Tanesashi Coast & Gonohe Music Fest

In the last weekend of September, my friend Patrick and I took a fun day trip to a couple towns in the southeastern area of Aomori Prefecture. Starting from Aomori City, we put our bikes on a train and took the nearly two-hour ride to Hachinohe City (八戸市). Once off the train, we jumped on our bikes and headed out towards our first destination, the Tanesashi Coast (種差海岸, Tanesashi kaigan). We were very lucky to have excellent weather once again.

My friend Patrick (right) and I (left) at Hachinohe Station

Riding through the city had a much different feeling than I'm used to experiencing. Whereas other areas I've seen have been characterized by commercial business, local fishing operations, vast rice patties, or uninhabited places of beauty, Hachinohe City is a stout industrial city comprised of large steel, chemical, and fishing industries and a big international shipping port. But as we approached the eastern coast the atmosphere transformed and the natural landscape exposed itself to us. One of our brief stops was at Kabushima Shrine, a quaint little Shinto shrine located up a tiny hill on the coast. 

Kabushima Shinto Shrine in Hachinohe

We then proceeded to the Tanesashi Coast, about 20 kilometers from the city center. The coast is vast with great variation in its terrain, including sections of rough coastline with large jagged boulders, an immense sandy beachfront, and expansive grassy areas. My friend and I spent most of our time in the more rugged stretches of coast. We watched the powerful ocean waves crash down and rapidly sweep up the sandy shore, then gently recede back into the ocean before the next big wave came--the heartbeat of the ocean, perhaps. There was something very relaxing about it and honestly I wish I could have spent all day there.

Chilling on the coast; perfect weather

We also stopped at a massively-wide sandy beach a little further down the coastline. We played around a bit, attempting a epic frisbee throw in the process. Unfortunately we couldn't quite complete the challenge successfully since we only had time for one attempt (but we did get close). We took in the impressive views a bit more and snapped a few photos, then decided that we better get on our way. It's worth nothing that expansive grassy areas of the coast exist just a little farther south that we couldn't explore that day. We simply didn't have time to see everything, but based on pictures I've seen it also looks stunning (you can see some images on Trip Advisor here). Next chance I have, I'll definitely be checking out that area in more detail. But on this day we wanted to get going to our next destination, a music festival in Gonohe (五戸), about 30 kilometers away.

Massive sandy beach on the Tanesashi Coast

The Gonohe International Music Festival (五戸国際ミュージックフェスティバル) took place at Kowatari-Koen Park (小渡平公園) from late morning until dusk. The whole event was created, planned, and organized by two classy JET participants, Dave Herlich and Michael Warren. According to the event website, it was created as "a celebration of the music, the food, and the people of the world."

Gonohe International Music Festival stage

The event featured a variety of performers and artists, including the following: Axé Capoeira, The Hatsukoi Four, Kyle & The College Try, Zodiac Nova Pop-Machine and Contemporary System, Michael Warren's Honest People Band, Satomi Okazaki + Kazuma Sotozono. There were also two traditional music/dance performances in both Japanese and West-African flavors. Notably, both organizers participated; Dave Herlich in Axé Capoeira, and Michael Warren in his self-titled band (above). Members from Kyle & The College Try are also well-involved with the JET community (although are not specifically JET participants themselves).

Kyle and the College Try performing on stage

Gonohe International Music Festival Flyer

In addition to the music and performances, there was also food and drink vendors present. People were also playing frisbee and kicking soccer balls around throughout the day too. Otherwise it was a good chance to see old friends and make new ones. The festival wasn't massive in scale, but I don't think it had to be. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the event and everything went smoothly as planned. Hats off to Dave, Michael, and everyone involved in making the music festival possible.

Just as the festival was wrapping up and the sun was going down, Patrick and I left the park. We had to bike about 20 kilometers to get back to Hachinohe, where we could board a train returning to Aomori City. It had to be one of the fastest paces we've ever biked, as a combination of factors seemed to really push us to ride fast. We were tired from the long day, it was getting dark and cold very quickly, and we were in a fairly rural area with narrow roads. Our timing was so good, that we actually managed to catch an much earlier train than we had expected. A couple hours later we made it back to the city. 

It was a great day. The weather was fabulous, and I got to see a lot of new and interesting places. Tanesashi Coast was incredible, and the Gonohe International Music Festival was fun. It was a nice way to finish off the month, and take on another nice bike trip before the weather makes doing so impossible.