As of 1st of April 2016, JR East Pass will be divided into 2 sections. So you can pick whether you want to explore Tohoku area or Nagano - Niigata Area. Compared to Nagano-Niigata area, the Tohoku one offers more places to visit and has wider range of travel

source = jnto

Zao Onsen is a well known area for onsen and ski resort in the mountains of Yamagata, and the ski resort area is one of only few places in Japan where ice trees that resembles snow monsters due to heavy snowfall and freezing winds can be seen. The peak is usually around mid-febuary. You can access it via ropeway or gondola. In the evening the monsteres are lit up for illumination and you can enjoy it from inside nearby cafe. I recommend you to stay overnight in the onsen as well to fully experience the winter season

• Miyagi

• Aomori

It takes 205 minutes direct shinkansen trip from Tokyo Station to Shin-Aomori. Aomori is famous for its apples but they dont only have that to offer.

• Akita

Tohoku is area in Japan that has received more awards and prizes than other regions, their local sake is renowned and prized many times. The secret lies on their rice, yes yes RICE

Japanese sake is made through the fermentation of rice and the one that they mostly use in Tohoku is Sakamai. It has larger grains which is softer and has more delicate texture. Sakamai only grows in certain areas and it requires complex cultivation techniques. 

We all got to learn that rice in Tohoku area is so delicious that gives you not only amazing taste, but also amazing beauty from within. And no wonder this staple food can produce amazing sake as well. All the more reason to try Tohoku products

Anyway if you want to know about Tohoku more directly, you might want to come to Japan Foundation event from 7-19 March 2016! 

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You know what, Internet is truly amazing. I was a bookworm and still am, but having internet changing me the way I find informations. I like to read a lot of articles regarding histories, Japan, cultures, beauty, and so on. Even better if it's a japanese beauty culture and history article. So I came across an article when I was randomly browsing internet like any other humans, and found out that there are tons of Japanese agree that Akita [a prefecture in Japan] women are beautiful, they're called Akita Bijin 秋田美人 

picture source = tokyobling

Here are some of the articles =

So I researched more and more about this fact and WHY, because I want to be as pretty as these Akita women. A lot of articles mentioned that it's thanks to its weather, water, and.... rice O.O

Based on the data, Akita women have whiter skin than the other Japanese because of its lack of sun. The average skin whiteness for Japanese is around 22% while Akita women can reach around 30%, which means they're whiter and paler than average. 

Akita Bijin is also said to have double eyelids, small nose, and small lips. Traits that are adored by Japanese citizens

One of the most popular Japanese celebrities that's also said one of the most beautiful women from the rising sun country is also from Akita. Have you ever heard of Nozomi Sasaki? She's originally from Akita and she's super beautiful!!! 

And another reason for their renown beauty is for their beautiful skin. Tohoku area [which Akita is one of it] produces many rice and Akita rice and water are exceptionally good. Imagine that you keep consuming high quality rice (and food) and water, and you shower + wash your face with amazing water everyday. You're bound to be naturally amazing

According to one of the article from SK II, SK II also researched the secret of japanese beauty in Akita because they know Akita women are famous for their beautiful skin. Now talk about the secret of secret!! 

Next time I also recommend you to have an onsen trip to Akita to enjoy its natural hotspring. Like I mentioned, "the water" is a miracle and you got to have its water for your body! 

For those of you who want to have a beauty trip or a leisure walk to Akita, why dont you find out more about the area itself like what to do and what to eat from Taste of Tohoku Facebook Fan Page?

Talking about Winter, in some areas of Japan there would be many winter and snow festivals going on during February. One of it is Towada Winter Story that's located at Lake Towada, in Aomori Prefecture. It's only a few hours drive or around 2 hours Shinkansen from Tokyo so it's perfect if you want to experience winter to the fullest as you can't get this in Tokyo

 

They carve Samurai and Demonic Face on the snow and light them up, it's super interesting!! Must must must visit next time I visit Japan again!

Greetings!

As I had blogged before that I was opening up seats for Kawaii Tour with readers in Japan, in total I accepted 18 persons to join with me in January 2016. In fact there are more inquiries after that but in the end I decided to keep it minimum as I was afraid people would get lost in the train LOL

As it was 20 people, along with me and mom, and it's first time, so I want to ensure the best first
I had received many mails asking me to do the next one, and I am happy to cater the demand but please let me rest for a moment first XD



I am doing this Kawaii Tour not for money as it's not my main income. Sure I do get small fee for it but the smiles I saw when everyone's happy in Japan pays for all the hard works. It's a tough job and I really admire tour leaders now lol

Esp it's a one man show and I only do it for fun, so yea, there will be the second or third one but I need to prioritize my job in Jakarta first. I will do it as a side job for fun and a great way to associate with my readers, so be sure to always follow me on my social media and blog as I will always update you guys ^^

Now I am interested to visit Tohoku more and more on my next trip, because I want to taste the vegetables from Tohoku!

