青森旅行記（十和田市・奥入瀬・八戸）1日目

三泊四日旅行で人生初の青森県に行ってきました。実は全国47都道府県で青森県だけ唯一行ったことがない状態が続いておりまして、今回の旅行で一応全てに足を踏み入れたことになります。（当然、各都道府県でも訪問エリアによって文化や見所が全然異なりますし、季節ごとにも風景は違ったりするのでまだまだ制覇とは言えませんが一つの区切りにはなりました）

青森と言ってもその範囲が思った以上に広大。マグロで有名な大間の下北半島、世界自然遺産の白神山地、ねぶた祭の中心地青森タウンなどがある中で、パートナーの希望もあり今回は十和田市・奥入瀬・八戸へ行ってみました。これから旅行に行く人の参考にもなれば幸いです。

・1日目/いざ、青森へ。

主な動き:東京駅→八戸駅→十和田市現代美術館→十和田湖周辺ホテル

東京駅から八戸駅まで新幹線はやぶさで約2時間40分。まっぷるを片手に改めて旅程を話しながら向かいます。車窓の向こう側の世界が徐々に都会から田舎になる感じ。旅の味わいのひとつですよね。そんなこんなで八戸駅に到着。ここからはレンタカー移動のため手続きを済ませ、まずは十和田市現代美術館を目指します！（八戸の探索は3日目・最終日を予定していたためこの時はスルー）

八戸駅から十和田市現代美術館までは約1時間。ちらほら外食チェーン店もあって意外と都会っぽいな、ここらへんは田園風景で田舎っぽいなみたいな事を考えてるうちに到着。草間彌生のオブジェ群や個性溢れる馬がお出迎えしてくれました。

の前に、少し早めの昼食。十和田市民が愛してやまないソウルフード（←まっぷる曰く）十和田バラ焼きを求めて美術館近くの「司 バラ焼き大衆食堂」にお邪魔しました。玉ねぎと牛バラ肉を敷きつめた鉄板が出され、火を付けるところから始まります。5-10分ほどでしょうか。出来上がったバラ焼き、めちゃくちゃうまい。米が何杯でもいけそうな気がしました。

食欲を満たした後は、ついに念願の十和田市現代美術館に。周囲をぐるりと回った後に館内に入ります。館内の様子は次のような感じ。美術館付近を周遊するだけでもだいぶ良い感じだったので館内にはわざわざ入らなくてもいいかも・・・と若干思いましたが入って良かった。様々なオブジェ、アートが迎えてくれます。

美術館を出た後は、翌日の奥入瀬渓流巡りに向けて十和田湖周辺ホテルに行き大浴場&夕食を満喫。旅の1日目終了です。

次回は2日目/奥入瀬渓流を散策へ（思った以上に時間がかかったので不定期更新でw）

*July 2023 English text added

Title: Aomori Travelogue (Towada City, Oirase, Hachinohe) Day 1

Body text:

I went to Aomori Prefecture for the first time in my life on a four-day, three-night trip. In fact, Aomori is the only prefecture among the 47 prefectures in Japan that I have never been to, and I have visited all of them on this trip. (Naturally, the culture and sights are completely different in each prefecture, and the scenery varies with the seasons, so I can’t say that I’ve conquered all of them yet, but this trip marked a milestone for me.)

The scope of Aomori is much more vast than one might think. Among the Shimokita Peninsula of Oma, famous for its tuna, the Shirakami Mountains, a World Natural Heritage site, and Aomori Town, the center of the Nebuta Festival, I went to Towada City, Oirase, and Hachinohe this time at the request of my partner. We hope this will be a useful reference for those who are going to travel in the future.

[Day 1] Now it’s time to go to Aomori.

Main Activities:Tokyo Station→Hachinohe Station→Towada City Museum of Contemporary Art→Hotel around Lake Towada

From Tokyo Station to Hachinohe Station, take the Shinkansen Hayabusa for approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. We headed there with the Mapuru in hand, talking about the itinerary once again. The world on the other side of the train window is gradually changing from the city to the countryside. It’s one of the tastes of travel, isn’t it? And so we arrived at Hachinohe Station. From here, we completed the necessary procedures to rent a car and headed first to the Towada Museum of Contemporary Art! (We did not go to Hachinohe at this time because we planned to explore Hachinohe on the third and final day of our trip.)

It takes about one hour from Hachinohe Station to the Towada Art Museum. It takes about one hour from Hachinohe Station to the Towada Museum of Contemporary Art. There are a few chain restaurants here and there, so it looks more like an urban area than I expected. We were greeted by Yayoi Kusama’s objet d’art and a horse full of individuality.

We had an early lunch before visiting the Towada Museum of Contemporary Art. We visited the “Tsukasa Barayaki Popular Restaurant” near the museum for Towada Barayaki, a soul food (according to Mapuru) that the citizens of Towada love to eat. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes. The resulting bara-yaki was so good, I could eat as many cups of rice as I wanted. I felt like I could eat as many servings of rice as I wanted.

After satisfying my appetite, I finally went to the Towada City Museum of Contemporary Art, which I had longed to visit. After taking a walk around the museum, we entered the museum. The inside of the museum looks like this. It was a good feeling just to walk around the museum, so I thought I might not bother to enter the museum… but I am glad I did. Various objects and artworks welcome you.

After leaving the museum, we went to a hotel around Towadako to enjoy a large bath & dinner for the Oirase mountain stream tour the next day. This is the end of the first day of the trip.

Next time: Day 2 / To explore Oirase Keiryu (w/ irregular updates as it took longer than expected).

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