TOHOKU - Embassy of Japan

In Sendai, I visited the airportbecause I wanted to meet andspeak with Junichi Ishimori, itsDirector, who, along with many ofhis staff, was trapped in the airportfor 3 days after the tsunamihit. Sendai Airport is 13.6 km southeastof Sendai itself, but just 1.2 kmfrom the ocean. During the tsunami,waves as high as 5.5 metrescrashed into the terminal, causingdamage to the first two floors andrelocating several of the 200 carsparked outside that day insidethe building. 1,700 people werein the airport at the time of thedisaster–700 passengers, 400 localresidents who had evacuatedto the airport thinking it was thesafest place to go, and 600 staffmembers and small business/kiosk owners. Mr Ishimori spoke tome about bravery. And the sheeradmiration he has for his team.He told me in particular about oneemployee who witnessed (fromthe roof of the airport) her homebeing destroyed; her grandmother,she knew, was inside and mostlikely dead. Nonetheless, she refusedto take time to grieve andworked tirelessly to look after theevacuees and passengers, whosewelfare she and her colleaguestook on as their personal responsibility.Ishimori-san is also one ofthe rare people I met who havethe ability to find a bit of humourin what was one of the darkestdays in his country’s recenthistory. As I left, he passed me asmall present. It was a box of eggcustard buns (hagi no tsuki) thatare a specialty of Sendai. Ishimorisansaid that these were once hisfavourite sweet treat. But over the3 days that he, his colleagues, theevacuees and passengers weretrapped in the airport, they basicallylived off airport snacks. Whatwas once his favourite local foodsouvenir is now something hecan’t bear to eat.What was particularly interestingto me was Ishimori-san’sthoughts on how to increaseforeign tourism numbers in Tohoku.As the head of the region’slargest airport, this is, of course,something he is very interestedin. Further, since the centralgovernment has decreed thatforeign (and domestic) tourism isa necessity in rebuilding Tohoku’secomomy, it’s something manypeople are thinking and talkingabout. I asked Ishimori-san directlywhat he thinks has to be done.Three things from our discussionstood out. First, Ishimori-san saidthat Tohoku needs to increaseresources that will appeal to andattract foreign tourists. He advocatescreating “world’s best” attractionsthat will garner internationalattention. “We should buildsomething like the world’s bestand biggest aquarium,” he said.“We need such attractions. Becauseeven if I run the best, mostefficient airport…no matter howgreat this airport is, people won’tfly to Sendai to see the airport. Weneed to create things they wantMrs Abe of the Hotel Kanyo

to see.” The second point wasmore of a question, and one thatIshimori-san hasn’t yet come upwith a solution to. “We have largestretches of empty land now,because of the tsunami. We needa clear and visionary plan to dosomething with this land.” WhatIshimori-san left unsaid but wasclear, is that development of thiskind and scale cannot be left to individualtowns or cities; it’s somethingthat needs to be addressedby the regional or central government.Which dovetails nicely intothe third point I found particularlynoteworthy. Ishimori-san sees avital need to promote the regionof Tohoku as a whole, somethingwhich can only be done if all thevarious stakeholders are able tocome together and work together.He told me that right now, andbefore the disasters, there was nosense of promoting the region–each town or city or prefecturedid their own thing. “Compare, forexample,” he told me, “the numberof onsens and golf coursesin Tohoku versus, say, Hokkaido.Tohoku has many more of both.But if I compare visitor arrivals ineach region’s main airports, Hokkaidogets one million visitors ayear, while we see two hundredto three hundred thousand only.Hokkaido has done a brilliant job ofbuilding a regional brand, somethingwe lack.”Tourism is a issue that Mrs Abe,ower of the Hotel Kanyo in Minamisanriku,is also trying to address.Minamisanrikyu was one of thetowns most severely damagedby the tsunami. Over 80 percentof the town disappeared in aninstant, leaving behind the singlelargest death toll of any town inJapan. Before the tsunami, Minamisanrikuwas a beautiful littletown, with a thriving salmon fishingindustry and picture-perfectviews that drew travellers fromacross Japan. Mrs Abe told methat she’s worried, worried aboutall the businesses that havebeen destroyed by the incidentand worried because so many ofthem may never be able to startup again or be replaced. Like othersin her region, she knows thattourism is one of the keys to thefuture. To try and build a capacityto service foreign guests, she’senrolled many of her staff in Englishconversation courses. She’salso set up a daily tour, led by alocal survivor, that leads gueststhrough the ruins of the town. It’san emotional hour-long experience,as the guide talks about lostfriends and tells the story of localheroine Miki Endo. This 24 year oldcity worker broadcasted evacuationannoucements, refusingto leave her post, even as the 16metre waves crashed into thebuilding she was broadcastingfrom. Only a small number of hercolleagues, who clung to the antennaon the roof of the buildingsurvived.The site of the new Isobe Community Centre

