AaaoMori: Japan

Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

8/09/2012

People to People Student Ambassador in Aomori – 03

On the fourth day of their stay in Aomori Prefecture, the delegation left their　homestay families in Hirakawa. All of them had good families that they wailed because of sadness as they departed (see the photo from the local bulletin in the previous article - 01).

After arriving in Aomori City, they visited the Prefectural Office to make a courtesy call on the vice governor of Aomori. They told the vice governor how they enjoyed their stay in Hirakawa and loved the host families, sceneries, food, people and every single experience.

The vice governor said that he wants them to lead to promote international understanding and friendship through experiences in Aomori.

The delegation and Aomori Prefecture exchanged the gifts, a Tsugaru lacquer ware (Tsugarunuri) to the delegation and a hand-made Native American blanket to Aomori Prefecture. The blanket was supposed to be handed last year, but because of the Earthquake, the program was cancelled that students couldn’t come to Japan.

After receiving an official welcome, they visited Aomori Minami High School. They were enthusiastically welcomed that despite of a short time visit, both American and Japanese students became good friends.

They were off to Lake Towada, the last place to visit in Aomori. After staying an overnight at Lake Towada, they'd go to Hiraizumi which is the area of World Heritage Site in Iwate Prefecture.

The students seemed to enjoy their stay in Aomori that they said they want to come back one day.

I spent with them only for a few days, but I loved them a lot and I hope they’d never forget their experiences in Aomori.

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS: http://peopletopeople.com/

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet": http://en.aptinet.jp/

8/03/2012

People to People Student Ambassador in Aomori - 01

We had 22 students from the U.S. by People to People Ambassador Program. They spent 5 days in Aomori Prefecture, and experienced heaps of things.

They first visited Hirakawa City where they stayed with Japanese host families. Before they met their host families, they walked around the town viewing old style houses, gardens and warehouses.

On the second day, they enjoyed farming with their host families. They picked various vegetables, mowing the orchard and disbudded of grapes. (I didn’t accompany them on this day.)

Here’s the bulletin sent to my office from Onoe Warehouse Promotion Committee for Preservation, Utilization and Application, the host organization of farm staying. They show photos of farming and of the farewell on the last day in Hirakawa.

The next day, they would go to see the paddy field art in Inakadate Village.

This article continues to 02.

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet": http://en.aptinet.jp/

6/19/2012

"Nokkedon" - Seafood Bowl of Your Own Taste

I said Aomori is famous for apples and namaco (sea cucumber) in the previous posts, and this time, I recommend fresh seafood caught along the coast of Aomori.

"Nokke" means "dish up" and "don (donburi)" means bowl, and at "Aomori Gyosai Center (= Aomori fish and vegetable market)", you can get your original seafood bowl which can definitely be cheaper than the one at sushi restaurants.

This is Aomori Gyosai Center in Furukawa, Aomori-City, located only several-minute walk from Aomori Station, and you can get very fresh seafood, vegetables, dried seafood and delicatessen here.

First of all, you get a 1,000-yen ticket (100-yen x 10), and then you move to get rice in a bowl at the shop with an orange sign. 100 yen for regular serve, and 200 yen for larger serve.

500-yen ticket is also available.

At an orange sign shop, you can also get a green perilla, which is for both garnishing and flavoring, for 10 yen, and sushi vinegar for free.

With rice in a bowl in your hands, move to over 30 shops with blue flag to make your own bowl! At every blue flag shop, raw fish are cut into pieces, and cost between 100 yen – 200 yen (sea urchin is usually 300 yen).

In my case, scallop and salmon are must,
and in an aluminium cup, I have wasabi
flavored whelk.

Now “engawa”, soft bones supporting
the fins of a flatfish is added.

Spot shrimp in the middle.

Japanese taste omelet is added.

Boiled mantis shrimps and Japanese ice fish
(with cherry blossom flavoring) added.

Including pickles of mountain vegetable
beside the bowl, it cost just 1,000 yen.

This blue store curtain indicates the place you can
sit and enjoy your nokkedon. On the table,
chopsticks, soy sauce and wasabi are available.

You can have hot green tea and
cold barley tea for free.

It'll be crowded if you visit the market around noon.

Nokkedon is very convenient, and it's so good that you can choose your favorites only. Talking about ikura (salmon roe), I like it OK but I don't need it for my nokkedon.

It's worth trying that it costs only 1/3 of other restaurants and sushi bars.

Aomori Gyosai Center: 1-11-16 Furukawa, Aomori City
Aomori, Japan
http://www.aomori-ichiba.com/

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "aptinet": http://en.aptinet.jp/

6/07/2012

“Namaco” - Sea Cucumber

Aomori is famous for apples, but also “namaco” (sea cucumber) is quite famous that the catch is more than 1,200t every year.

Namaco is echinoderm same as sea urchin and starfish, and it’s consumed raw or people enjoy namaco soup or namako porridge using dried namaco.

There’s “Aomori Namaco Branding Council” to promote consumption of sea cucumbers, and they sell various products out into the market. Here are some of them.

Pancake

Looks like a namaco a bit.

With sesame paste filling.

Stickers: kids might feel familiar to namaco?

Fan

Post-it: very useful in the office

Cell-phone strap: real dried sea cucumber!

Cell-phone strap: (lucky charm) contains dried

sea cucumber powder

Black for oily skin, blue for dry skin and green for sensitive skin.

You can get these goods at ASPAM, Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center.

ASPAM: 1-1-40 Yasukata, Aomori-shi, Aomori Prefecture

Aomori Sightseeing Guide "apti net" : http://en.aptinet.jp/

5/18/2012

Lee SeoJin’s Ceramic Art Exhibition

Lee SeoJin, a famous actor, and popular both in Korea and Japan had made ceramics in the pottery “Tsugaru Kanayamayaki” in Kanagi area, Goshogawara City.

There was an exhibition of his ceramics in Aomori Museum of Art in February this year. Many fans who visited the museum then and those who couldn’t, both wished the exhibition to be held again, and there has started 2^nd one in ASPAM, Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center in Aomori City.

As my office is the organizer of the exhibition, I luckily could see the venue before opening.

There are Lee SeoJin’s hand-made ceramics, his photos taken while engrossed in pottery by Cho SeiHon. You can also watch a video of TV program shot during his stay in Aomori (no Japanese or English subtitles though).

The exhibition is from May 18^th to 27^th at Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center. To know the details, go to the blog of my co-worker, Floren, http://blog.naver.com/pjs2457.

5/09/2012

Very Proud of Cherry Blossoms.

I went to Hirosaki Park on May 6, to see cherry blossoms, but unfortunately, because of the bad weather on previous days, blossoms of Somei Yoshino (the most popular and common cherry blossoms) had already fallen. Blossoms had gone away from the trees, but you could still enjoy their petals on the ground. As the color of petals are rather white than pink, it looked like snow.