After finishing lunch at the Garlic Kitchen [Daruma Shokudo], we headed to Ninohe which is located in Iwate Prefecture. There really wasn't anything to see in Ninohe but my wife said, hey, it's only another 70 kilometers or so to Morioka, why don't we go there. So we did.
にんにく専門「だるま食堂」でランチを食べ終わってから、岩手県にある二戸市。二戸市の見所があんまりなくて、妻がまた道の表示を見て、盛岡があと７０キロくらいから、盛岡でも行くかとういう軽い気持ちで盛岡を目指した。
On our way, we stopped at a Roadside Station in Iwate. We took a short break there.
盛岡の途中で岩手町にある道の駅「石上の丘」に寄ってみた。
We came across a Pocket Monster manhole cover.
どっかでポケモンのマンホールを発見。
The Iwate Roadside Station also houses the Ishigami Museum of Art.
道の駅「石上の丘」に石神の丘美術館もある。
I only took pictures of the building. We didn't actually go inside the museum.
建物の外見だけの写真を撮った。中には入ってません。
The museum from the other side.
外から見てる石神の丘美術館。
My mother-in-law.
僕の義理の母です。
Ishigami Museum of Art / 石神の丘美術館
The next thing you knew, we were in Morioka. We first stopped at a small house which was the house well-known poet Takuboku Ishikawa lived in after he got married.
あっという間に盛岡に着いた。最初に寄ってた場所は日本の詩人石川啄木新婚の家を訪ねた。
A very small and unassuming house.
小さな家でなにも特徴はありません。
The layout of the house.
家の間取り図。
Takuboku's study.
啄木の書斎。
The newlywed couple's bedroom.
啄木と節子の部屋。
The sign says that Takuboku's new home is considered an old samurai house.
サインに書いてあるのは、啄木新婚の家は武家屋敷。
The instrument pictured above is the Takuboku's wife, Setsuko's favorite koto.
Takuboku's wife, Setsuko.
啄木の妻、節子。
On the left is a picture of Setsuko when she was a teacher.
左側の写真は節子さんが先生をした当時の姿。
I love these old houses with an irori (hearth).
家に囲炉裏があるのは好き。
After checking out Takuboku Ishikawa's new home after getting married, we went on the center of the city.
石川啄木新婚の家を見た後、盛岡の中心街に行きました。
This large red brick building looked interesting so we went to check it out.
この大きな赤煉瓦の建物が気になった、どいうビルが調べに行った。
It is the former head office of the Bank of Iwate.
岩手銀行旧本店本館でした。
The sign explains why some of the wall was painted white. One theory is that the coler of red gave the image of the bank "being in the red", so from 1936 to 1955, the wall was made white. We decided to take a tour of the former bank.
それで岩手銀行旧本店本館の中の探索してみた。
The roof is so high.
天井が高い。
Looking down into the garden from the second floor.
２階の窓から下にある庭を眺めた。
This is the counter where the bank tellers worked.
ここは銀行員が働いてた、お客様の窓口。
You can see the foundation was also made with red bricks.
建物の地下も煉瓦造りでわかるようなパネルがありました。
Manhole art with Iwate Prefecture's mascot characters.
岩手県ゆるキャラが描いてるマンホールカバー。
My wife said as long as we're in Morioka, one of the city's must see is the rock-splitting cherry tree. As it wasn't too far from the former Bank of Iwate, of course we had to check it out.
妻が盛岡に来てるから必ず見るべきなものがある。それが石割桜。旧本店本館の近くにあったので、もちろん行ってみた。
As it was already the end of May, it was long past the blooming season for the cherry blossoms.
もう５月下旬だったので、桜の満開はとっくに終わってた。
The tree is still an impressive site even if the cherry blossoms aren't in bloom.
桜が咲いてなくても、結構圧倒されますよ。
There was some kind of festival going on in Morioka which we saw while stopped at a red light.
赤信号に止まったとき、偶然でなんかの祭りと遭遇した。
On our way back to Aomori, we stopped at the Roadside Station [Kuzumaki Kogen].
帰り道の途中、道の駅「くずまき高原」に寄ってみた。
There was an Italian restaurant called [Rocare] at the Roadside Station.
道の駅「くずまき高原」にイタリアンレストラン「ロカーレ」がありました。
A little park like area at the roadside station.