When we met, Mrs Abe told methat the only real redevelopmentof what was once the towncentrehas been the removal ofdebris. She’s desperately waitingfor someone to do something, tosee and hear a real plan for howher town and other towns likehers will be brought back to life.For her and many others like her,it’s a frustrating situation.One project that I saw in Tohokuthat was particularly inspiring wasa hydroponic lettuce farm, set upin Rikuzentakata. Like Minamisanriku,Rikuzentakata was almostentirely wiped out by the tsunami.Much of what was once farmlandis now, because of high-levelsof sodium and debris, unfertile.After assessing the area, the citygovernment designated certainsections of such farmland for hydroponicfarming — the only kind ofagriculture possible at that point.Enter Takaaki Abe, who grew up inAomori, the northern most prefectureof Tohoku. Mr Abe, a formerbanker, had started Granpa Co,a hydroponic farming businessin 2004. Eager to help his homeregion, when he heard about thedesignated hydroponic farmingsites in Rikuzentakata, he quicklyagreed to build a farm there (ofcourse, it helped that the governmentalso gave the Granpa farmin Rikuzentakata a 300 million yensubsidy).The farm started operations inAugust 2012, employing twentylocal staff to help manage 8 pods/farms, with five more soon tobe set up. Granpa’s hydroponicsystems are amazing to see.Vegetables are grown in water,on rotating metal wheels, setinside giant climate controlledand ultra-bright bubble tents. Thesystem, I was told, is patented andis something unique to Granpa.At the Rikuzentakata farm, theygrow three varieties of lettuce: frill,red coral and greenspan. They canharvest 470 heads a day duringwarmer months and 300 a dayin the winter. The product here isfantastic — yes, I did sample thedifferent kinds of lettuce. And thisfarm supplies Subway sandwichoutlets across the region, TokyoDisneyland, and Aeon, a nationwidesupermarket chain.I was super-impressed with thisproject. And I was glad to hearthat many municipal governmentswithin Tohoku are studyingthis project. So much of Tohoku’scoastline, and so much of its borderingfarmland are still unusedwastelands. Developing theseareas into hydroponic farm zonesmakes sense. These farms canbe set up just about anywhere, sowhy not in places that are beingunderutilized or that cannot bedeveloped for different reasons?These farms can bring in revenue.And they can create employment.There are, from what I could see,only positives about replicatingthis project across the region.Another positive developmentthat I happened to visit was inSoma, a coastal city in Fukushima.Parts of this city were totalled bythe tsunami, including and especiallyone residential area calledIsobe. Three hundred and fortyfour buildings and homes in thatarea were washed away, includingthe local community centre.Mr Koyama Kenichi, a city workerwhom I met in Soma, told methat while funds from the centralgovernment were made availableto rebuild municipal buildingsand temporary homes, facilitieslike community centres were notsupported. That said, a new Isobecommunity centre is being built,funded entirely through donationsthat came in through theSingapore Red Cross. This newcommunity centre is one of fourfacilities made possible throughdonations from the Singapore RedCross. Kenichi-san took me to thesite. It is built on high ground, nextto a middle school that acted asan evacuation centre during thedisaster. Work has, in fact, justbegun. Kenichi-san asked me topass along his city’s thanks toeveryone in Singapore. For communitiesthat have had to dealwith a tragedy as great as the2011 tsunami, such centres, whileseemingly non-essential to somebureaucrats when drawing upbudgets, are, he said, truly vital inrebuilding and restoring hope.Tohoku has a long hard roadahead of it. Tourism is just oneway that the region can hopeto rebuild its economy. But to beable to welcome more foreigners,the stakeholders in the regionalso need to invest in tools andskills. People like Mrs Abe, whohas started English conversationclasses for her staff, are doingwhat is right and necessary. Resourcestoo should be developed.There are few guides to Tohoku inEnglish or other languages thattarget today’s travellers. Givenhow great the onsens and sakebreweries are in this region, guidescentered around those topicswould certainly be welcome.I also really like Mr Ishimori’s ideathat Tohoku should build one ormore world class attraction. Butsuch developments cost money.It also requires true regionalmasterplanning. I can only hopethat the regional government, thecentral government and agencieslike the Japan Tourism Agencycan work together to put togethera true masterplan for the regionand gain access to the funds tomake their ideas a reality.There are others like Mr Ishimorithat have interesting ideas. InRikuzentakata, Deputy MayorTakashi Kubota wants to turn thedevastasted coastline into a nationalpark. In Ichinoseki (in Iwateprefecture), the gentlemen whorun the chamber of commercethere launched the Naka TohokuMochi Summit, a festival celebratingthis versatile Japanese rice

dumpling (that can be servedsweet or savory) that they hopebecomes a huge tourism draw(last year, 3,000 people attended).And while all these ideas are great,as Mr Ishimori opined, all of thesestakeholders need to start workingtogether more closely. So thatTohoku the brand can start to bebetter developed and promoted.Tohoku also needs to rebuild in somany other ways. Communitiesneed to be rekindled. Towns needto be rebuilt. Industries need to eitherbe redeveloped or alternativesneed to be kickstarted. It’s a regionwith a very tough road ahead of it.But one very much deserving ofyour attention. And, if possible, yourhelp.The municipal building where Miki Endo was broadcasting from

Shower here before oozing into your onsenTOHOKU ISJAPAN’S HOTSPRING PARADISEThere are few things as relaxingand pleasurable than taking abath–Japanese style–in naturalhot spring water. For those of youwho have yet to experience thejoys of the onsen (the Japaneseterm for hot springs and bathsusing their waters), you haveno idea what you are missing. I,myself, didn’t until a few yearsago. For most of my life, I’ve beena shower person. I truly didn’t seethe point of and never appreciatedbaths. But then, for a consultancygig I had undertaken for ahotel collections company, I spenttwo and half weeks visiting someof Japan’s most beautiful andunique boutique hotels and inns,several of which boasted onsensamong their main selling points.That trip was a revelation. I cameback home wishing I had built alarge, Japanese style, overflowingbathtub in my own home. Onsenwaters are quite amazing. Hot, ofcourse, but also therapeutic andhealing (different onsens, becauseof distinct mineral content, mayhave different healing properties).After soaking in an onsen, youfeel remarkably better. Use themrepeatedly and you feel prettydarned amazing. Also, there’s nobetter way to get ready for a greatnight’s sleep than lounging in pipinghot onsen waters for a fewminutes.Japanese style bathing is very differentfrom bathing, well, almostanywhere else. You don’t go into apublic (or even private) bath dirty.First, you shower, scrubbing yourselfclean. And only then do youslide yourself into the hot springwaters. In most onsen areas, youwill find hotels that have privatefacilities open to guests as well asa public bath that townsfolk canpatronize, for a small fee. Further,different hotels will offer guests arange of choices. Some will onlyhave communal (but same sex)baths, while others will allow youto reserve a smaller bath for ahalf an hour or so. And the moreluxurious ryokans (inns) and hotelswill even have rooms and suiteswith their own private onsens.For onsen-beginners, and peoplethat are a tad shy of strutting theirstuff in front of strangers, finding aryokan or hotel with private bathsor baths you can reserve is veryimportant.While you can find nice onsensall over Japan, Tohoku–Honshu’s

