Ultraman Drinks For Raimie

One of the highlight for Raimie vacationing in Japan is Ultraman. We went to Hero's Base in Kawasaki and he was able to meet a couple of Ultra Heroes there. A post on that later (much much later). We came to know about these Ultraman drinks because of Farah's photo of it which she posted on Facebook. Thanks Farah!After passing by Dydo vending machines selling drinks which included cider drinks in an Ultra Heroes cans that Raimie cannot fail to notice, not buying one for him would be unsporting of us. We allow him to have a can most days and he got to bring back the cans home for his collection too. And the drinks cost only 100yen.

A happy boy getting his "reward" is a cooperative boy even when he's bored, tired or cranky.

Ekiben - Niigata

Taking the Steam Locomotive BanEtsu Monogatari-go at 3.25pm, we arrived Niigata station at 7.00pm. Our next train was at 8.17pm, on the Joetsu Shinkansen Max Toki to Ueno station. Deciding against eating at one of the restaurants scattered in the station, we opted for ekiben for dinner.
The ekibens look absolutely yummy, right? Salmon, salmon roe, mushrooms, eggs, fish egg and chestnut. They were so delicious! And we kept the red bento boxes as souvenir.

Check out for more Niigata ekiben selection here.

Ekiben - On the SL Ban Etsu Monogatari

Our bought ekiben in the SL Ban Etsu Monogatari-go. Read more about the SL Ban Etsu Monogatari-go here.

Instead of the food/snack trolley pushed by a train attendant in other long distance train, this locomotive has a shop selling food items, drinks and souvenir items. Customers buying things at this shop got postcards as free gifts.

We bought the only two ekibens that didn't contain "buta" (pork) and a miniature SL train. We had to wait patiently for others to finish their purchases before we can ask the shop staff about the ekiben ingredients. Lucky for us, the staff was nice and patient enough to answer all our questions about the food ingredients. We would have gotten an exasperated look from the staff and other customers if we were to do this in Malaysia (or any other Asian country).

Our meal - salmon eggs, lotus root, bamboo shoots, mountain vegetables, kamaboko, mushrooms amongst others. The green wrapped item in the ekiben in the front was dango wrapped in a leaf. There were actually pieces of chicken inside, but we just push them aside. :(

One of the ekiben covers had this train cut-out. A pretty nifty souvenir to bring back home.

All ekibens come with a pair of chopstick, a toothpick and a wet towel. A complete set to enjoy your meal without worries.

Our miniature train. Zaini is a train nut, both riding one and playing with them.

A Ride On A Steam Locomotive

SL Banetsu Monogatari-go is a special express train that runs on a 126-kilometer track from Niigata to Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima and vice versa. This steam locomotive is a C57-180 type train that was in service from 1946 to 1969.The train made a comeback on Apr 19, 1999 celebrating its 10th year anniversary this year.

This trip of ours was covered by JR East Pass too and we used this journey for our second day of our 3-day pass.

Passengers can enjoy the magnificent scenery from the large windows in the observation car. The seats here were hugely popular so you had to rush to get one.

At one of the stops. There were 9 stops made from Aizu Wakamatsu to Niigata station but only two that were long enough to allow passengers to go down and take photos around the station.

Letters sent from this train will be mailed in the original issue postmark. We sent a postcard we got as a gift from the shop to our home. Another unique souvenir for us. A train postmarked postcard!

The journey was kept lively in between the stops with passengers playing jan-ken (rock, paper, scissors) with the train staff to win train goodies such as keychains, straps, magnets and stickers. It was great fun participating but we didn't win anything.

It was interesting to note that the interior of the train and the uniform of the crew were designed in a style unique to the Taisho era which is also the period when the Banetsu line was opened.

The seats inside the train. Four seats faced each other in all cars so it was pretty comfortable for a family to sit and enjoy the scenery together during the trip. However, we were unlucky enough (because we reserved our seats quite late compared to the others) to be sharing our facing seats with a particularly fat, perspiring guy on this leg of our journey.

