a nice view.
Also many high mountains
on the other side of the Azuma Mountains.

Mountains, mountains, mountains,,,
This side belongs to another state which is Fukushima.

The West Azuma Sky Valley Highway goes down to lake Hibara.

That classic car I bumped into @ the parking lot.

"Urabandai" means back side of the Mt. Bandai

Green world.

Green world.