(the main island) northeast region,which consists of seven prefectures–boastsover 4,000 naturalhot springs, making it in my book,Japan’s onsen capitol. And thebest place to go if you’re thinkingof experiencing some of the country’sbest onsens.My trip to Tohoku kickstarted witha bullet train into the Fukushimaprefecture in order to get to HigashiyaOnsen, where the Saitohfamily have been running theShosuke-no-yado Takinoyu onsen-hotelfor the last 131 years. Thehotel is gorgeous, situated right atthe entrance of this hot springsresort town. It offers a smartlyengineered mix of Japanese traditionand modern comforts, includingWestern style beds and flatscreen TVs. Shosuke is used towelcoming foreign guests, manyof whom are visiting friends andrelatives working in Aizu, the closestmajor town. The hotel has 60rooms and 8 onsens, all of whichcan be reserved for private use.Several of the rooms also havea private rotenburo (open-air hotspring bath), which is a real luxury.The baths here are all beautiful,many with postcard-perfect viewsof the local scenery. Their rooftoponsen was particularly magnificent.For the Saitohs, showcasing Japanesetradition is very important.One of the ways they achieve thisis through a nightly performance,which takes place in a beautifultheatre they have built on theside of the hill that faces theirlobby. Guests can comfortably sitin the lobby and watch live Nohperformances or, if the weatheris too cold, a projected sound andlight show which tells the storyof Aizu’s history. Showcasing localproduce is equally important.Ninety percent of the food servedin their restaurant comes fromthe local area; which is somethingthe Saitohs have always practiced,but now, post-earthquakeand tsunami, something vitallyimportant in rebuilding the livelihoodsof the farmers and fishermenof Fukushima.I next visited Tatsumiya SansoSatonoyu, a much more traditionalryokan in Fukushima thathas some of the most gorgeousrotenburo I have ever seen. Thefirst photo to the left is of one oftheir outdoor hot spring baths. Ofcourse, Satonoyu also has indoorbaths as well–the inn has six onsensin total–all of which can bebooked for private use.Satonoyu is hidden down a steepand narrow road, inside the BandaiAsahi National Park. It is surroundedby a beautiful virginforest. During warmer months(when I visited it was zero degreesCelsius outside), guests canexplore the area via walking pathsthat the ryokan’s owner has setup throughout his property. Thisis a place for escaping the hustleand bustle of the world; a place toAn outdoor onsen at Satonoyu

The visionary Tatsuya Ichijohgo when you want to experiencetrue, classic, and formal Japanesehospitality. While Satonoyu doesnot receive too many foreignguests, it is very popular amongJapan’s elite, including membersof the royal family.Perhaps the most stunning of allthe onsen ryokans and hotels Ivisited during this trip was YunishiIchijoh, located at Kamasaki Onsenin Miyagi prefecture. This stunningproperty was founded in 1560 andhas been run by the Ichijoh familythrough 20 generations. The currentscion is Mr Tatsuya Ichijoh, avisionary who has transformed hisfamily’s property radically over thelast decade. Previously, Ichijoh wasa traditional inn, frequented mostlyby senior citizens who came totreat their ailments through longsoaks in the hot spring waters.But Tatsuya, hotel school-trainedand who had worked in some ofTokyo’s top international hotels,wanted to create a new kind ofryokan, one that epitomized luxuryat all levels. His plan would requireextensive renovations as well as atotal mindset shift among staff.Today, Ichijoh is a truly luxuriousaccommodation that, to me atleast, represents the future of upscaleyet still intimate hospitalityin Japan. The staff are startlinglyyoung, well-groomed and immaculatelyoutfitted in dark suits. Almostall of them also speak passableEnglish. The rooms are lushlyfurnished, with state of the artaudio and visual systems, supercomfortableWestern beds andother amenities that make spendingthe night here a true pleasure.I was thrilled to spot plusminuszero’sNaoto Fukasawa-designedhumidifier, as well as M’s System’sMS Series speaker (somethingI’ve coveted since first seeing onein the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo), in myroom. I was also lucky enough tostay in one of two rooms with aprivate onsen. The bathing roomwas very smartly designed sothat it can be opened up to theelements in nice weather. Ichijohalso has an additional six onsens,two of which are “medicated”baths that some claim are able toheal skin wounds and even burns.Dining at Ichijoh was also a wonderfulexperience. I was surprisedand thrilled to see a wine list withwines recommended and stockedby Berry Bros & Rudd, the UK’s oldestand most iconic wine merchant.My overall stay was a prettynear perfect experience. The onlydownside was that my wife wasat home in Singapore with myson; I would have loved for her tohave been with me. Tatsuya hastruly accomplished his goal ofcreating a new level of luxury andsetting a new standard of servicein the ryokan trade. He’s donesuch a good job in fact that JTBhas been bringing other ryokanowners to Ichijoh to learn fromhim, hoping to raise the overallstandard across the country.One of the towns that was hit the

