The Brilliant Colors of Autumn in Aomori

Autumn is a special time of the year in Japan. The season of kōyō (紅葉), or changing colors of the leaves, provides one of the best opportunities to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the country. A colorful complement to the white landscape of sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) in the spring, kōyō gives people a chance to experience all of the bold yellows, oranges, and reds of fall. Furthermore, I think living in Aomori where the viewing period is so brief tends to emphasize the importance of cherishing such a pretty season.

Fall Colors around Aomori Prefecture

The changing colors start in mid-September on the northernmost parts of Japan and arrive in the lower regions of the country by late November. In Aomori Prefecture, it starts in late October and finishes in mid-November. Although Kōyō can be seen throughout much of Japan, I feel fortunate to be living in Aomori Prefecture where a great number of excellent viewing spots exist. And even though I've only had the opportunity to see a handful of the best spots in the region, I think I've been able to see a nice variety.

Aomori City - 青森市

A quiet street in the middle of Aomori City (青森市)

The most convenient place for me to see the Fall colors is right in the city where I live. Throughout the year I often cruise around town on my bicycle, and Autumn is no exception.

Mount Hakkoda - 八甲田山

Spectacular views from Mt. Hakkoda

One of the most popular destinations is Mount Hakkoda (八甲田さん) in central Aomori Prefecture. The Hakkoda Ropeway is available to take passengers to the summit for some truly spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and thousands of trees spread throughout. In the winter, the same ropeway is used to take skiers and snowboarders to the top (I'll be sure to write about my own snowboarding experiences later in the year). Public transportation is available from Aomori Station to the Hakkoda Ropeway via JR Bus.

Oirase Gorge - 奥入瀬渓流

Feeling refreshed at Oirase Gorge, just days before the leaves changed

Southeast of Mount Hakkoda is the Towada-Hachimantai National Park (十和田八幡平国立公園). One of the most scenic parts of this is Oirase Gorge (奥入瀬渓流), where a beautiful stretch of river characterized by crisp rapids and various waterfalls flows. Not surprising, it's designated as a National Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. Following the river leads to Lake Towada (十和田湖), a large caldera lake on the border of both Aomori and Akita Prefectures. It's another very nice area to explore. It's worth noting that a main road and walking trails exist alongside the stream; the road makes it very easy to get there but can be potentially distracting while trying to appreciate the natural scenery. Personally, I've never found this to be a huge issue since the sounds of the river and falls do a pretty good job of overpowering traffic noises. To get there by public transit, ride the JR bus bound for Lake Towada from Hachinohe Station or Aomori Station and get off at the Yakeyama stop.

Shirakami Mountain Area (白神山地)

Shirakami mountain area / forest in Fukaura 

Shirakami-sanchi (白神山地, lit. White God Mountain Area) is another special place to visit during the fall--or any other time of the year, for that matter. It's a large area stretching across southwestern Aomori Prefecture and into Akita Prefecture. The central core of the region is comprised of the last virgin beech forests in all of Japan, and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This protected region is not typically visited by tourists as it requires a permit to enter, but there is plenty of beautiful areas to explore outside of this section. One of the unique features I saw on my recent trip was Aoike (青池, or "Blue Pond"). It's one of many small ponds/lakes in an area of Shirakami called Juniko (十二湖, or "Twelve Lakes"). The pond is famous for it's naturally deep-blue color; I've included a picture  below but it's one of those things you just have to see in person to fully appreciate.

Blue Pond, part of Juniko in Shirakami Sanchi

There are some really impressive views to see in the Shirakami forest area as well. One such view is overlooking the Nihon Canyon (日本キャニオン, "Japan Canyon"), which is said to be like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon in the USA. In the picture below, part the canyon can be seen on the right side and in the distance.

Looking out towards the Nihon Canyon

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山)

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山) in Kuroishi City 

The last place I'll talk about here is Nakano Momiji Yama (中野紅葉山), located in eastern Kuroishi. It's another amazing place to see the Fall colors, with hundreds of varieties of Japanese maple trees (もみじ) spread around a small temple and winding river. I had the opportunity to go there at night when the whole area was illuminated by various colored lights. I definitely recommend trying to see kōyō from this perspective (at night) if you get the  chance, as it just "feels" a lot different and the atmosphere is really cool. Unfortunately I haven't been to Nakano-Momiji during the day, but I've heard it's incredible so I'm sure that's worth checking out as well.

