Located on the northeast coast of Japan’s Honshu island, the city of Hachinohe is home to a number of fascinating cultural gems such as the Korekawa Site, which houses relics from the prehistoric Jōmon culture. Nejo Castle is a restored 14th-century complex and Kushihiki Hachimangu Shrine dates from the early Edo period.
EAT
Discover local cuisine: Visit Hachinohe invites you to try your hand at Japanese cooking with these online recipe guides. Ranging from Hittsumi (chicken and hand-pulled dumpling soup) and sweet treat Mame-Shitogi, through to local delicacy Nanbu Senbei (wheat crackers) there’s something for everyone. The step-by-step instructions are available online as part of the Stay Home with Hachinohe campaign. Recipes have been adapted where necessary to offer alternative ingredients so they can be attempted from anywhere around the world.
LISTEN
Tohoku’s biggest jazz festival: With 25 years of history, the Nango Summer Jazz Festival is Tohoku’s biggest jazz festival. Top jazz artists from Japan and around the world gather to produce passionate performances that fill the air with music. This year the festival was cancelled due to Covid-19, so the organisers live-streamed past performances during Japan’s golden week instead.
LEARN
Japanese craft: Hachinohe-born childrens author Noriko Matsubara has written a book series called Bocchi and Pocchi. The tales of adventure are now available in many languages and can be purchased online. Matsubara is also an accomplished artist, specialising in traditional Japanese art form chigiri-e; a practice using hand-torn Japanese paper instead of inks and paint. Matsubara offers workshops in origami and chigiri-e, as well as author visits.
ENTERTAIN THE FAMILY
Join Japanese festival preparations: Boasting a history of nearly 300 years, the annual summer Sansha Taisai (Three-Shrine) Festival in Hachinohe is something not to be missed. Shrines and floats pass through the streets of Hachinohe accompanied by lively folk music. The floats involved in the parade reach heights of up to 10 meters, featuring mythological figures and Kabuki characters and are made by local community groups. Children and adults alike can still get involved in the float making process from afar by downloading one of the many colouring book pictures of past floats, uploaded by local company Dashijin.
EXPLORE
The Michinoku Coastal Trail (virtually): The Michinoku Coastal Trail is a Tohoku-wide, collaborative project by four prefectures and 28 cities, towns, and villages. Part of the Sanriku Fukku National Park and cited as Japan’s longest trail, the trail begins (or ends) at Kabushima Shrine in Hachinohe. Passing along coastal roads, through pine forests and little fishing villages, visitors will have the opportunity to stop off at secluded beauty spots along the way. Call into a local fish restaurant to refuel or enjoy one of the many shrines and temples as you make your way down the coastline of Hachinohe Prefecture. Spanning more than 1,000km this is one of the best paths you can take to experience the real Japan and it is now even easier to explore thanks to a recent series of videos.
DISCOVER
Relive your Indie days: Japanese Indie-Rock band Supercar hails from Aomori Prefecture with bassist and female vocalist, Miki Furukawa, coming from Hachinohe and the remaining band members from neighbouring Towada. Supercar saw success with hits such as Cream Soda and Lucky between 1995 – 2005, playing at Tokyo music festival Fuji Rock Festival several times. Following their split, Furukawa and Nakamura went on to pursue successful solo careers before forming LAMA in 2011. Relive your indie days with some of their cult hits available online.