One of the onsens at Hotel Kanyohardest by the tsunami was Minamisanriku,in Miyagi prefecture.This once-picturesque seasidevillage was known for its stunningviews and super-fresh seafood.Tragically, the tsunami wiped outalmost 95% of the town, claimingalso the lives of thousands of itsresidents. Minamisanriku.The Hotel Kanyo is Minamisanriku’slargest and most iconic hotel.Built high on a cliff overlooking thetown, the property suffered onlyminimal damage to its first twofloors when the tsunami hit. Inthe aftermath, the hotel played amajor role in keeping the survivingtownspeople together. It housedcitizens that had lost their homesas well as aid workers who arrivedlater. The hotel’s owner Mrs Abebuilt a school and a library in thehotel, which still operate today.And she continues to allow all ofthe town’s senior residents to usethe property’s stunning onsens forfree.The views of the ocean from thehotel are still amazing. As are boththe indoor and outdoor onsenshere. Equally amazing is the foodserved at the hotel. Standoutsfrom an incredible dinner I hadthere were a whole abalone, slowgrilled and served with butter andsoy, and a bowl of the some ofthe best ikura I have ever tasted,served over rice with slices of rawabalone. But the point of cominghere isn’t the fabulous hot springsnor the exquisite seafood. It is tolend support to a town very muchin need of visitors.The last onsen I visited wasYabitsu Onsen, located just ashort drive from Hiraizumi, animportant 12th century UNESCOWorld Heritage site in Tohoku’sIwate prefecture. Zuisenkaku is avery traditional ryokan-style hotelfounded in 1989. The hotel has twoindoor and two outdoor baths. Thewaters here are well-known locallyfor treating muscle pain, digestiveproblems, and skin diseases.They are also supposed to begood for physically weak children.Both modest and more luxuriousrooms–all traditional–are availablehere. While few staff speakEnglish well, this is a lovely placeto spend the night on the way toHiraizumi.Websites for the ryokans and hotelsmentioned above:http://shousuke.com/http://www.satonoyu.com/http://www.ichijoh.co.jp/http://www.kanyo.co.jp/http://www.zuisenkaku.com/top

BOOZING ONE’SWAY THROUGHTOHOKUDrink-lovers (like me) have goodreason to plan a Tohoku holiday.This scenic region northeast ofKanto (the region in which Tokyosits) is home to some of the bestsake breweries in Japan. WhileNiigata, which borders Tohoku, andwhich technically sits in Japan’scentral Chubu region, may bethe one prefecture most famousamong foreigners for top-endsake, the producers in Tohoku’sprefectures churn out equally exceptionalhooch.Sadly, many of the region’s topbreweries were damaged bythe earthquake (and tsunami) inMarch 2011. Of the 114 breweriesin Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushimaprefectures, for example, 93 wereaffected, according to the JapanSake and Shochu Makers Association.Yet despite this, Tohoku’ssake sales in 2012 were higherthan those in pre-earthquakeyears. This demand for Tohokusake was, according to newsreports, fueled by both domesticand foreign consumers eager tohelp the region’s brewers. Accordingto a report in the Asahi Shimbun,a questionnaire conducted ata sake festival in Tokyo in the Fallof 2011 revealed that 44 percent ofrespondents were drinking moresake from Tohoku than before theMarch 11 disaster. And, accordingto one sake brewer, once peopletasted and realised how good theregion’s sake was, the demandcontinued to rise.During my recent whirlwind tourof Tohoku, I enjoyed many localsakes. And visited one ratherspecial brewery. Suehiro Shuzo,founded in 1850 and located inAizu, Fukushima, is one of theregion’s largest and most famousproducers. It also makes the Emperorof Japan’s favourite sake (itis called Gensai) Suehiro is alsowell-known among sake loversbecause it was here, in between1913 and 1915, that the Yamahaimethod of brewing sake–a methodin which the brewer creates his“starter” by allowing the enzymesin the koji he uses to break downrice naturally and undisturbed–was pioneered. The resulting sakeis said to have a gamier, wilder,and fuller flavour.The sake I tasted at Suehiro wasall quite special. I enjoyed an agedsake, which had an almost sherrylikequality and their sparkling,which unlike most sparkling sakes,

was more dry than sweet. But itwas Suehiro’s Daiginjos and Honjozosthat really had me swooning.Suehiro’s Kira was dry and bracing.The brewery’s owner Mr ShinjoInokichi told me that this sake isvery popular in the United States;it is served in some of the country’stop sushi bars. Suehiro’s MaiDaiginjo was mellow, fragrant andvery refined. Mr Inokichi whisperedto me that the Conrad Bangkokserves this sake, but marked upsome 1,000%!Suehiro Brewery is open to visitors,and offers hourly guidedtours. The tour includes a walkthrough the brewing areas withexplanations of the sake makingprocess, a small museum withdisplays of the brewery’s historyand the history of sake making,and a visit to the factory storewith a tasting bar where you cansample from and buy nearly theirentire product line.One of the things I was mostlooking forward to in Tohoku wasvisiting Nikka Whisky’s Miyagikyodistillery in Sendai. I’m a fan ofJapanese whiskies. In fact, for themost part, I prefer Japanese whiskyto Scottish whisky (my ownpersonal favourite everyday pouris Suntory’s Hibiki 17 year old). I wasvery much looking forward to seeinghow Nikka made its whiskiesas well as getting the chance totaste and purchase some specialproducts/releases that might onlybe available at the distillery.The distillery itself is also reallypretty. It made me think of an IT oruniversity campus. Red-brick buildingssurrounded by lush sceneryon all sides. You couldn’t imaginea nicer or more idyllic place to producesuch beautiful product.And boy, did I get to sample somesimply stunning product. At theend of the tour, you are led to alarge bar. There you will be givenfree samples of three of Nikka’smore standard whiskies. Beyondthat bar, down a small staircase,lies a large gift shop. And just pastthe gift shop, in a discrete corner,sits a small, elegant bar, lookedafter by one elder gentleman. Thisis where you can order tastes ofthe full range of whiskies availableat the Miyagikyo distillery.My guide and I, both whisky lovers,approached the bar grinning likelittle kids. She immediately wentfor the top quality stuff, orderinga taste of a 25 year old singlecask whisky. I started slow, askingabout the 12-year old “Key Malts”that were on display. In particular,I was keen to try the “sherry &sweet”, which I was told was agedin sherry casks, and the “fruity &rich”, which was aged in bourboncasks. While the former was a tadtoo sweet for my palate, I reallyloved the latter, and picked up abottle for myself and another fora friend. I then moved on to try afew more really superb whiskies,but the one that stood out (forme at least) was a 20-year old

