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FUKUSHIMA x TOKYO

  • TOKYO
  • FUKUSHIMA

MIRAI & SAMURAI

Visitors can get a feel for the future by experiencing high technology in Tokyo, and vicariously experience history and culture through the “Samurai City” of Aizu.

Official Tokyo Travel Guide
https://www.gotokyo.org/en/

Local government official website
http://iplayfukushima.com/

TRAVELER

  • Traveled : November, 2015 Hmily Song
    Blogger
    Reside in Shanxi, China
  • Traveled : November, 2015 Huang Shi
    actor
    Reside in Tokyo
    Home country: Wuhan, China

Hangzhou International Airport

ANA930 Examine the directions from your country

  • Hmily Song

    From the moment you check-in, you will be pampered with services and hospitality provided by ANA. The in-flight meal was, of course, superb. I was more than satisfied with every aspect, including the foods such as the rice and soba to dessert and drinks.

Narita International Airport

Narita Express (JR EAST PASS)

Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Day1

TOKYO

Miraikan - The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovationmore

RECOMMENDED DESTINATIONS

Miraikan - The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
The "Miraikan" National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation conveys information about cutting-edge science and technology as new knowledge, through a wide array of methods and perspectives such as permanent and special exhibitions, talk sessions, experiment classes, online and paper publications, and films. Methods of expression and communication are also being developed in order to explain highly-specialized and sophisticated fields in an easy-to-understand manner.
  • Hmily Song

    The Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation is a science museum open to everyone. With seven floors in total, the first, third, fifth, and sixth floors have different types of exhibition halls. On the seventh floor, there is an observation lounge and a place to have lunch. On the third floor, you can watch a stage performance by ASIMO, the world's most advanced humanoid robot developed by Honda. Although the performance lasts for just 10 minutes, I could feel the high-tech power emanating from each of ASIMO's movements. You can even talk with it as well. Take a ride on the UNI-CUB in the hallway of the large hall on the first floor. The UNI-CUB is controlled easily by the moving your body and feet, and can reach speeds of several km per hour.

  • Huang Shi

    I rode the UNI-CUB at the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation where I marveled at Japan's innovative modern technologies.

New Transit Yurikamome~Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
Telecom Center→Shibuya
About 40 minutes

Shopping at electronics stores(BIC CAMERA)more

Shopping at electronics stores(BIC CAMERA)
These electronic stores carry countless popular products that make popular gifts, ranging from cameras, watches, rice-cookers, toys, games, and computers, to medication, daily necessities, and alcohol. All stores are located close to stations to enhance convenience for shoppers.
  • Hmily Song

    Going to Shibuya and looking at the waves of people going back and forth across the intersection makes me feel like I am looking at the movement of trends in Tokyo. Shibuya Hikarie is a skyscraper and retail complex that opened in 2012. Across the street is Bic Camera, a major electronics retailer offering duty free shopping. The store carries a huge selection of merchandise, from cameras and small electronics to the kinds of cosmetics and personal hygiene products found in a drugstore.

  • Huang Shi

    The service was amazing and there were Chinese-speaking staff at each store. There was a huge selection of items and I felt right at home. I scoured the place looking for new products, including everything from cameras and computers to shaving products.

Walk
3 minutes

High-tech kaiten-sushi restaurantmore

High-tech kaiten-sushi restaurant
Kaiten-sushi that does not go round on a conveyor belt?! In pursuit of freshness, all dishes are quickly delivered to your seat after ordering. The high-tech kaiten-sushi restaurant embodies the true value of kaiten-sushi of the future! Order through a touch-panel, and the food arrives promptly on a high-speed lane. It is definitely an experience that visitors must try at least once in their lifetime.
  • Hmily Song

    In addition to a menu of authentic sushi, the restaurant features a fully automated ordering and delivery system, which is something I've never seen before at conveyor belt sushi restaurants.

  • Huang Shi

    This was the first time I'd ever been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant despite having lived here for many years. Everything tasted great and the sushi was fresh and inexpensive.

Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo

  • Hmily Song

    Although hotel rooms in Japan can be on the small side, I can't complain about the great location, services, facilities or restaurant.

  • Huang Shi

    The tour left Shibuya for Tokyo Station and arrived at our accommodation for the night, Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo, right next to Tokyo Station. The service was excellent and the stay was comfortable.

Day2

TOHOKU(FUKUSHIMA)

8:56 Tokyo Stationmore

8:56 Tokyo Station
October 2012 saw completion of the preservation and renovation work on the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building. The red brick facade long loved as the symbol of Tokyo Station has made a comeback, along with the history and grandeur of the original building dating nearly a hundred years back. The occasion also saw the reopening of Tokyo Station Hotel and Tokyo Station Gallery. The former is the only hotel situated within an important cultural property of Japan. The interior is designed in a sophisticated, classical European style to blend with the splendor of the Marunouchi Building exterior.