Get out there

The more I explore Aomori, the more I realize what a beautiful place it is. Whether it's during the Fall or any other season, traveling around to see all to wonderful spots has become a bit of a growing addiction for me. I hope my photos can showcase some of the beautiful places in Aomori, but I hope it also inspires you to get out and explore wherever you are living too.

Final note
I realize that one of the places I should have included in this post is Hirosaki, since it's right next to Aomori and also has some amazing autumn colors. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go this year. But still I might update this post later with at least a brief description about it.

Annual JHS School Festival

The opening ceremony begins

Back when I was a junior high school student, I can remember my school’s annual "open house". It always happened on a weeknight for a few hours, when parents could stop by after work and check out what their children had been up to at school. Teachers decorated the rooms with selected projects and students' work. Parents could casually chat with teachers. As a student, I don't remember having to do anything in particular—besides perhaps eavesdropping on what my parents and teachers were chatting about hoping the discussion stayed positive. In Japan, the rough equivalent to this is the annual school festival. Similarly, the festival gives parents a chance to see what their children are doing in school. But compared to my junior high school experience, it's carried out in a completely different way in Japan.

Students watching an informal quiz game

Here, the school festival takes much more preparation. Teachers and students start getting ready for the event many weeks in advance. Teachers plan which projects they want to showcase and how they want to decorate their classrooms. Teachers also have to manage and oversee the preparations related to the various student organizations and activities at the school. Students are very busy with all sorts of things, including making decorations for their classrooms, creating class newspapers, planning performances for the festival, practicing for the chorus competition, and more. The festival spans a full weekend, starting early in the morning on Saturday and finishing late in the afternoon on Sunday. The ceremonies, performances, and activities take place in the gymnasium; students work and projects can be viewed in the school's classrooms and hallways; and lunch is eaten in classrooms on a designated floor. 

This year, the event started with a typical opening ceremony, including several speeches and singing of the school song. Next, students tried some activities like quiz games and watched some performances such as a fun glow-stick dance routine.

Glow-stick dance performance

For lunchtime, students had to stay at the school and eat during specified time slots, one for each grade. Various food and drink items could be ordered, including a variety of items that the students' mothers cooked/baked.

After lunch, the first- and second-grade chorus competition began. Each class sang two songs; the first was a standard song which every class was required to sing, the second was an original selection chosen by each class. In regards to this system, hearing the same song over and over got old really fast in my opinion, but still I really enjoyed listening to the original songs. And more generally-speaking, the simple fact that Japanese schools are able to get virtually all students to participate and take the competition seriously, is nothing short of amazing. Looking back to when I was a junior high school student, there's no way that would ever happen--especially for us boys who were "too cool to sing".

Chorus competition

The second day of the school festival started with the English speech contest participants presenting their speeches again. Several months ago they had participated in a city-wide contest (see my blog post here), but for most of their peers it was the first chance to listen to their speeches. As an English teacher, I was delighted to see them give their speeches again. Following a short break, the drama club then came on stage to present their original play titled, Yakusoku (約束, meaning "Promise"). Starring an all-female cast, the play was a teenage-girl drama which revolved around a group of friends attending a dance school and preparing for a big event. The story may have not appealed to me but no matter, I just walked around and snapped pictures. Unfortunately for the boys on the other hand, they were required to sit and watch the whole thing.

The drama club presents their play, Yakusoku

The play took up most of the morning, and then the students ate lunch. The schedule for the afternoon began with the third-grade and school-wide chorus competitions. Being the final year for the third graders, their songs were more difficult than those of the younger grades and students really seemed to bring their voices together powerfully. Shortly following the impressive competitions, an awards ceremony took place. During this, the school principal formally gave out various awards and trophies to a selection of student groups/classes, such as the chorus competition winners. Upon winning, the students cheered and shared high-fives in celebration.

Left: the school principal gives a speech; Right: award ceremony

Once the gold trophies and stylized glass plaques were all handed out, the festival started to come to a close. Students representing each class came on stage to give small speeches about the school year, important life lessons they have learned, and what they hope for in the future. For many of the third graders, it was emotional and some of them couldn't help but shed a few tears as memories of their past three years undoubtably rushed through their minds. Finally, all students and teachers stood up straight, and sang one last song together to finish the year's school festival.