Miyagikyo Single Cask that hadbeen aged in a sherry cask. Whilethis whisky was sweet, it also hadimmense depth and power. Atruly stunning drink. While pricey,I couldn’t help but pick up a bottlefor myself and one for my brother,also a whisky fan.After this experience, I’ll definitelybe planning return trips to Miyagikyoas well as trips to other whiskydistilleries across Japan. In fact, I’malready plotting to visit Suntory’sYamazaki brewery when S and Igo to Kyoto this coming April.When I was planning this trip,visiting a beer brewery was notsomething I had originally considered.But on one of the days, wehad a couple of hours to kill onthe way to check into our hotel inSendai, so we decided to pop bythe Kirin Brewery in Sendai. Thisparticular factory was very heavilydamaged during the tsunami. Itwasn’t until 8 months after, in fact,that the brewery was able to startshipping product again.our tour guide demonstrated the“proper” way to pour a beer. Whichwas more amusing (to me) thaneducational.Suehiro Shuzo (sake brewery)http://www.sake-suehiro.jp/top.htmlNikka Miyagikyo distilleryhttp://www.nikka.com/eng/distilleries/miyagikyo.htmlKirin Sendai Breweryhttp://www.kirin.co.jp/about/brewery/factory/sendai/http://www.visitjapan-tohoku.org.e.cr.hp.transer.com/zone/sendai/program/649/The Kirin Brewery offers grouptours to visitors. It’s a simple walkthrough of the facilities, duringwhich the brewing process isexplained. After that, guests areushered to a large hall and, as youwould expect, a long bar. Everyvisitor is allowed up to 3 pints ofthe various Kirin beers on draught.This is why, in my estimation, thetour is as popular as it appeared tobe. As we were sipping our suds,

MATSUSHIMA OYSTERFESTIVAL ANDENTSUIN TEMPLEMatsushima, a small city nearSendai in the Miyagi prefecture (inTohoku, Japan), is worth visitingany time of the year. The Japaneseconsider the views of MatsushimaBay, teeming with morethan 260 small islands, to be oneof the most beautiful views in thecountry. As you may or may notknow, the Japanese love makinglists. Especially lists that rankthings. They are also a peopleobsessed with natural beauty,man-made beauty and festivals.So, for centuries, they have designatedand celebrated things likethe country’s top three gardens,Kyoto’s top five Zen temples,Japan’s top three festivals featuringfloats, Kamakura’s top tenwells, etc. Most famous amongthe many designations might beJapan’s three most scenic places.Selected several hundred yearsago, they are Matsushima, Miyajimaand Amanohashidate.But while nature lovers mightflock to Matsushima all year round,for me, there was one specificweekend over which I knew I hadto visit. You see, aside from itsviews, Matsushima is also famousfor its big, plump, flavourful oysters.And every first Saturday andSunday in February, the townhosts its annual MatsushimaOyster Festival. If you’re an oysterlover, this is one shindig that yousimple must experience at leastonce in your life!It’s simply amazing being in townduring this festival. The night before,every hotel and inn in town iscompletely full. The hotel I stayedin, The Hotel Matsushima Taikanso,which offer the best scenicviews of the bay, was packed withhordes of happy, enthusiastic,foodies who were excited aboutspending the following day fillingtheir bellies with fresh oysters.Most were, as you would expect,local Japanese, but they hadcome from all over the country.The festival is very famousdomestically. And, because theregion was still suffering from theafter-affects of 2011′s tsunami andearthquake, last year’s festival hadbeen cancelled. I was told by staffat the hotel that the response thisyear had been so incredible, bothbecause people were so excitedthat it was being held again andalso because they were keen tohelp support the region.

As said earlier, the festival usuallylasts the whole weekend. Butbecause the fisheries and oysterfarms in this part of Tohoku arestill recovering, this year therewere only enough oysters for oneday. That, however, didn’t stoppeople from coming.The festival opened officially at930am but people were in line inthe cold winter weather as earlyas 845am, queuing for both placesto set up their own little areas, forbags of oysters they could purchase,and for a free oyster stewthat was being dished out to allattendees. By 1030am, all roadsinto Matsushima were jammedwith rows and rows of cars, filledwith local travellers who were drivinginto town to attend the festivalthat day. I was really glad that Ihad spent the night at a hotel intown as opposed to trying to drivein on the day itself.The festival is set up in three mainparts. In one large area, attendeescan pick out a spot and setup their own grilling/barbecueequipment, chairs, tables, etc. Essentially,they build a little area forcooking and a little area for eating.Many just ate directly over the grill.In another area, for a small fee,you could rent a little area alreadyset up with a grill and chairs. Inboth these areas, you’re expectedto cook your own food — basicallya giant DIY oyster roast. Upon enteringthe festivals, you’ll encounterlarge stalls from which you canpurchase big bags of super-freshand juicy oysters, plus other seafood.The third area hosts a foodmarket. Here you can purchaseall kinds of seafood, cooked onthe spot in front of you, as well asother yummy things. You can alsopurchase drinks (beer and locallybrewed sake mostly) as well asgourmet products to take homeas souvenirs. I had a blast eatingmy way through several stalls,especially enjoying the oystersgrilled in their shell and also deepfriedin batter.For my American readers, thisfestival seems similar to the LowcountryOyster Festival held annuallyin Charleston, South Carolina.If you’ve been there and enjoyedit, you should definitely considerplanning a holiday to Matsushima’sfestival. Obviously, theoysters served at the these twogreat oyster roasts are completelydifferent. Which is why I think itwould be awesome to be able tovisit both (they are held around aweek apart from each other) inthe same year and compare thedifferences between them. Butthat’s just me daydreaming againand wishing I had enough doshto pop into a private jet on theweekends.While in Matsushima, one of thegreat things to do is visit EntsuinTemple. Entsuin Temple was builtin 1646 next to Matsushima’s mostimportant temple, Zuiganji Temple,to house the mausoleum of

