https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2007387/
To be quite honest, I was starting to drag at this point. I was hitting the end of the second week of travel. Although I had basically recovered from the upper respiratory infection I had had through the first week, I wasn’t at 100%. The previous day had been a long one.
Miyuki was picking me up with her husband and we were going to drive up into the mountains to a place called, “Hachimantai.” It was actually at the border of Akita and Iwate and quite famous for its hot springs. Along the way we were going to pick Miyuki’s friend, Chitose.
Chitose lived on the outskirts of the city. She commutes to the city where she ran a handicraft shop of some kind. She actually lived in her family’s second house, what the Japanese call a “besso／別荘.” Google translate calls it a villa, but I think these days we would call it a country home or a vacation home. I am guessing her family is rather wealthy to be able to afford a second house, but I don’t know. Her family lived in town at the main home.
As you can see, this is a very rural area considering we are only about 15 minutes from downtown. It is a heavily wooded area. Chitose’s house did have a very nice assortment of flowers in their garden.
Another interesting thing about the house is that the windows were built for displaying things like a store window. Even more interesting was that the display windows were at the back of the house where only deer (assuming there are deer), squirrels, and birds and can see whatever is displayed.
According to Chitose, her house also tapped into a local hotsprings. He furo was actually a little onsen so she took onsen baths every night.
Having picked up Chitose we made our way to Hachimantai. To be quite honest, I kind of dreaded this. I tend to abhor crowds and I knew Hachimantai was going to be crowded. You see, the real reason we were headed to Hachimantai was to see a natural phenomenon called, “The Dragon’s Eye.” It is only seen for a couple of weeks during the start of the summer and I was pretty sure half of Morioka was going to be visiting the area to see it.
The ride itself wasn’t very far, but I was pretty tired. I had already been traveling for a couple of weeks and was recovering from an upper respiratory infection. After making small talk with Chitose for several minutes I fell asleep so I don’t know how long were driving.
I pretty much woke up as we hit the parking lot. Considering we were so high up and that there was still a lot of snow on the ground, it was pretty warm. Miyuki had warned me to bring hiking gear and to be prepared for cold weather, but we didn’t need it.
Hachimantai is also at the border of Akita of Akita Prefecture so I guess I can say that I have also been to Akita. By the way, that’s what the sign in the picture says, “Akita Prefecture.” And for those of you not paying attention, Morioka is in Iwate Prefecture.
Interestingly, right next to the parking lot, there was a snow field. Actually, that’s not the interesting part. The interesting part is that there was what appeared to be a ski team having a practice here. As you can see the snow is pretty dirty. Moreover, with the heat, I am sure the snow was slushy. Not sure how great a practice it could have been. However, considering it was the last week of May, I guess you take what you can get.
The trailhead was right across the street from the parking lot. It was actually only about a 20 minute “hike” to the Dragon’s Eye. The only thing that made it a hike is that it was over semi-melted snow. Nothing treacherous except for the possibility of sliding on the snow and maybe hitting someone n the crowded trail. Apparently, the path continues on to the summit and from what I have seen on TV, it’s not far past the Dragon’s Eye.
So without further adieu, here is the Dragon’s Eye. The lighting really doesn’t do it justice.It was almost midday so the light kind of washed out the blueness of the water. Of course, the dirtiness of the snow doesn’t help either.
After returning from the awe-inspiring Dragon’s Eye, we stopped at the visitors center for a brief meal and headed off to a local onsen, which wasn’t too far down the road.
This place, Toshichi Hotsprings, is pretty nondescript. It is old and I think that’s part of the branding of the place. There are accommodations, but if you are not used to old school facilities then this is not the place for you.
Men’s and Women’s facilities are separate…sort of. Of course, there are inside facilities, but since it is the countryside, there are open air facilities as well. I have been in hotsprings where the open air parts are co-ed. This place was not technically co-ed, but the set up was rather strange.
The outside area has a series of pools going down a mild slope with a boardwalk connecting them as you can see in the photo. The pools are quite muddy. I guess you are supposed to rub the mud on your body.
The picture here is where the men congregate. So just imagine a lot of naked dudes lounging around the pools you see here. And what about the women? do you see the wooden fence on the top left of the photo? The woman’s area is behind that. So far so good. However, the women’s indoor pool is located somewhere off picture on the bottom right. That’s right. If a woman wants to go to the outdoor part she must walk through the men’s area. So technically segregated, but not really. While I was outside a couple of women did walk through, but nobody raised an eyebrow.
From here we headed back into Morioka, but not before stopping off at a michi-no-eki. Some of these michi no eki can be pretty elaborate.
This particular one had goats and rabbits on display for some reason. Not a petting zoo, but pretty close to it. We indulged in some soft cream while also browsing the store for local specialties. Nothing really jumped out at me.
From here we headed to Chitose’s house so she could pick up her car. We were planning to have dinner at Miyuki’s house and Chitose needed to be able to drive back to her home. On the way to her house we found a nice spot with a view of Mount Iwate. This is a popular photography spot as you can imagine. That lone tree is a cherry tree so I ma sure this place is crowded during the blooming season.
We eventually made our way back to Miyuki’s house. Her house is quite unusual. Her husband, who is an architect, designed it. It has a very Scandinavian feel to it. It’s strange because another architect friend of mine from Sapporo has a very similarly built house, which he himself also designed. I asked Manabu, Miyuki’s husband, if he knew my friend, Ryo Yamada. My friend lived and worked in Sapporo. Manabu went to University and then worked in Sapporo before moving back to Morioka. He had not heard of Ryo.
Manabu is a pretty interesting guy. His father was an architect and he moved back to Morioka to take over the business when his dad retired. He had attended Hokkaido University and then stayed in Sapporo after graduation. That’s where he met Miyuki.
There were 2 interesting things about Manabu. First, for some reason he was a big fan of some young female idol singing group. I know this because I had to listen to the same music for the whole day while in his car. he had this group on a loop on his car stereo. He even had like some DVDs of their concerts at his house. Actually, this is more creepy than weird because the guy is about my age.
The other interesting thing about Manabu, and this is truly interesting, is that he plays the banjo! Apparently, while he was at Hokkaido University he took an interest in American Blue Grass music and learned how to play. Weirdly, I have only ever met 2 people who play the banjo, and both of them are Japanese. Go figure. He has a band and they perform at local festivals sometimes.
And just for comparison, here is the other banjo guy I met. This was taken in Tokyo several years earlier at Yoyogi Park.
The night ended after we had had dinner. I had a long day the next day so I didn’t want a late one. I would be renting car and heading out to the coast of Iwate.
Peregrinations in the Land of the Rising Sun 
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