Cultural City Tour
At the end of orientation week, new families are taken on a tour of the area. We had a lot of fun learning more about the area, and it really helped us get more oriented with our surroundings. We had heard a lot about some of the places we visited, but would have had no idea how to find them on our own. We had such a great time and we are so glad that the base provides us with this experience.
The first stop on the tour was the Misawa International Center. We listened to a presentation about Misawa. We learned a little bit about Misawa's history. We learned that in 1931, the Miss Veedol, became the first plane to cross the Pacific non-stop. Miss Veedol flew from Misawa to Wenatchee, Washington. In commemoration of this event, Misawa and Wenatchee are now sister cities. There is a replica of the Miss Veedol in the Misawa Air and Space Museum.
During the presentation we also learned a little bit about the area, including some phrases we might hear and types of farms we might see. The International center also offers classes, including beginner and intermediate Japanese.
Our next stop was the train station. We learned how to purchase tickets for the train.
Next we visited the Veedol Plaza. Every 9th, 19th, and 29th of the month, a big farmers market comes to the outdoor pavilion of the plaza. Inside is a grocery store, food court, retail store, ¥100 store, and arcade. Going here on the tour really helped us orient ourselves to its location, and we were easily able to find our way back later. This will definitely be a place that we visit a lot.
Next, the tour headed out of Misawa and toward Hachinohe, a city about 45 minutes away. We saw lots of interesting things, and beautiful scenery on the way. I love the beautiful gardens you can see around Japanese homes. Look at all these amazing trees!
Misawa International Center
The first stop on the tour was the Misawa International Center. We listened to a presentation about Misawa. We learned a little bit about Misawa's history. We learned that in 1931, the Miss Veedol, became the first plane to cross the Pacific non-stop. Miss Veedol flew from Misawa to Wenatchee, Washington. In commemoration of this event, Misawa and Wenatchee are now sister cities. There is a replica of the Miss Veedol in the Misawa Air and Space Museum.
During the presentation we also learned a little bit about the area, including some phrases we might hear and types of farms we might see. The International center also offers classes, including beginner and intermediate Japanese.
Misawa Train Station
Our next stop was the train station. We learned how to purchase tickets for the train.
Veedol Plaza
Next we visited the Veedol Plaza. Every 9th, 19th, and 29th of the month, a big farmers market comes to the outdoor pavilion of the plaza. Inside is a grocery store, food court, retail store, ¥100 store, and arcade. Going here on the tour really helped us orient ourselves to its location, and we were easily able to find our way back later. This will definitely be a place that we visit a lot.
Next, the tour headed out of Misawa and toward Hachinohe, a city about 45 minutes away. We saw lots of interesting things, and beautiful scenery on the way. I love the beautiful gardens you can see around Japanese homes. Look at all these amazing trees!
Kushihiki Hachimangu Shrine
Next we were taken to a Shinto Shrine in Hachinohe. There has been a shrine in this location since the 1200s. There is a building on the site that was built in the 1640s.
We got to be purified:
It was beautiful here, and such a great cultural experience.
Hachinohe Fish Market
The Fish Market was the last stop on our tour. We ate some dried sardines, something chewy (don't know what it was *shudder*), and some apple flavored ice cream (YUM). The Fish Market is huge and we mostly spent our time walking around, overwhelmed and slightly grossed out. The tour guide told us that in Japan they believe if you can pull it out of the ocean, you can eat it.
I don't think we'll be trying most of this stuff any time soon (I should have taken a picture of the sea urchins), but we've got three years to build up our courage.
The tour was fantastic, and we can't wait to see more of the area around us.
All of these stops look super rad! That really is nice that they set this tour up for newcomers. It's as if they're used to people showing up who didn't want to come...
ReplyDeleteBut my pregnant nose got skeeved out by the fish market, so I'm glad it's not 100% fish for your noses' sakes!