Date Mitsumune, the son of the ruling local feudal lord Date Terumune.The temple was built in mourning and is devoted to Kannon, the Buddhistgoddess of mercy, as Mitsumune died an untimely death at theage of 19. This is a beautiful small temple which, fortunately for me, wasjust a short walk from the grounds of the oyster festival.When I was planning my trip through Tohoku, visiting the oyster festivaland Entsuin were two things very high on my list. The former for obviousgustatory reasons. And the latter because I had read that at thistemple, its staff would help you make your own prayer bead bracelets,which I thought would be really fun.Of course, idiot that I sometimesam, I didn’t expect this workshopto be as popular as it was (I onlyfound out after my visit that youcan make advance bookings). Thebracelet making workshops areconducted in a small tatami room.You take your shoes off and enter.You are then asked to choose abracelet style from one of fourprice categories. These dependon the size of the stones you willuse and whether you wish to usesemi-precious stones or not. Allstones/beads have been blessedand each connotes a differentprayer or meaning. Interestingly,the temple staff said they wouldonly tell me what each beadstood for after I had made thebracelets; I was to choose basedon instinct and only then wouldthey tell me what prayers I hadpicked.I decided to make 3 bracelets, onefor my wife, one for myself andone for one of my best buddies.As I sat down, I noticed one groupof young women to my right.All were very engrossed in theirdecision-making process. I askedmy guide about this and she toldme that they (the Japanese), andespecially young women, took thisvery seriously because they reallybelieve that the beads had power.She also said that a lot of youngwomen made these with certainwishes or hopes in mind. Andif they chose the wrong beads,they’d be crushed.It was a really interesting experience.My assigned temple instructorinformed me that for eachbracelet, I had to pick a larger“head” stone from one tray, andthen two identical stones fromanother tray. These latter twohad to match. Five stones wouldseparate the head stone from thetwo identical stones. Those I couldchoose freely. Similarly, I could alsochoose any stones for the others,the number of which varied accordingto wrist size.For my wife, I decided to stickwith only two stones, howlite andtiger’s eye. The temple staff toldme that the white howlite is aprayer to soothe and calm one’ssoul; the tiger’s eye is a prayer forfinancial fortune. Which, I thought,was perfect.I was in Matsushima for only onenight and one day. And I had afantastic time. I ate wonderfullyfresh seafood and attended oneof the coolest food festivals I’dever been to. I had a great timedesigning some very cool braceletsthat have significance beyondjust aesthetics. And, of course, Igot to see one of Japan’s threemost scenic views.

EATING AMAZINGMEAT AND SEAFOODIN TOHOKUEvery trip to Japan, to me, meansgreat eating. This recent trip toTohoku was no exception. Tohokuis known (domestically atleast) for having some of the bestseafood and meat in the country.The earthquake, tsunami and theFukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster,however, hurt the region’s foodindustry severely. The two naturaldisasters left many farms damagedand fisheries completelydestroyed. And the latter incidentcreated huge fears both locallyand internationally of whetherthe region’s food would be safe toconsume.With regards to issues of highradiation levels in food products,the good news for greedy folks likeme is that thanks to regular andoften double or even triple checks(plus many other measures), theJapanese are now able to ensurethat only the safest possible foodreaches consumers. But, truth betold, right after the nuclear disaster,testing wasn’t done properly,partly because the authoritiessimply weren’t ready to deal witha problem that was so devastatingand far-reaching.One man who was seriously affectedby the nuclear disaster isMr Horigome, who owns one ofSendai’s biggest wagyu farms(much of which gets graded A5,the highest possible grade forwagyu). After the earthquake, tsunamiand disaster at FukushimaDaiichi, he and his peers were alltold by the central governmentthat there should not be any affectson his herd, that essentiallyeverything was fine. Two monthslater, when the issue of foodsafety was becoming a larger andlarger concern, the central governmentagain issued statementsthat everything was fine. But then,in July that year, his beef (and thatof his peers) was found to havehigh and unsafe levels of radiation.Horigome-san was both shockedand distraught. This test was partof a random spot check. Whichmeant that he had no idea if beefthat had gone to market previouslywas also unsafe. All of his shipmentswere suspended while hesearched for a reason. His biggestfear was thet he would have tokill off his entire herd and lose hislivelihood. Eventually, he discoveredthat the rice straws that heused to feed his cows had been