I don't know what was his reason for taking this rather slow train from Aizuwakamatsu to Niigata because it sure looks like he wasn't taking it for the love of the train or the scenery. What he did were mostly sleep (so soundly that he snored) and eat and took up 3/4 of the seat. But we didn't let it spoil our trip, but rather it made the trip quite amusing for us.

The overall journey was simply an awesome one despite us sharing seats with the guy. The SL Banetsu Monogatari-go follows the Agano river through the densely forested mountains and the scenery was fantastic. If you are travelling from Aizuwakamatsu on this train, make sure you are seated on the left side of the train. More scenic views from that side. And along the way, you get see locals waving at you and the train and also quite a number of photographers waiting to get the perfect shot of this train. You can wave back and stick out your head because the windows in this train can be opened. We didn't open ours because it'll interrupt our seat mate's deep slumber. *^-^*

The train only runs on weekends and holidays so if want to take a trip on this train, please take note of the schedule here.

To Aizu-Wakamatsu And Of A Red Cow

After checking-out from Taenoyu Onsen, we departed for Aizu-Wakamatsu for the sole purpose of getting on the steam locomotive SL Banetsu Monogatari-go to Niigata; which will be in my next post. From Tazawako Station, we went to Sendai before going to Koriyama. There, we hopped on the Rapid Train on JR Banetsu Saisen (West line) - fully covered by JR East Pass; for about an hour to Aizu-Wakamatsu. Koriyama Station is 1 Hour and 20 Minutes from Tokyo Station by the JR Tohoku Shinkansen Line.

Taking the rapid train to Aizu-Wakamatsu on the Banetsu Saisen. Rapid trains have fewer stops than a local train making the journey much faster. This train however, doesn't run that often, just one every hour so it was quite full by the time it was time to start the journey. Not that it matters much because...

it was a scenic route getting to our destination. Rows and rows of yellow paddy fields. Of mountains and valleys. Lovely... Although we had to stand for the almost one hour journey, it went by quickly with such a lovely view. Luckily we managed to get Raimie a seat so he spent that whole journey playing with Zaini's Nintendo DS Lite. Raimie's newly bought Nintendo DSi were safely stashed away in our backpack.

In front of Aizu-Wakamatsu station. We didn't sightsee far from the station as we only have a few hours before our scheduled train ride on the SL Banetsu Monogatari-go.

Watching a soba maker in action.

Our simple lunch while waiting for our train eaten at the park nearby.

Raimie with a mechanised Akabeko. Beko, is an Aizu dialect for cow; thus akabeko means red cow. Akabeko is a traditional toy from Aizu. The toy is made from two pieces of lacquered papier-mache, shaped and painted to look like a red cow or ox. One piece represents the cow's head and neck and the other its body. The head and neck hangs from a string and fits into the hollow body. When the toy is moved, the head thus bobs up and down and side to side.

According to legend, akabeko toys are based on a real cow that lived in AD 807. The townspeople constructed a large temple there dedicated to Buddha and heavy loads of lumber had to be transported long distances using the brute strength of oxen and one of the animals used was a reddish cow. The cow refused to leave the temple grounds after construction had been completed and became a permanent fixture there and became a symbol of zealous devotion to the Buddha.

The earliest akabeko toys were created in the late 16th or early 17th century.There is a believe that the akabeko toys act as amulets against illness. The Akabeko makes a good souvenir, don't you agree?

Another souvenir that you can see in this region was of items with the portrait of Hideyo Noguchi.

Photo source : Bank of Japan

He should be a familiar face to those who are familiar with Japanese 1,000yen note. He is a revered Japanese bacteriologist born in 1876 in Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. He conducted important studies of the causes of syphilis, trachoma, Oroya fever, and yellow fever.

Inawashiro rests on the shores of Lake Inawashiro, one of the largest lakes in Japan. During the Edo period, it was part of the Aizu domain, and was the home of Aizu's secondary castle town.

Just thought you'd like to know a bit of history. :-)

Passing Time And A Bus Trip At Tazawako Station

Stopping at the modern looking Tazawako Station building before our onward journey to Lake Tazawa, waiting for our bus to Tazawakohan, we passed time by walking around the rather cool looking Tazawako station. At this station, there is a modern, well-quipped tourist centre.

