Exploring the must-see sites of Tohoku, Japan

by Jessica Festa on

In the twentieth century, tourism was a major industry in Tohoku, Japan, due to its array of unique cultural offerings and beautiful landscape. However, on March 11, 2011, the region suffered much damage due to a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Now, a year later, the area is recovering nicely, and travelers will have no problem visiting the museums, parks, mountains, hot springs, and heritage sites of Tohoku.

So what exactly does Tohoku have to offer? For starters, it is an excellent place to learn about an untouched side of Japan. In fact, in the late 1800s, writer and naturalist Isabella Bird was so moved by the region’s natural beauty, she nicknamed it “Japan’s Garden of Eden.” Additionally, there is something for everyone. Adventure travelers will love trekking the Kitayamazaki Cliffs, exploring Rikuchu Kaigan National Park and spelunking in the Ryusendo Caves. If you’re looking for comfort, relax in one of the natural and curative hot springs. History buff? Museums, castles, sacred temples, and excavation sites abound.

To get a better idea of the beauty, culture, and history that Tohoku has to offer, check out the gallery below.

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An introduction to the food and dining etiquette of Tohoku, Japan

by Jessica Festa on

The Tohoku Region in Northeast Japan is comprised of six prefectures including Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. It is an area of beautiful mountainous landscape, lively entertainment and, most importantly, a delicious food culture. Although the region endures a harsh climate, it still manages to produce some extraordinary cuisine.

Before visiting the area, it is important to become familiar with the dining etiquette in Japan:

  • Meals are usually eaten at a low table on a tatami floor. Be sure to remove your shoes before entering the room and kneel down at the table.
  • Before eating, say “Itadakimasu” (I gratefully receive), and after finishing say “Gochiso sama Deshita” (Thank you for the meal).
  • Eating in Japan is a communal activity, and various dishes are usually shared among the group. Moreover, when drinking alcohol it is customary to serve each other instead of serving yourself, so keep your eyes peeled for empty glasses.
  • When eating noodles, slurping is considered polite, as is finishing every bit of food in your bowl.
  • On the other hand, burping, blowing your nose, bathroom talk, playing with chopsticks, pointing chopsticks or spearing food with chopsticks is considered offensive.
  • Don’t stick chopsticks into your food or pass food from your chopsticks to another person’s, as these are funeral traditions.
  • When you’re finished eating, lay your chopsticks down with the tips to the left.

Now that you know how to eat, you’re ready to see what you can eat. Check out the gallery below for a visual journey through Tohoku’s traditional cuisine.

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Meet the artists of Kanazawa, Japan

by Jessica Festa on

Kanazawa is an often overlooked destination in Japan, as travelers often assume the city has little to offer. In reality, the area has a breathtaking landscape, rich culture and a plentiful arts scene that has been around for generations.

Kanazawa’s thriving arts community dates back to the sixteenth century, when the powerful samurai family the Maeda clan brought hundreds of artisans from around Japan to the area. Over the following 500 years, the arts flourished — most notably in mediums of lacquer, gold leaf, ceramics, glass, silk and metalwork.

Today, Kanazawa’s artists and artisans still practice these traditional crafts. Furthermore, the city supports an active geisha culture, Noh theatre, an energetic poetry community, and a rapidly expanding network of contemporary artists. For tourists, this means the opportunity to visit working studios, meet the artists, understand the process, and in some cases, try a workshop for themselves. Kanazawa’s artists are proud of their community and feel the city’s small size encourages a strong support system that is hard to find in larger cities.

To learn more about art in Kanazawa and to meet some of the local artists, check out the gallery below.

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10 reasons to visit Kanazawa, Japan

by Jessica Festa on

One of the most overlooked destinations in Japan is Kanazawa. Although it is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, many tourists have not heard of the city or use it only as a quick stopover to other places. In reality, Kanazawa has a legacy in the arts, a rich cultural heritage, and many unique offerings that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. To help you learn a little more about the area, here are 10 reasons to visit Kanazawa, Japan.

A vibrant art culture

Kanazawa has a long history as a town of artisans, originally invited into the area by the Maeda clan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Some traditional art forms still found in the area include:

  • Lacquerware and maki-e, which is lacquerware decorated with gold leaf or gold powder. You can see an example of lacquerware, created by artist Masaru Nishimura, above.
  • Pottery, including suzuyaki, a naturally occurring black “glaze” on pottery, and kutani-yaki, a five-colored glaze painted in flower and nature patterns
  • Silk weaving thanks to the production by silkworms that live in pairs in the same cocoon
  • Kaga yuzen silk dyeing, which involves the complicated but beautiful processes of pattern transfers, paste coating, coloring, steaming, and rinsing
  • Kaga-nui embroidery, the delicate stitching technique used to create kimonos
  • Zogan wood inlay, where different materials are laid on top of one another
  • Mizuhiki craft, which is comprised of paper-string weaving