contaminated. So while the cowsthemselves were never exposedto high radiation levels due to theFukushima Daiichi disaster, cropsused to feed them were. And this,he realized, was something thatno one had thought about.Fortunately, he and his peerswere able to take measures thatnaturally brought radiation levelsin livestock back down to safe levels.Shipments resumed on 15 November.But by then, the damagehad been done. Consumers didn’twant to eat Sendai beef. The auctionprice for his ultra-high qualityproduct dropped by 50 percent.And as feed prices and his overheadsremained the same, thingsbecame very tough for Horigome.Fortunately, with rigourous testingand with time, people have slowlybegun to trust Sendai and Fukushimabeef again. Sales are backup to 90 percent of what theywere prior to the disaster.Seafood is also tested vigorously.While in Sendai, I had the pleasureof visiting the wholesale seafoodmarket and attending the tunaauction. While Tsukiji market inTokyo hosts perhaps the mostfamous tuna auction in the world,the majority of tuna being boughtand sold there is bluefin. Sendai’sauction specializes in bigeye tuna.Mr Seiichi Yamaguchi, the headof the Sendai Central Fish Market,was kind enough to get up extraearly to attend the auction withme. As we walked through thefacilities, he explained how checkswere being done now at all levelsof the supply chain. Radiationmonitors have been given to fishermen,to wholesalers, to distributors,etc. At every stage, someoneis ensuring that the seafood beingcaught, processed and sold is 100percent safe for consumers.I have to admit, when I was firstapproached to tour Tohoku, mysingle biggest concern was foodsafety. My real concern wasn’tabout radiation in the air but radiationthat had seeped into theground, that would affect cropsand animals, and radiation in thewater, that would affect seafood.But after speaking with farmers,distributors, chefs, hoteliers, civilservants and people like Mr Yamaguchi,I have to say I becamecompletely confident that I couldsafely eat anything served to meat any restaurant or hotel in theregion. Which, given the amazingquality of the produce, was a verygood thing!I ate like a king (or a pig dependingon your point of view) on thistrip. Most of the high-end onsenryokans and hotels I stayed inprovided dinner as part of thenightly rate, so I “stayed in” almostevery night. And those mealswere exquisite. Every single one ofthem was a multi-course extravaganzathat left me feeling halfwaythrough the trip that I was turninginto one A5 grade, heavily mar-

led chubby hubby. The best ofthese meals were at TatsumiyaSanso Satonoyu; at Yunishi Ichijoh,where among other delicacies, Ihad steamed crab legs, followedby Sendai beef, followed by a miniaka buta (local pork) shabu-shabu,followed by sakura ebi rice; andat Hotel Kanyo, where the twostandout dishes were a wholegrilled abalone and the best ikurarice I’ve ever eaten (the abalone ispictured to the left).But my favourite meals of the tripweren’t in the hotels. My two favouritemeals were in many wayssimpler. But what they lacked involume, the chefs behind themmade up for in skill and passion.The first of my two best mealswas a real shocker. My guide andI had driven into a tiny city calledOfunato because we were askedto visit a small Italian restaurantthere called Porco Rosso (Tel019226080). We were told nothingabout the food. We weresent there because chef-ownerJun Yamazaki had been a realinspiration in the aftermath ofthe tsunami. Knowing that thousandsof people had lost theirhomes, Yamazaki-san dedicatedhimself to feed as many peopleas he could, with whatever foodhe could find. He organized manyvolunteers to prepare food and tohelp deliver them, reaching a peakof being able to cater 2000 mealsa day to the evacuees. He workedtirelessly, aiming to feed as manyas he could. his mission was tocontinue “making meals until thedisaster victims are able to supportthemselves.” His restaurantstayed closed from March all theway until October that year. Andduring that time, Yamazaki hadworked himself so hard that heactually collapsed and had to bebriefly hospitalized. When he didhe reopen his own restaurant,he made it his goal to foster linksbetween the local fishing, farming,catering, and manufacturingindustries, in addition to developinga sustainable approach to thereconstruction of the town.Porco Rosso is a charming, intimatelittle trattoria. The minutewe entered, I could somehow predictthat the meal was going to bereally good. But honestly, I didn’texpect it to be as great as it was.Unfortunately, because we wererushing to a meeting in a town 90minutes away, we only had timefor the set lunch, a “quick” fourcourse meal that consisted of antipasti,a small first course, a pastaand dessert. The first course wasan elegantly composed plate ofsmall bites, all homemade and allincredible. There was homemadesausage, bacon, terrines, smokedfish, all simply outstanding. At thispoint, my guide (also a major foodie)started asking Chef Yamazaki’sassistant some questions. Chefhad lived in Rome for many yearsbefore returning to his hometownto open Porco Rosso. No wonderthe food was as authentic and

tasty as it was. But the most interestingthing we found out wasthat Yamazaki had competed onthe newly relaunched Iron Cheftelevision show in November 2012…and won! Our next course was supersimple but also super yummy,two small pieces of bread, slatheredwith cheese, grilled and thentopped with olive oil and herbs.For my main, I had chosen spaghettiwith fresh scallops, freshsea urchin in a light cream sauce.This pasta, hands down, beatsany uni pasta I’ve been served inSingapore. A delicious dessert triorounded off a surprisingly charminglunch. Driving away, I wassimply shell-shocked. So too wasmy guide, who said, “he should bein Nishi Azabu (a trendy part ofTokyo), not Ofunato!”My other favourite meal was a totallyunplanned one. My guide andI had changed our itinerary a littlebit while on the road. There wasone night in which we were originallybooked into a classic ryokan,but it was two hours away fromSendai. And that next morningwas when I had to be at the fishmarket at 530am. There was noway I was going to get up at 3amand then drive for 2 hours. Instead,we decided to stay in Sendai,which allowed us to get up closerto 5am. When we checked intoour hotel, we asked its conciergeto recommend a cool izakaya withgreat food that was within walkingdistance. She immediately suggestedInase-Inase, located justa five minute walk from Sendaistation.Inase-Inase (http://www.inaseinase.com/)was not what I wasexpecting. It was much sleekerand more modern that I hadthought it would be. It had onesmall counter facing the chefsplus a larger common diningroom and a private room in theback. My guide and I had bookedseats at the counter. Our mealswere wonderful. We both ate differentthings. I had an ahi tatakithat was probably the best versionof this I’ve ever had; somewonderfully crisp but still juicy akabuta katsu; simply outstandingtsukune served (of course) withraw egg yolk; and marvelously richsushi made with Sendai beef. Atthe end of the meal, I was tryingdesperately to convince the chefto open a branch in Singapore. It’sthe kind of place, serving the kindof food, I would eat at on a weeklybasis, if I could.I hope that when planning yournext big overseas adventure, youconsider Tohoku. It’s a region thatdearly needs your help (throughthe dollars you’ll spend whilethere). And trust me, the food issomething you’ll definitely writehome about. Or more likely thesedays, tweet about.

