Business Trip to Akita / 秋田市に出張

Four years ago I was sent to Akita on a business trip. It was my first time going there so everything was fresh to me. I won't bother you with the details of my work but going to Akita City from Aomori City, I had to take an express train, and as with riding on the shinkansen one of the joys of train travel is eating an ekiben. This would be translated into a "station bento". 

４年前、出張の為に始めて秋田市に行きました。初の秋田だったので全てが新鮮。仕事の話はしませんが、青森市から秋田市に行くのは特急しかないでしょう。そして新幹線に乗る時と同じ楽しみが駅弁を食べることだ。

I bought an ekiben called tori meshi, it's rice with chicken. 

自分が買った駅弁は鶏めし。

Ah, the joys of train travel. 

電車旅の楽しみ。

As soon as I reached Akita, I checked into my hotel, then had to go straight to work.　After work, I treated myself to some ramen for dinner, then decided to walk around Akita station. 

秋田市に着いたら、ホテルにチェックインして、すぐ今日の仕事場に行ってきました。仕事終えたら、ホテルの近くのラーメン屋に行き、夕飯を食べた。

This ramen shop looked like a decent place to have dinner. The name of the shop was [Suehiro].

このラーメン屋がよさそうな感じでここで夕飯を食べるに決定。店の名前は「末廣」。

Just so you know, I didn't order and eat three bowls of ramen. It's a picture of the same bowl of ramen. I forgot what flavored ramen it was that I ordered but it was decent. Nothing to write home about though. 

あの、ラーメン３杯も食べてませんよ。同じラーメンの丼です。感動するほどではないが、普通に美味しかった。

Since it was my first time visiting Akita City, I thought I would wander around my hotel which was located close to the station. 

始めて秋田市に来たので、ホテル周辺を探索してみた。駅も近いから駅でちょっとのところもぶらぶら歩いた。

At Akita station, I checked out some of its public art. This statue is titled [Kizuna] which translates to "bonds", like family bonds.

秋田駅のパブリックアートを見てました。この彫刻は「きずな」です。

Akita City is known for its Kanto Festival where participants balance these huge bamboo poles, bearing twenty-four or forty-six lanterns on the palms, foreheads, shoulders or lower backs. These poles can weigh up to 50 kg (about 100 lbs.).

秋田と言えば東北三大の祭りの一つ、竿灯まつり。一度は生で見たいですね。竿燈全体を稲穂に、連なる提灯を米俵に見立て、額・腰・肩などにのせ、豊作を祈る。

The title of this piece is [Fuki no Venus], fuki meaning butterbur.

この彫刻は「蕗のヴィーナス」。

Akita is also known for the Namahage. Ogre masks used during a New Year's ritual. 

秋田と言えばなまはげですね！

A monument listing the Akita Citizens Charter. 

秋田市民の憲章の碑。

My hotel room for my stay in Akita. 

泊まったホテルの部屋。

I'm in Akita so of course I had to go in search of some Akita craft beers. I found a Namahage IPA at a nearby convenience store. 

秋田に居るから秋田の地ビールも飲みたくて探してみたら、コンビニにまなはげIPAを発見。

I also picked up a can of Komachi Beer Alt. They were both quite good. 

あとはこまちビールアルトも買ってました。両方の地ビールは旨かった。

I go back to Aomori City tomorrow but I plan on waking up a bit early so I can explore the large park nearby before catching my train. You never know when I will get a chance to visit Akita again. 

明日は青森市に戻る予定。朝早く起きて、駅の近くにある大きな公園を探索しみようと思ってる。またいつ秋田市訪れのも分からないからね。