Drive to the Nakadomari Peninsula / 中泊半島のドライブ

Last Monday was a National Holiday in Japan. It was Ocean Day. And although we didn't plan on taking a road trip as we made an appointment to get our oil changed at 3pm, we went on spontaneous road trip to the Nakadomari Peninsula. It is only a 30 to 40 minute drive. But as it's summer and a national holiday, many beaches were open. We decided to follow signs to the Nakadomari Peninsula and drove along the sea until we came to a place called Oshima.

この間の月曜日は日本の祝祭日でした。海の日。別に海行こうと思えなかったが、ほかに車のオイル交換も午後３時に予約してるし。それでも天気が良かったので、ちょっとしたドライブに出かけました。車で３０分か４０分ほどの場所に行ってきました。中泊半島にある大島。もう夏だ。いろんなところの海水浴場も営業してる。

We decided to have lunch here. My wife was excited because they had fresh sea urchin on the menu. I'm not a big fan of urchin, I don't mind it, but I decided to have the Oshima ramen instead.

中泊でランチ食べようとして、大島の海水浴場までたどりついた。店のメニューに生ウニ丼があったため、妻は喜んでました。僕はそんなにウニを食べたいと思えなかったので、大島ラーメンを注文。

You could also fish for your lunch in these little tanks which were also full of fresh scallops.

釣り堀で釣った魚も食べられる、中に帆立もいっぱいありました。

My wife's order - the sea urchin bowl set.

妻の注文はやはり生ウニ丼定食。

She said it wasn't bad but not as good as the sea urchin she had at the small restaurant located between Cape Takano and Cape Tappi.

妻は悪くないと言ってましたが、やっぱり高野崎と龍飛岬の間にあった漁師町のレストランのウニにはかなわない。

I didn't know what to expect in my Oshima ramen and I didn't bother asking so imagine my surprise when I found my bowl of ramen full of seafood - scallops, squid, shrimp, whelk, and....sea urchin!!

大島ラーメンはどういうラーメンかまったく分からなかったので、出てびっくり！帆立、海老、イカ、つぶ貝と。。。ウニまで入ってるじゃにいか！！

That is Oshima Island out in the distance connected by this bridge. Unfortunately, since we made plans to get our oil changed at the dealer at 3pm, we didn't have time to walk around or explore the island. We plan on going back another time.

あれが大島です。残念ながら、時間があんまりなくて、大島まで探検することは出来ませんでした。また時間があるときに戻って冒険する。

On our way back to town, we would be passing through Asamushi, so we had to stop at the Michinoku shop that has the large menu of different flavored shakes. My wife decided to have a mixed ice cream while I decided to try the cocoa cookie shake today. And it was delicious!

青森市に戻る途中浅虫も通るので、みちのくのシェイクの店にまた止まった。妻はミックスアイスを食べたんですが、やっぱりここくるとなんかの味のシェイクを注文しないっと。今日僕が飲んでみたのはココアクッキーシェイクでした。やっぱり美味しい！