DECORATINGLACQUERWAREIN AIZU WAKAMATSUAs you can see from the articlesthat have come before this on,there are many things to see anddo when vacationing in Tohoku.There are wonderful onsens tobathe in, great drink to be tastedand purchased, and incrediblefood to eat. There’s also a rich culturalheritage to explore. One cityworth stopping in is Aizu Wakamatsu,which is the main city inAizu, in the western part of Fukushima.Two must-dos in Aizu are visitingTsuruga Castle and shopping forAizu lacquer. Aizu lacquerwarehas a history of over 400 years.In the Edo period, Aizu artisansadopted decorative techniquesusing gold powder and foils, andthe region became one of thenation’s foremost producers ofbeautiful lacquerware. Today, notonly can you shop for this beautifulhandcrafted product, at someof the top ateliers, you can actuallytry your own hand at decoratingsome lacquer pieces.One such workshop is the 160 yearold Suzuzen, known as one of thetop producers in town. When youarrive, instead of heading into themain showroom, you walk past itinto a small, crowded work room.Here, Suzuzen’s main artisan willlet you select a piece to work on.You can choose between smallplates, chopsticks with rests,boxes and mirrors. Once you’vechosen your lacquerware, youcan then decide if you want touse one of several stencils thatSuzuzen can supply you with orif you want to make up your owndesign.Both my guide and I opted forfreehand designs. Using a verythin brush dipped in some kindof white solution, you create thepattern/image you want. My guideopted to paint a small bunny rabbitsurrounded by a few abstractflowers. I decided to go reallyminimalist and opted to paint justone Chinese character, “Shan”,which means kindness and is alsomy son’s Chinese name. Amusingly,the “zen” in Suzuzen usesthe same character, so initially theartisan thought I had chosen it forthat reason (which would havebeen a really silly reason).Once the initial pattern has beenpainted, it is heated and driedslightly, just enough so that itwon’t smudge when a brush

glides over the surface. Then, youhead to another table filled withboxes of coloured metallic powderand another box with gold leaf.You then decorate your patternwith your choice of colours orgold. Once done, the artisan thenwaits briefly. He uses a chemicalto wipe the surface of the lacquerand the colours and pattern aremiraculously set. When I askedhim if this would wipe away, hesaid, no, pouring water onto myplate to show me that the colourswould not run. It is even food safefor room temperature snacks (likecookies, etc).It’s hard to see in the photo on theprevious spread, but for my “shan”,I had used gold leaf, some goldpowder and a dash of orange-redpowder as an accent.Making these plates was reallyfun. And the possibilities are endless.In fact, I was kicking myselfafter we had driven off, becauseby then, I had come up with somereally great ideas that I wouldhave loved to have implemented.Of those, the one design I wish Ihad painted was a Mexican candyskull. I think the contrast of a largeMexican candy skull on traditionalJapanese lacquerware would besuper cool. But that’s just me.Anyway, if you do make it to Tohoku,consider Aizu. And if you do,be sure to drop into Suzuzen tocreate your own unique lacquerpiece. It’s a great way to spend anhour or more.Suzuzen1-3-28 Chuo, Aizu Wakamatsu-shiTel: 0242-22-0680http://www.suzuzen.com/index.html

UNESCO WORLDHERITAGE SITEHIRAIZUMIOne of the most beautiful sitesin Tohoku, Japan, has to be Hiraizumi.This UNESCO World HeritageSite in Iwate prefecture is hometo Konjiki-do (Golden Hall) withinChusonji Temple, which attemptsto recreate an ideal Buddhistworld within our realm, and MotsujiTemple, famous for its Jodo (PureLand) garden grounds. Motsuji isthe home of several exquisite “cultureof gold” remnants from thebrand of Buddhism that developedindependently in the Tohokuregion far away from the culturalcenter of Kyoto in the late Heianera of the 11th century. UNESCOrecognized this area as a rare exampleof how local culture couldmanifest on such a high levelduring the transitional period fromthe ancient era to the medievalperiod.For more information, pleaserefer to the write-up on UNESCO’sWorld Heritage site here: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1277

TRAVELLING TOTOHOKUFEASTEXPLORELOVEFrom Singapore, getting to Tohoku means flying to Tokyo. From there,you can connect by air through Sendai airport or take the Shinkansen.During my trip, I took trains and hired cars to get around the region.While there are many travel agencies that can help plan your trip -- oryou could make the arrangements yourself -- if you have the budgetaryabilities to hire an experienced guide and translator, s/he couldmake all the difference between a good trip and an amazing trip. Iwhole heartedly recommend Ms Sumiyo Terai. She is very mature andvery wise; knows everything there is to know about Japanese cultureand history; and she’s a great drinker and real foodie to boot. You canemail her at puretimes226@ezweb.ne.jp. If you do, let her know I sentyou. While you may not get a discount, you can bet she’ll plan the verybest eating and drinking experience imaginable.WITH A READERSHIP THAT REACHES UP TO 90,000 UNIQUE VISITORS A MONTH,CHUBBY HUBBY IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST WELL-READ AND POPULAR ON-LINE FOOD AND TRAVEL RESOURCES. FRESH, ORIGINAL CONTENT IS SERVED FIVEDAYS A WEEK BY AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF FOODIES AND JETSETTERS. THEBEST RESTAURANTS, RECIPES, DESTINATIONS, HOTELS, AND IDEAS FOR LIVING AWELL-LOVED LIFE. ALL WITHIN REACH AT CHUBBYHUBBY.NET.