JR Shinkansen Yamabiko 129(JR EAST PASS)
Tokyo → Kōriyama

10:13 Kōriyama Stationmore

10:13 Kōriyama Station
Koriyama Station is a terminal station where various railway lines converge, including the Tohoku Shinkansen, Tohoku Honsen, Banetsu Saisen, Banetsu Tosen, and Suigunsen.
Inside the station building is an integrated commercial facility known as S-PAL, while outside the station is a facility, Big-i, where there is an observation lobby and a science museum called SPACEPARK.

JR Ban-etsu-West Line(JR EAST PASS)
Kōriyama→Aizu-Wakamatsu
About 1 hour

Sightseeing Circulation Bus Haikara-san
Wakamatsu Ekimae→Aizuwakamatsu Shiyakusho-mae
About 15 minutes

  • Hmily Song

    Japan's public transportation options include the subway, JR trains or the Shinkansen. All of them operate according to very precise schedules.

  • Huang Shi

    The tour departed Tokyo Station for Aizuwakamatsu via Koriyama Station. I used the hands-free tourism service at Aizuwakamatsu Station where they deliver your luggage right to the hotel so you can explore unencumbered. The hot springs resort was really fun and really beautiful. I stayed a couple nights.

Aizu’s sauce-katsudonmore

Aizu’s sauce-katsudon
In Japan, katsudon (rice bowl with deep-fried pork cutlet) can be topped with eggs and served in either soy sauce or sweet sauce. It's said that this dish originated in the Taisho period (approx. 100 years earlier) and is a traditional local delicacy. Each shop owner has their own particular taste in meat and sauce, and compete with each other with their own flavor and style. At Nakajima, diners can try out Aizu’s sauce katsudon, as well as sample their original “stewed sauce katsudon” that uses a sweet sauce flavor instead of a soy sauce flavor and was invented by the previous owner, a former chef of a Western-style restaurant.
  • Hmily Song

    The combination of thick and savory sauce with tonkatsu and rice really whets the appetite. Local food safety inspections are quite rigorous after the Great East Japan Earthquake, as each and every ingredient is carefully inspected and approved.

  • Huang Shi

    I ate lunch at Ganso Nikomi Sauce Katsudon restaurant Nakajima. It was delicious!

Walk
About 7 minutes

Experience of making the traditional Aizu craft of Makie (lacquerware craft)more

Experience of making the traditional Aizu craft of Makie (lacquerware craft)
Aizu lacquerware has a long history that goes back more than 400 years when Ujisato Gamo, who became the feudal lord of Aizu at the behest of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, began promoting it as an industry. Suzuzen Shikki Shop is a long-established lacquerware store founded in 1832. Artisans who have inherited the production methods used since its founding produce beautiful products. Visitors can paint their own makie designs on plain lacquerware. Why not make lacquerware decorated with your own unique makie designs as a souvenir for your trip?
  • Hmily Song

    I was taken to a studio where I learned how to make lacquerware. To finish off your beautiful lacquerware piece, you can draw a picture or even write your name or the name of a friend. It was only 1,500 yen to participate and you get to take your creation home.
    *Prices are for travelers at the time of use.

  • Huang Shi

    It was a truly one-of-a-kind experience. I signed my creation. It's going to be a great memento of my trip. Or you can give yours to a family member or friend as a gift.

Walk
About 5 minutes

Nanukamachi-dori walking trailmore

Nanukamachi-dori walking trail
A major thoroughfare during the Edo period, it acted as the western entrance to the castle town with a concentration of wholesale shops, inns, and restaurants. Nowadays, it is home to many diverse stores with a townscape reminiscent of Japan 100 years ago, known as "Romantic Taisho." With stores selling lacquerware, painted candles, cotton, as well as sake breweries, visitors can see the traditional crafts passed down from the age of the samurai as they walk here.

Sightseeing Circulation Bus Haikara-san
Nanukamachi Ekimae →Tsuruga-jo Iriguchi
About 12 minutes

Tsuruga-jo Castlemore

RECOMMENDED DESTINATIONS

Tsuruga-jo Castle
Tsuruga-jo Castle is the symbol of SAMURAI CITY Aizu. Renowned as an impregnable fortress, it lasted for one month against a fierce enemy siege during a civil war at the end of the Edo period (1868-1869). In 1874, at the end of the samurai era, it was torn down, leaving only the stone walls. In response to citizen's wishes, it was later rebuilt in 1965. In 2011, it underwent major refurbishment with its roof tiles replaced with red-colored tiles and was restored to its former glory. Now, as a scenic site for cherry blossoms in spring and foliage in autumn, it offers visitors a place of rest and is a center of Aizu tourism.
  • Hmily Song

    It also wasn't my first time to visit Tsuruga-jo Castle. I once visited to see the snowy sights of winter, when downpours of snow danced across the landscape. At that time, I said to myself that I wanted to come one more time in a different season. I found myself nearly running to the base of the castle, where I was greeted by the bright white exterior of the castle juxtaposed with red maples and golden gingko biloba at night. I couldn’t help but repeat to myself, What a wonderful sight!

  • Huang Shi

    I toured Tsuruga-jo Castle. I went at night and was treated to a really beautiful spectacle. I went again on my second day and took pictures of the beautiful fall foliage in the sunlight. The golden leaves were like a dazzling painting that nearly took my breath away.

