Nostalgic Fukushima Travel: Ouchi-juku & Ashinomaki Onsen Station

Welcome everyone to the final leg of our Fukushima adventure. The theme of today's journey is nostalgic Fukushima and we'll be stepping into places that give us a glimpse of the past. Right now we're making our way from Aizuwakamatsu to Minami Aizu. In particular, we're heading to a place called Oochijuku. The train stop nearest to Oochijuku is Yunokami Onsen Station. It's the station for a hot spring town which I'd have loved to explore if I had more time, but I didn't so I settled for the footbath right next to the station. You get such a calming view here. Now here we are at Oochijuku. This place came to prominence as a post town during the Edo period, serving as a crucial rest stop along the Aizu Nishikaido trade route that connected Aizuwakamatsu to Nikko. This route was vital for traders and samurai alike, offering a respite from their strenuous journeys. I think this is the most relaxed I've been on this trip because yesterday when I was in Kitakata, it was a Monday and I supposed that there wasn't going to be a lot of people, but there actually was. Cherry blossom season, retirees are free to go whenever they want to. But today it's just really quiet and relaxing. It's my kind of trip. If you've seen my Shirakawago video, you'd know that the buildings that you see are thatched roof houses. Constructed without the use of nails, these houses were meticulously designed to withstand harsh winters while also providing cool interiors during the summer. There are only just a few of these left in Japan and Oochijuku is one of the places you can see them. Today these thatched roof houses function as shops, restaurants, and inns. You'll find many handcrafted items in the shops which make lovely souvenirs. For me though, what I enjoyed the most here was the food. First there's the iconic Negi Soba, buckwheat noodles that you don't eat with chopsticks but with a leek. You get to eat the leek as you slurp the noodles, which may seem challenging at first but fun once you get used to it. And then there's the Tochimochi. This was so good that I couldn't help but try it at different shops. This snack is made of mochi or rice cake mixed with tochi seeds. You can enjoy it in a variety of flavors like kinako roasted soybean flour, soy sauce, and anko bean paste. This is a lot softer and this is anko, but kinako by the way. Before you leave Oochijuku though, make sure to check Takakura Shrine. It's located slightly farther from the main street surrounded by tall cedar trees. This is very much giving Portal to Another World vibes. Legend has it that a prince who was assumed to have died in Nara actually made his way from the war here and this shrine was built to commemorate him. On to our next and final stop for the trip, Ashinomaki Onsen Station. From the name you may have guessed that this is a hot spring town, but we're not here to take a soak. Instead we are here to see some of the cutest station masters you'll find in Japan. Cats! Ashinomaki Station has had a long history of keeping cats as station masters with Stray Cat Basu being the first generation. A concerned elementary student brought him in and from there on he was appointed station master. The current station attendant is Sakura, but she was off during my visit and actually even if she was there I wouldn't have been able to film anyway. It's not allowed because it stresses her out. In this station you'll find a lot of cat goods you can buy as souvenirs. There's also a small shrine where people have taken to posting photos of their beloved pets. Aren't these paw-shaped prayer plaques cute? And this, my friends, is where we'll end our Fukushima journey. This whole thing started because I was frustrated of the way too many videos depicting Fukushima as some kind of ghost town when you have all these beautiful places. In four days I'm taking you from here to here and I really hope you had a great time. For this trip we weren't able to include the seaside part of Fukushima, mostly because of logistics. I travel using public transportation after all. One day I'll take you there to the seaside towns that were devastated by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami and when I do I'd like to show you not darkness but hope because Fukushima as a whole is brimming with it. But that's a story for another time. In the upcoming videos I'll share with you planning tips for visiting Fukushima so that you can organize your own trip. Until next time, this has been Mijel for Tokyopass3. I'll see you in the next video. Bye!