Sunday Afternoon in Yamagata

It's so laid-back in Yamagata. You can use your time as you want to - which means you get a lot of freedom. 

@ a cafe in Kaminoyama City

@ a cafe in Kaminoyama City.

@ a cafe in Kaminoyama City.
This is a bar counter of herb tea.

view from a hill in Nanyo City

there is a hang glider experience place
on the right side of this photo. 

this is the place to take off to the sky.

i dont do that though, coz i have a fear of heights. 

view of downtown Nanyo from anothr hill.

Zao Mountains in Ymagata & MIyagi

I had thought "Zao" was a name of single mountain, but it was wrong. I've found  " Zao ", which consists of many moutains,  is the name of the area located between the southern Yamagata and Miyagi. Very famous for skiing & snowboarding and hot springs.

I just drove thru the area.
This is Kawasaki town of Miyagi side.

I just drove thru the area.
This is Kawasaki town of the Miyagi side.

View from Sasaya Mt Path

View from Sasaya Mt Path

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.
Looking @ the Yamagata side.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.
Looking @ the Yamagata side.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.
Looking @ the Yamagata side.

Top of Sasaya Mt Path.
Looking @ the Yamagata side.

Kitakata City, Fukushima 2

Kitakata City is, as I wrote, originally a town where there are many historic warehouses. Most of them are now converted to shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. Very interesting city to walk around even if you don't stop by at a ramen shop. 

This werehouse is now,,,

a cafe. 

comfortable atmosphere. 

Coffee and homemade sweets.

Another warehouse converted to a cafe.

Their soy-bean ice cream was good.

This is a warehouse of sake brewery,
 if my memory is correct.

Guess what this hse is for? Definitely not an old warehouse.
This is a beauty salon, it doesn't look beautiful at all though.
Very retro.

Another retro stuff in downtown Kitakata.
Back to 60s.

It's classic.

It's classic.

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.