One of the unique aspects of Kanazawa’s art culture is that there are so many types of local art and artisanal crafts in a relatively small area. If visiting the region, one good idea is to visit a studio and see a craftsman at work, which you can learn more about by clicking here.High gold leaf production

Kanazawa literally means “gold marsh,” and 99% of Japan’s gold leaf is produced here. In Ishikawa, gold leaf has historically been used to decorate artisanal crafts, particularly lacquerware, since the sixteenth century. Both the gold leaf and lacquer industries in Kanazawa boomed during the Edo Period (1603 to 1868) under the Maeda clan of daimyô (feudal lords), who encouraged the development of artisanal crafts in the region. Kanazawa gold leaf was used to repair the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto in 1987, and Marie Antoinette reportedly owned lacquer boxes and small objects from Japan decorated with gold leaf produced here. Gold leaf can also be used to decorate textiles and to gild Buddhist altars, and edible gold leaf can be found on local cuisine.

Eco-friendly fishing opportunities

Teichiami, or fixed-net fishing, began in the seventeenth century and is still practiced in several areas of Japan, including Kanazawa. The nets, which never change position, stretch over 300 feet in diameter and are composed of several compartments. Fish enter through a hole that stretches many yards below the surface and are led through a maze of progressively smaller compartments until they reach “the vault,” which is the smallest compartment located at the end of the net. Fishermen visit the net each morning to pull up the fish.

Although commercial in scale, the practice is sustainable because the catch’s volume is determined by natural migration patterns instead of aggressive trawling. Furthermore, because migration patterns are seasonal, so is the catch. Like fruits and vegetables, the fish caught varies throughout the year: spring is known for squid, summer sees much mackerel, the fall catch has katsuo and giant squid, and winter is the season for Ishikawa’s famed buri – large yellowtail prized for their fatty flesh that many argue rivals even the finest tuna. If interested, visitors can opt to ride on the boats and try the fishing method for themselves by contacting Discover Kanazawa. In addition, you can watch a sushi chef prepare your catch before you enjoy it with a sake pairing.

Sacred mountains

The area surrounding Kanazawa is very mountainous. Mount Hakusan in southern Ishikawa is one of Japan’s three sacred mountains along with Mount Tateyama, in the neighboring Toyama prefecture, and Mount Fuji. Hakusan, whose name literally means “white mountain,” rises to 8,865 feet. The summit remains snowy throughout the year, and the mountain was once revered as the dwelling place of the gods. The Shirayama Hime Shrine, located in Hakusan City, is the main shrine of over two thousand Hakusan Shrines throughout Japan, including several near the summit of the mountain. From a practical standpoint, Hakusan protects Ishikawa from the typhoons that sweep along the prefectures south of the mountain in the late summer. There are some excellent hiking trails in this area, now designated as a national park, and the flora and fauna from late spring to early fall are especially beautiful. To learn more, click here.

Raw cooking

Kanazawa’s location between the mountains and the sea provides the area with a variety of delicious ingredients. The seafood – particularly the oysters and the winter yellowtail – is considered the best in Japan. There are 15 designated heirloom vegetables known as Kaga yasai, which include varieties of squash, cucumbers, potatoes, field greens, and herbs. The area is also home to many nihonshu (sake) breweries, which use the fresh water from Mt. Hakusan to create their unparalleled products. The local rice, particularly the koshihikari type, is prized throughout Japan. Sea salt is harvested from the shores of the Noto Peninsula using traditional techniques unique to the area, while more recent culinary endeavors include dairy farming and grape cultivation for winemaking. With the bounty of the fields, sea, and mountains, Kanazawa has a lot to offer visitors looking for fresh culinary experiences.

Beautiful landscape

Kanazawa is located in central Ishikawa between the Sea of Japan and the Northern Japanese Alps. The mountain range in the South of the prefecture and the rocky terrain of the Noto Peninsula in the North made the region historically difficult to access. However, during the reign of the Maeda clan from the late 16th-to-mid-19th centuries, present-day Ishikawa became one of the richest provinces in Japan, second only to the capital city of Tokyo. Rich in natural resources, the landscape boasts not only the sea and mountains, but also quiet bays, lush forests, expansive plains, and robust rivers.

The famous 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

The main reason that people visit Kanazawa is to stop by the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum aims to connect the region with the future of art by showcasing the “richly diverse art of our times [that] cuts across genres and transcends barriers of time and space.” People can expect pieces relating to the area of Kanazawa, newer works that propose new values, and art that can be used as a reference point for these values. Some current exhibitions include: The Swimming Pool, Blue Planet Sky, and Green Bridge.