道の駅に公園みたいな場所もあった。
This sign describes the pictures below. An art piece by stone sculptor Yoshio Yagi, titled [40 Dosen no Kansoku] which roughly translates to "Observation of the 40 degree Line".
サインは石彫家の八木ヨシオの作品「４０度線の観測」についての説明です。
A gazebo in the middle of the park.
公園の中のガゼボ（西洋風あずまや）。
Roadside Station [Kuzumaki Kogen].
道の駅「くずまき高原」。
We weren't too far from Kuzumaki Kogen Farms.
くずまき高原牧場の近くにいました。
That cow be drinking some wine!!
あの牛はワインを飲んでるで！！
An ad for an event I would have like to have seen. [Tour de Michinoku 2023]. Unfortunately, we would be anywhere near Kuzumaki on that weekend.
「ツール・ド・みちのく」宣伝のポスター。おう、行きたいけど、この週末にまた葛巻までくるのは無理だな。
Maybe the next time we visit Kuzumaki, we will go to the Kuzumaki Kogen Farm.
またいつか葛巻に来たら、くずまき高原牧場でも行ってみるかも。
Another poster ad for an event I wouldn't mind checking out. It looks like this is being held in Hanamaki.
また自分が興味ある展だな。これは１２月まで開催なので、その前まで花巻に行くかも。
It was time to hit the road again.
また出発時間となった。
On the road again.
旅がつづく。
The lam post is cute.
街灯が可愛い。
We stopped at one more Roadside Station while we were still in Iwate Prefeture. We checked out Roadside Station [Shirakaba no Mura Yamagata].
岩手県でもう一つの道の駅に止まった。それが道の駅「白樺の村 やまがた」。
Uh, yeah...it looks like a giant egg!
ううん？ はい、巨大な卵にしか見えない。
Wow, check out the giant straw sandals!
おう、巨大の藁サンダルは凄い！
Poster of the NHK drama [Ama-chan] which was set here in Kuji. After the show was aired, Kuji became a very popular place for fans of the show.
NHK朝の連ドラ「あまちゃん」の宣伝パスター。その番組があって、久慈がロケ地で結構有名になった。
It was getting late and we were getting hungry. We were looking for a particular yakiniku restaurant but we passed one after another. We were already in Hachinohe by this time and just decided to grab a bite at McDonald's!
夕飯の時間が近づいて、ある焼肉の店に行こうとしてたが、中々見つからず、他の飲食店も提案と却下の繰り返しになり、もう靑森県に戻り、八戸まで来た。結局八戸のマックで食べた。
Well hey, ya can't go wrong with Micky D's.
ま、たまにはマックでも良いって感じかな。
It gave me a chance to try one of their Samurai Burgers. I ordered the bacon and tomato samurai burger with a side of Mac fries and a coke.
これでサムライバーガーも食べれてよかった。注文したのは炙り醤油風ベーコントマト肉厚ビーフのバーガーを食べた。ポテトフライとコーラ。
Below, are a few purchases I made while in Iwate Prefecture.
下記の写真は岩手県で買ったものです。
Yep, I'm always looking for craft beers wherever we go. It's my goal to try a craft beer from all 47 prefectures in Japan. This time I bought three types of beer from Dragoneye Brewery - Sun, Snow, and Sky. They are organic golden ale, organic pale ale, and organic pilsner, respectively.
はい、いつも旅してるとき、そこの地ビールを買う。自分の一つの勝手な目標は４７の都道府県で一つくらいの地ビールを飲むことです。今回購入したのは岩手県ドラゴンアイビールの３種類、サン、スノーとスカイ、オーガニックゴールデンエール、オーガニックペールエールとオーガニックピルスナー。
Also bought a Helios Beer Galaxy Express 999, Conductor's Porter even though Helios is based in Okinawa.
他に買ったのはヘリオスビールの銀河鉄道９９９、車掌さんの黒ビール。
My wife also bought some rare cheese cake made in Kuzumaki.
妻が葛巻で作られてるレアチーズケーキを買った。
I thought it was pretty good but my wife and mother-in-law didn't have a very high opinion of it. And that concludes are Iwate Prefecture day trip.
僕は美味しいと想ったが妻と義理の母はそうでもないと言ってた。それで岩手県日帰り旅の幕が閉じた。
