Hakkoda Mountains (Tashirotai) / 八甲田山系 田代平

Due to the corona virus and the government's request for people to refrain from going out, it has given me a chance to update my blogs.

新型コロナ問題と政府の自粛の呼びかけにおいて、個人ブログを更新する時間が増えた。

When my wife and I first moved to Aomori from Tokyo, on our days off, we would go for a drive and explore the Prefecture. Everywhere I went was new and interesting to me. After Golden Week in 2017, we found ourselves going for drives on nice weekends. This particular weekend, we decided to drive through the Hakkoda Mountains by way of Tashirotai. At Tashirotai, there is a statue of Fusanosuke Goto, a soldier in the Japanese Imperial army. The statue memorializes the soldiers who lost their lives in the Hakkoda Death March.

東京から青森に引っ越したあと、僕と妻の休日にいつもドライブに出かけた。どこ行っても、自分にとって、凄い新鮮でした。２０１７年ゴールデンウィーク二週間後くらい、八甲田山系の田代平のほうに行きました。田代平に雪中行軍遭難記念碑がある。後藤伍長の像が建てられてる。

Driving in the Hakkoda Mountain Range. 

八甲田山系でドライブ。

This is the Dozou Chaya (Bronze Statue Teahouse). 

ここは銅像茶屋です。

Simple lunch.

シンプルな昼食。

We are going to see the statue of Funanosuke Goto who led the soldiers during the Hakkoda Death March incident.

これから後藤伍長の像を見に行く。

Statue of Funanosuke Goto / 後藤伍長の像

This is the spot where nearly two hundred soldiers froze to death during a winter training exercise. 

ここが青森雪中行軍遭難の地。約２００人の軍がこの場所で亡くなりました。

At the teahouse, there is a small museum dedicated to the Hakkoda Mountains incident. 

茶屋に小さな雪中行軍記念館がある。

This is one of the survivors. His legs were badly frostbitten.

事件の生存者。両足が結構凍傷になってる。

These were a few more of the survivors but they had to have their legs amputated.

生存者もいましたが、足の凍傷で切断するしかなかった。

Prosthetics / 補綴

Army uniforms / 軍の服

This is still just the beginning of our drive. Our adventure will continue.

これはまだドライブの始まりだ。これからまた続きます。

Public Bath [Gokurakuyu] / 極楽湯

Going back to when we first moved to Aomori from Tokyo, my wife and I enjoyed exploring the different hot springs around town. One of the more popular ones is part of a chain called [Gokurakuyu].

東京から青森に引っ越した頃、僕と妻の一つの楽しみは街にある温泉を行くことだ。「極楽湯」がその一つ。

At the Gokurakuyu in Aomori, there are five indoor baths. There is the natural bath, the jet bath (jacuzzi), the shape-up bath, the electric bath, and the water bath. There are three outdoor baths plus another bath in a separate building. There is also a sauna. However, public baths are more than just baths. At Gokurakuyu, there is a restaurant with over one hundred items on the menu and there are other areas to enjoy such as a kids corner, a game corner, a souvenir shop and you can buy regional Aomori snacks as well and every second and fourth Saturday, you can enjoy the sounds of the Tsugaru shamisen. A small Nebuta float is on display and after you take a bath, you can always relax using one of the coin-operated massage chairs. 

極楽湯で内湯は五つあるー自然の湯、ジェットバース、シェイプアップバス、電気風呂と水風呂。露天風呂のほうに露天岩風呂、壺湯、座湯があります。あとは離れてきな温泉があって、そこに青森桧葉湯があります。施設の中にレストランもあり、メニューに１００種類以上の飲食ものが楽しめる。お風呂以外に楽しめることも豊富。ねぶたの展示、コインマサージ機のコーナー、キッズコーナー、ゲームコーナー、あ土産の販売コーナー。青森特産品も販売してます。カットサロンもあり。第２・４の土曜日に津軽三味線の演奏が聴ける。

Here are some of the baths you can enjoy. The entrance fee is only 450yen.

上記の写真でこういうお風呂に入れる。料金は大人一人、４５０円。