GASTRONOMY TOURISM 2

An event for enjoying local seafood and a traditional performing art was held outside on Oct. 9 at the historic Ohata Hachimangu Shrine in the Ohata area of the seaside city of Mutsu on Aomori Prefecture’s Shimokita Peninsula, a place blessed with rich nature and culture.

The event was part of the Shimokita Geo Dining project, launched in 2018 by the local nonprofit destination management organization Shimokita Tabi Assist. The peninsula is known for Shimokita Geopark, and the project aims to promote the area’s unique landscapes and scenery as well as its delicacies and food culture.

The 25 participants enjoyed top-quality fish from the rough seas of the Tsugaru Strait with local sake and wine while watching a performance of Sekinebashi kagura, a local form of Shinto music and dance, against an autumn view of the shrine grounds. There was also an optional walking tour in a forest of Aomori hiba cypresses known as one of the three most beautiful forests in Japan, along with an Akita cedar forest in Akita and a Kiso cypress forest in Nagano.

The Tohoku region covers a wide area of northeastern Japan, from northernmost Aomori to Fukushima. It is well known for producing high-quality rice and sake as well as Fukushima beef and fruit such as peaches and pears, and lies only about 90 minutes by shinkansen from Tokyo. Tohoku offers tourists diverse attractions and unique gastronomical delights in every season.