I think the school festival is a special time for schools in Japan. It marks a halfway point in the school year; it happens just as the leaves are about to change colors and the temperatures start to drop. For the strained third graders, it's a fresh reminder that graduation is around the corner and the pressure to get into a good high school is building. For first graders, it's a bit of a turning point in which they have now adapted to life as a junior high school student. Perhaps second graders may realize that just a year later it will be them on the stage with tears running down their faces. What are teachers thinking? Is this damn thing over yet?

Aomori Autumn Festival & Horseback Archery

2013 Event Flyer

The 7th Annual Aomori Autumn Festival (Aomori Aki Matusuri, 青森秋まつり), took place on a warm sunny day on October 14 in Gappo Park (合浦公園). It featured a fun variety of things to see and do. Families and children could try activities like balloon art, making bopan (棒パン, bread on a stick or “bannock”), riding up high in the basket of a cherry picker (basket crane), and more. Entertainment included live musical performances such as shamisen (三味線, traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument), as well as lively dance performances like yasakoi (よさこい, a unique style of Japanese dance). The variation was great and it was nice to see lots of families out enjoying the festival, but the best part for me was the yabusame (流鏑馬), or horseback archery event.

Like so many other times this year, I was fortunate to go on a day when the weather was fantastic—lucky considering the previous days had been filled with pounding rainstorms. As such, the fresh blue skies and slight breeze provided me with a pleasant bike ride to the park, located on the east side of Aomori and less than half an hour from my apartment. Once there, I spotted the yabusame event on the beach and quickly rode over. I had heard about this kind of Japanese archery before, but never had any chances to see it. I was amped and excited. I parked my bike, pulled out my camera gear, and walked up to the horse lane set up for the event. But when I took a closer look I was surprised to see an old man riding slowly atop a horse, gingerly shooting a bow at a close target, and missing badly. I said to myself, “are you kidding me?” I though must have missed the show and I felt deflated. 

As it turned out, I had arrived early before the actual event started. And a friend I ran into there told me the organizers were letting ordinary people try, and that we should too before the main event began. Needless to say, we jumped on the opportunity and gave it a shot (literally!). With several organizers guiding us along the beach, we slowly rode the horses and shot rubber-tipped arrows at three consecutive styrofoam targets. Even at a slow pace, it was awesome! I hit all three targets easily, but honestly it wasn't much of a challenge at that speed. After hitting the targets, we then rode back to the starting place, unmounted the horses, and said thanks for the unique opporunity. 

Me trying yabusame; very fun!

With an hour before the main yabusame event would start, I walked to the main festival area to see what has happening and caught the last few minutes of yasakoi. This is a type of Japanese dance that originated in Japan more than 60 years ago from a fusion of traditional dance and modern music. Dances are generally choreographed by large teams of men and women of all ages, and popular during various events. The high-energy dance is perhaps most importantly characterized by the colorful costumes participants wear, and the small wooden clappers called naruko (鳴子) used during the dances. Unfortunately I missed most of the dance performances that day at Gappo Park, and I still have yet to see yasakoi in all its glory. Hopefully I'll get another chance to see it soon.

Yasakoi at the 2013 Aomori Autumn Festival

Back at the beach, the real horseback archery event was about to kick off. This part of the festival was called the Uto Hama Yabusame Taikai (善知鳥浜流鏑馬大会, or the Uto Beach Horseback Achery Tournament). The organizers of the event came from a relatively small but diverse yabusame group from Aomori City, consisting of young amateurs, old veterans, and both women and men. As the participants prepared and did some target practice, I found a good viewing spot near one of the targets. Soon after, the event began.

Sequence of female archer, direct hit

Yabusame is said to have it's origins from the Kamakura Period (1192-1334), which at that time was used as a way help train and prepare samurai for war. Today, it's purpose has obviously changed, but it still follows the same basic principles. As such, horse-mounted archers race down a narrow track (about 250 meters long) on a galloping horse and attempt to hit three consecutive targets while passing by. It's nothing short of impressive and clearly takes a high level of skill.

Although the event was called a "tournament," it wasn't really a competition. Instead, it was a showcase of a really cool part of Japanese culture. I'm thrilled to have tried it myself, and realized how difficult it must be to quickly and accurately shoot multiple arrows at targets while bouncing around on a running horse. Yet this is a defining part of the culture which I've seen many times before--Japanese have an amazing ability to choose a craft or specialty and truly master it.