Dont forget to like Taste of Tohoku Facebook Fan Page and share about it

For those of you who dont know what it is, I blogged about it before

I'm here again to support Tohoku, do you know there are tons of mangas talking and mentioning about Tohoku area? It's always there when you look at

For me, reading manga is always a good source to know more about Japan. Learning Japan in a fun way can't be more exciting, and that's why I cant stop reading even until this age. I have tons of mangas on my collection that I will let my children read later on ^.^

My memories are quite strong when I am reading something [but I always lose my stuffs lol], so here are some of mentions about Tohoku in manga that's printable in Indonesia. You might have spotted these pages before!

From Crayon Shinchan Vol 32

One of my fav characters, Yonro (LOL), is from Niigata! Here he mentioned that Rice from Niigata is so good, and I have heard many things about it yes!

From Crayon Shinchan Vol 40

Shinchan and family are visiting Hiroshi's family at Akita, like I mentioned before that his father's side is from that area. There are lot of stories on Crayon Shinchan's about Akita though, you just have to look

From 20th Century Boys Vol 5

Kenji's mother was hiding in Yamagata with Kanna for their safety as Tokyo will be attacked by terrorist. Not much talk about the Yamagata itself but now you know where Yamagata is now, right? It's in Tohoku, show off your knowledge to your friend lol

Whistle Vol 20-21

A match between Tokyo and Tohoku in soccer, Tohoku defeated Tokai whom expected to be number 1, which proven them very strong in this field!

From Hai Miiko Vol 25

It tells a story about Haruna whom just recently moved because of the earthquake. You can read about the behind the scenes why the author decided to talk about it as well. I think it's the best story so far that I can find in Indonesia. Because it talks about the problem well

There are other mangas but it's just a few of it. All the mangas are shot from my own collection! I support and buy original mangas that's printed in Indonesia if I like the manga XD So while you're having mind blown that in fact you HAVE known about Tohoku itself from long ago, dont forget to support Tohoku as well

Taste of Tohoku

Like and Share, to help gaining awareness about the area ^.^

How many of you know about Osaka-Kyoto in Kansai, and Hokkaido with its main city, Sapporo?

You must have known about it!

However, how about Tohoku?

Do you have any idea where it is?

I dont blame you if you dont know because Tohoku is not popular tourism area for foreigners. Usually we only visit the Golden Route which is Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto to experience Japan. So here's the map of Tohoku!

Hope you get a little idea about it!

If not, let me remind you with a little informations. I am sure you guys read Crayon Shinchan, but have you ever wondered where the characters are from?

So Akita area is where Shinchan's grandfather from his dad's side's from! It is Hiroshi's hometown! [While Misae is from Kyushu, a different island]

So if you read the manga a lot, Shinchan did visit Akita a lot of times when he's spending time with his grandparents ^.^ Now, better re-read the manga to find out about Akita haha! 

Now you've got a little idea of one area in Tohoku, let's talk about Tohoku itself

In March 2011, Tohoku had a terrible natural disaster that resulted in more than 15,000 deaths because of 9 Magnitude earthquake. Tsunami happened as the after-effect of the earthquake, and you can read about 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on Wikipedia. To cut it short, it's the biggest earthquake that has ever happened in Japan, and one of the worst disasters to the rising-sun country in the past decade

Before and after the Tsunami hit

Tohoku has harsh climate and mostly they relay on tourism. However with over than 200.000 people losing their home, the area's are destroyed, the economy falling apart, Tohoku was at its tightest spot

I followed the news a few years ago and read a lot of stories about it. At that time I really thought, no one could handle it better than Japan. Japanese government, talents, and citizens put a lot of effort to rebuild the area back. Even when I was watching Arashi or Jhonny's show, there were a lot of clips showing them helping to make Tohoku back on track. One of my fav legends, Gackt, was also giving a lot of helps and raise donation for the area through Gackt - Show Your Heart. It's a huge progress to make it back like it used to be, but they're working on it

Within only 4 years after the incident occured, Tohoku has been back on track slowly but surely. The picture above shows the progress of Tohoku recovery within the past years. However, not many people know about Tohoku yet, and no matter how good the situation is over there, if there are no people visiting the area, it's still considered failure. And, to support the economy and tourism, a facebook page called Taste of Tohoku is made to show people around the world about the beauty of Tohoku region

I first know about this project from one of my fav bloggers, Cheesie, whom supporting this project. Too many people show support of Tohoku, so I can't say no. Now I'll be supporting this project as well and I want you guys to take part as well. It costs you nothing, just 10 seconds

Simply LIKE Taste of Tohoku Facebook Fan Page, and ask your friends to like it as well. The more people know about Tohoku, the more people will visit Tohoku and it will help rebuilding the area as well. Which means, the touristy will be busier and more people will have jobs again in Tohoku

To support people in Tohoku, and to show that you love Japan, it's not a bad thing to like the facebook right. And they will regularly let you know about any information about Tohoku as well :)  

Thank you for your time!