Sightseeing Circulation Bus Haikara-san
Tsuruga-jo Iriguchi→Higashiyama-onsen-eki
About 20 minutes

Higashiyama Onsen (Shosuke no Yado - Takinoyu Hot Spring)more

Higashiyama Onsen (Shosuke no Yado - Takinoyu Hot Spring)
Higashiyama Onsen is a famous hot spring with 1,300 years of history, known as the "inner salon" of Aizu. It is a therapeutic bath that was frequented by successive generations of feudal lords and samurai warriors of Aizu, and includes an inn that formerly served as a villa for the domain lord and designated rest home for the domain. It is a sulfate hot spring with silky-smooth spring waters. The Yukawa River flowing through town has many waterfalls and its impressive flow can be observed from many lodgings in the area.
  • Hmily Song

    The inn is located next to a small gorge in the middle of Higashiyama Onsen. The scenery that unfolds here as you take a dip in the hot spring bath is truly breathtaking.

Day3

Higashiyama Onsen (Shosuke no Yado - Takinoyu Hot Spring)

Sightseeing Circulation Bus Akabei
Higashiyama-onsen-eki →Aizu-Wakamatsu Ekimae
About 15 minutes

Aizu Railway
Aizu-Wakamatsu→Yunokami Onsen
About 40 minutes

Taxi
Yunokami Onsen→Ouchi-juku Area
About 10 minutes

Ouchi-jukumore

Ouchi-juku
Ouchi-juku is a post station developed in about 1640 on the Aizu-Nishi Kaido trade route that ties together Aizuwakamatsu and Nikko-Imaichi. It prospered as an important freight and transportation hub when the lord of Tsuruga-jo Castle visited Edo (Tokyo). Today, groups of thatched houses that reflect the landscape of the Edo era remain, and the area has been designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Visitors can enjoy specialty gourmet dishes such as negi soba (buckwheat noodles topped with spring onions) and iwana (trout) sandwiches.
  • Hmily Song

    It was a very lively and vibrant area. I chatted with the staff of the souvenir shop while gazing at the many adorable handicraft items. As I grilled fish and drank tea around the traditional hearth, I felt like I had been transported to the time of the Samurai.

  • Huang Shi

    I headed to Ouchi-juku, which I had heard about some time before. It was a really captivating place! This was a stopover for the Shogun traveling to Edo and although several generations have passed, it has been preserved in its original condition. People even live here like they once did in the past.
    When I toured a home, I found out that people had been relocated here from areas that suffered extensive damage during the Great East Japan Earthquake. I also visited one of Japan's most famous distilleries located in Fukushima, where I tasted a number of different brands. The water and rice were pristine with absolutely no pollution.
    The mountainous area of the prefecture is far from the ocean and in the opposite direction of the prevailing winds near the nuclear plant. Today, many tourists visit here, which is quite a vibrant place. I bet you'd regret it for the rest of your life if you don't visit here at least once!

Taxi
Ouchi-juku Area→Yunokami Onsen
About 10 minutes

Aizu Railway
Yunokami Onsen→Aizu-Wakamatsu
About 40 minutes

JR Ban-etsu-West Line(JR EAST PASS)
Aizu-Wakamatsu→Kōriyama
About 1 hour

  • Hmily Song

    Yunokami-onsen-eki Station
    A hot spring is located next to the thatched roof station where you can dip your feet after a day of exploring. The clear blue sky and bright red colors of autumn greeted me on my train trip here, so I was looking forward to these same sights upon my return.
    I bought a bento box lunch at Koriyama Station. Japan's bento boxes are really delicious and provided another highlight to my trip.

Kōriyama Station

JR Shinkansen Yamabiko (JR EAST PASS)

Tokyo Station or other places

  • Hmily Song

    On my trip to Tokyo and Fukushima, I was able to experience high-tech Japan. At the same time, I had a glimpse into rural Japan in Fukushima, where I was transported back to the time of the Samurai during my visits to the dazzling white Tsuruga-jo Castle and sunshine-brightened Ouchi-juku. I hope to return to Fukushima and Eastern Japan again soon - this time during the cherry blossom season.

  • Huang Shi

    Hang in there, Fukushima! My trip to Fukushima, including Aizuwakamatsu, ended. It was filled with truly unforgettable and beautiful experiences. Thanks for the memories!

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM TRAVELERS

The package tour from the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo to Tsuruga-jo Castle and Ouchi-juku in Fukushima Prefecture provides travelers with an opportunity to experience modern Japan and Japan at the dawn of the Meiji Era.

Hmily Song
Blogger
Reside in Shanxi, China
  • Hobby

    Travelling, Photograph

  • Number of visits to Japan

    11times

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM TRAVELERS

I've lived in Tokyo for 26 years, but I never imagined traveling to Fukushima could be this easy. I definitely want to go back again during other seasons.

Huang Shi
actor
Reside in Tokyo
Home country: Wuhan, China
  • Hobby

    Travelling, Photograph, Fellowship

  • Length of stay in Tokyo

    26 Years

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