We spent a bit of time here, looking at photos of the area that was on exhibit and looking through local crafts that were put up there, especially the dragons on display. And at the tourist centre, there's even free internet service, if you need to be online . So cool!

The station building, with its very modern building with glass facade, even received the Good Design Prize. Walk around the tourist centre for more information on the area. Tazawako Station was also selected to be one of the Hundred Stations of Tohoku.

A cute illustrated map of the region and its attraction. While we were there, we saw a few cyclists getting ready for their onward journey. It would be so cool to cycle around the area. A car rental service is available nearby should you want to drive around yourself.

The surrounding area was a bit quiet. There were stores around and a pharmacy but if you are looking for a convenience store, you have to travel a bit to find one. Our advise, buy your stuff before you reach this station.

After spending some time walking around the station, checking out some stores there while we were at it, our bus arrived.
A complete change from taking a bus here in Malaysia, buses in Japan were highly punctual and the drivers are all courteous and polite. Helpful too, I might add.

Taking a bus in Japan might test the patience of us Malaysians though. The bus (those few that we've been on, at least) never speed (felt like they were always on a 30km/h) and always always stop at the designated bus stop if there were people waiting there. You don't have to flag for the bus because the buses will always stop for you.



Buses are always clean, and taking this bus to our journey for Taenoyu Onsen were stress free because we didn't have to second guess our stop. There were announcements upon reaching each stop so you won't accidentally stopped too early or a stop too far from your destination. I wish the RapidKL buses (and the Metro buses too) had these features.

How do you know how much to pay? Just look at the board and the fares will be displayed there for each corresponding stop.
Don't have small change with you to pay the fares? Don't worry, there's a note changing machine on the bus, just beside the slot where you pay for your fare. It can even change a 10,000yen note!

A note for those staying at Tsurunoyu Onsen. If you have arranged beforehand for a pickup at Arupa Komakusa, don't worry about needing to look for your pickup there. When the bus arrived at the Arupa Komakusa stop, your car (or van) and the driver is already waiting for you and you actually drove away before the bus do! That's service!

On our trip back, Raimie being a bit rebellious and sulky, pressed the bell while we were halfway on our way back to Tazawako Station. I guess if this happen back home, I would just pretend ignorance (so bad of me, kan?) but I just had to apologise to the bus driver (especially as I think he would have waited for someone to disembark) and the rest of the passengers. Luckily nobody glared at us. Phew!

From Tazawako Station, we travelled to Sendai then Koriyama before taking a Rapid Train to Aizu-Wakamatsu for our next adventure. Stay tuned.

And bye-bye Nyuto Onsen and Tazawako! Perhaps we'll come back next year.

Taking The Akita Shinkansen Komachi To Tazawako Station

I know this post should go up first before my posts on Lake Tazawa or those of Taenoyu Onsens (1, 2 & 3) earlier, but better late than never!
Going to Taenoyu Onsen (which I had put up a few posts earlier), we started our journey from Ueno station to Tazawako station on the Akita Shinkansen Komachi. A 3 hour trip that was covered by our JR East Pass that would otherwise cost 15,000yen. (And we got our 3-day JR East Pass for a mere 10,000yen & 5,000yen for Raimie). Do make sure to book your seat in advance if you plan to board this train as seats on all Komachi trains are reserved.
It is always fun for us to be on the shinkansen platform and see all those bullet train stopping, connecting and whizzing off. Of course, being on an outdoor platform is much more exciting than being on an underground platform like in Ueno, but we aren't complaining!
Here, the Komachi train was connected to the Hayate train for the onward journey from Tokyo to Morioka. The trains will then be separated to continue their journey to Akita and Hachinohe respectively.

The Komachi train; named for a famous and beautiful poetess from Akita, travel from Tokyo to Akita in about four hours with trains operating once an hour.
The Komachi train is a mini shinkansen, with only 6 cars.The interior of the Komachi train. Sitting in a shinkansen is always comfortable. And so much more room than in the economy section of an airplane. A coat rack, an overhead luggage area and a food tray to enjoy our ekiben and a snack trolley coming along selling food items and souvenirs. There were even magazines available to read during the journey. What more could we want?