May is a wonderful time to be in Japan! Sakura are blooming in the north, the frost is finally gone, and people start going outside again. I must say that spring is by far one of my favorite seasons, but Japan has just encouraged my love for May (which just happens to be the month of my birth). Despite my bias to the fifth month of the year, I can’t help but love it even more when Japan offers me three public holidays that are so conveniently situated right next to each other on the calendar. That’s right folks, the first week of May in Japan brings Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day.
This wonderful cluster of “no work” days is referred to as Golden Week. You can probably infer from the name what exactly Constitution Memorial Day celebrates, but it is interesting to note that Japan’s present Constitution renounces war. In fact, Japan’s “army” is called a Self-defense Force and adheres to Pacifism. Greenery day is just what it sounds like as well. The day is a celebration of nature while the last day, Children’s Day, is a celebration of children growing older. It used to be focused on boys only, but now it is for all children. On this day you’ll find carp streamers or flags flying all around Japan. The carp is a fish that can swim upstream and even up waterfalls, so the Japanese relate the powerful fish to success in life.
I can personally appreciate all of the traditions that these holidays bring, but to be honest, the greatest thing about Golden Week for me is the time off work and the opportunity to travel. For my first Golden Week in Japan, I chose to travel to the Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures. I decided to make this adventure on my own, so I set out on May 1st with just my car and me. I had arranged to stay with a fellow JET who lived near Ishinomaki in the Miyagi prefecture. Through the JET program, we have something called the Tatami Timeshare, which is basically a list of people and where they live. Through this database, you can arrange to stay with other JETs for cheap accommodation during your adventures in Japan.
This blog entry will be a bit different, as I will be discussing my personal travel experience rather than the culture of Japan. To start off my trip, I headed to Monou town near Ishinomaki, Miyagi. The road trip took about 4 hours, but the drive was beautiful and it was nice to be exploring a bit on my own. After meeting my host for the first time, we headed out to Ishinomaki where we enjoyed visiting the Mangattan (comic museum dedicated to a local artist). I’m not a huge fan of Japanese manga (comics), but it was cool to see the museum itself. Outside of the museum were beautiful sakura trees that were in perfect bloom. That was honestly more exciting for me, but the manga cartoonist is famous in Ishinomaki and was a must-see since I happened to be there. After having our fill at the Mangattan, we headed to the top of the city (literally). There was a park with hundreds of sakura, but the trek up to the park was intense. Despite the “hill of death” that our kei car (small engine car) had to endure, the view was amazing and totally worth the trip.
On my second day in Miyagi, my host and I traveled for an hour to Akiu Waterfall. Personally, I’d say the trip wouldn’t have been worth it had it not been for our cold soba lunch and the onsen we visited afterwards. I’m a bit biased with waterfalls though because I’ve actually climbed one. This particular waterfall was pretty, but you couldn’t get very close as the path was blocked. After our sightseeing, we headed to Ichinobo onsen, which is now my FAVORITE onsen in Japan. (Granted I haven’t been to many.) For 1500 yen ($15), you enter the hotel, are given a yukata (Japanese robe) to walk around in, and you can enjoy the onsen for as long as you please. There was a men’s indoor onsen, and two outdoor onsens. (See the pictures) We relaxed all day because at 8:00 the outdoor onsens switched genders so the men could visit the big outdoor onsen… and it was worth the wait! The onsen had five different baths and they were all overlooking a river that was flowing past you. My favorite part was a “standing onsen” where the water was deep enough that you just walked through the pool with warm water standing up to your shoulders. I was in heaven, and my experience was only made better by the free massage chair that was in the lounge and the café where we enjoyed green tea cake with coffee and ice cream.
Unfortunately, I eventually had to leave the onsen, so after a night’s rest I headed to the famous Matsushima. Japan has 3 scenic views, and Matsushima is one of them. It is a cluster of islands that have pine trees on them, and when looked at from a high altitude, is a breath taking view that will leave you stunned. My enjoyment was again amplified by another café that provided me with chocolate torte, crème brulee, and coffee while overlooking sakura trees and Matsushima Bay. To end the day we had Sendai’s famous dish of gyuutan (cow’s tongue), which is actually rather tasty! You can’t leave the Miyagi prefecture without trying a plate of cow tongue and a bowl of ox tail soup.
On my final day in Golden Week, my host and I headed to the neighboring prefecture, Yamagata. Here there is a famous mountain, Mt. Zao, which has a crater lake at the top of it called Okama. Unfortunately, I think it would have been more enjoyable during the summer because it was still cold at the top. While we were driving to the top, we encountered about three different seasons’ temperatures. At the top of Mt. Zao the wind could literally blow you over, but it was still a great adventure. Okama was a little frozen still and we had to somewhat “ski” down part of the mountain in our shoes to reach a good view (my host may or may not have taken a little spill). Luckily we were able to stop ourselves and take a few pictures before starting the hike back up to the peak. After our mountain adventures were complete, we headed back down into Yamagata to experience a sulfur onsen, Dairotenburo. It was by far one of the most “open” onsens I have been in, as the walk down to the entrance allowed anyone (boys and girls alike) a clear view into the men’s onsen. When you got naked at this onsen, you were on view for all to see. Luckily I had gotten over my shyness long ago in my onsen experiences, and the bath was thoroughly enjoyable. Despite the “peeping toms” walking by (even though they couldn’t help but see into the bath), the onsen is a nice spa that provides ample room to wade around in. The water at the top bath is hotter than Hades, but if you like the heat, that’s where you want to be.
To end my trip we went into Sendai city, which is a good place to do some expensive shopping. They have everything from Gucci to Zara. My trip was mostly focused on nature, so we walked around a bit before heading off to Kappa Sushi for dinner. The next day I packed up my belongings and headed back to Akita. Golden Week had been a success and a nice break to the school year.
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