There’s a well-preserved samurai district

Kanazawa’s samurai district is of particular interest as samurai families of varying ranks lived together in the same area. Kanazawa was spared from bombing during World War II, so the samurai residences, most of which are now private homes, remain intact. An excellent example is the Nomura House, now a museum open to the public. Although their garden is small, it contains all of the requisite features: waterfall, koi pond, stone lanterns, bridge, and pagoda. There is also an uguisubako (nightingale dovecote) displayed indoors, so the birds’ enchanting songs can be enjoyed. During winter, the mud walls of the houses are protected with komokake straw matting, making the area especially picturesque.

The city features the only active geisha district in Japan other than Kyoto

There are three historic teahouse districts: Higashiyama Chaya-gai, Nishi Chaya-gai, and Kazue-machi. All were created in the 1820s to regulate the entertainment and pleasure trades. Because the city and region were not damaged during the war, many of the original buildings have been preserved and restored. One can experience the architecture of the area with museums, geisha entertainment, or by visiting a restaurant or coffee shop housed in one of these structures. If you want to explore one with a local guide, Discover Kanazawa offers experiences with select teahouses in hopes of introducing visitors to this wonderful part of Kanazawa’s culture.

You can take part in special cultural festivals

There are numerous festivals and traditions to take part in during a visit to Kanazawa. First, there are the Kiriko Festivals. Kiriko are heavy rectangular lanterns made of wood and washi paper. The lanterns tend to be 3 to 16 feet high, built onto wooden carts or shouldered by festival participants who carry them through town streets – and sometimes into rivers and the sea. Typically held in July and August, these festivals are unique to the Noto Peninsula.

Kanazawa and Kaga in the southern region hold their own famous festivals from June-September, including light-ups, historical reenactments, dancing, fireworks, and a wide variety of lively rituals to pray for a good harvest of crops and fish. Abare Matsuri (the “fire and violence” festival) is perhaps the most famous due to wild ceremonies that include precariously maneuvering kiriko floats around bamboo stalks topped with blazing stacks of hay, and then smashing them in the river.

Another famous festival is the Hyakumangoku Matsuri in Kanazawa. The event takes place the first weekend of June and celebrates Lord Maeda Toshiie’s appointment as daimyô (feudal lord) of the Kaga province and entry into Kanazawa Castle in 1583. The festival is celebrated with a parade reenactment of residents in period costumes who march from the station to the castle. Hyakumangoku refers to the one million koku of rice that the domain was worth, which was about 5 million bushels. After sundown, hundreds of lanterns made of Kaga yuzen dyed silk are sent out to float on the river.

Students travel to Japan, help recovery efforts

by Chris Owen on

Travel to Japan was disrupted last year when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11. The disaster brought an alarming death toll, fear of nuclear explosion and travel alerts cancelling hundreds of flights and stranding tens of thousands of travelers. But that disaster also elicited enormous response from people all over the world who pledged their help to the affected area. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, recovery is well under way but there is a lot of work to be done. One of the organizations helping in the effort has students traveling to Japan for an immersive foreign travel experience like no other.

People to People Ambassador Group will be sending over 100 students to Japan in July for the first time since the devastation. These students were so committed to traveling to Japan that they’ve waited a full year to be able to make this trip.

People to People’s Spirit of Japan program puts student ambassadors in the heart of Japan, on an immersive itinerary that provides an immersion in a rural Japanese community where students will work at local schools and farms in the ravaged Tohoku area. The idea is to lend a hand to a host community, providing much needed help doing everything from assisting farmers in clearing their fields to teaching local students English. Working side by side with local citizens during a home stay with a Japanese family is part of the experience as participants offer up close and personal time with those actually affected by the natural disaster.

It is all part of People to People’s mission to get students involved and raise their global awareness with immersive experiential learning through travel.”In our interconnected world, we cannot be isolated-our decisions have an impact on other people, sometimes even those who live half a world away. Global citizens are people who accept a responsibility to others in their local and global community,” says People to People on its website.

Conditions in the affected area were so bad last year that it was unsafe for People to People groups to travel there. Both Narita (NRT) and Haneda airports (HND) which handle international and domestic flights for Tokyo were closed; leaving 14,000 passengers stranded. Sendai airport (SDJ), 300 kilometers to the north, was virtually destroyed by the tsunami.

Many travelers around the world felt the effect of Japan’s airport failures combined with a huge increase in demand for flights into Japan that had a cascading effect on travel. Airports from Canada to London saw delayed flights as the U.S. issued a travel alert urging U.S. citizens to avoid tourism and non-essential travel to Japan.

Here, some of the survivors look back-



Image provided by People to People