The Cement Factory --Junking

 

You are probably wondering why I am writing about a cement factory of all things.  Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? Well, actually this factory had been closed down and is now a place where used and surplus goods are sold for great prices! It is a great little gem where Americans frequent. My Japanese friends don’t even know about it! This is what the front of the establishment looks like so you know what to look for when you get there.

 

The factory was set up a lot differently that I imagined. There are several “rooms” if you will, with different products inside. For example, there was one section for kitchen items, one section with a lot of things used for restaurants and another with cds and movies.  My favorite room is pictured below. There  were a lot of art pieces, cast iron teapots, clocks, and framed pictures. You could probably spend hours just going through the framed pictures!

I know you are just dying to know what we bought! We ended up getting two heated toilet seats for ¥1500 each. (Heated only, no bidet). And a Hina Matsuri (Girls’ Day) Doll display for ¥2000! You read that right! They usually go for around $400 brand new.  I bought it for my 3 month old daughter. (I’ve actually wanted one since I’ve been here). She is the reason I’ve been on hiatus for 4 months.

 

Map to the Cement Factory from Misawa

美味鲜 (Delicious Fresh) Taiwanese Restaurant

 

美味鲜 is a Taiwanese restaurant located in Hachinohe. (There are 2 in Hachinohe)  It is very similar to this Taiwanese Restaurant in Towada. You get a lot of food for cheap. I liked the food here a bit better, though.

 

Hours: 1100-1500          1700-2400

Telephone: 0178-80-7568

Map to the restaurant from Misawa

Hinano

Hinano is a buffet style restaurant located in Hachinohe. (It is next to Yamada Denki which is next to Toys R’Us). It is famous for its organic dishes and, of course, chocolate fountain! You will find Chinese and Japanese cuisine here and sometimes more! (Last time they offered lasagna!) The food is very fresh, tasty and not too heavy.

Here is a sampling of the buffet, Nabe, udon, fries, salad, greens and tempura!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m usually not a fan of buffets, but I really like Hinano!

 

Hours: lunch: Sunday to Saturday:      1130-1630 (They stop refilling the buffet at 1430)

            dinner: Sunday-Thursday:       1730-2200 (stop refilling at 2030)

                Friday and Saturday:   1730-2230 (stop refilling at 2100)

Directions: Enter the toll road or take Route 45 from Misawa. Exit the toll road at the Hachinohe exit and make a right at the stoplight. Continue down Route 45 until you get to Sega World and make a left (you can either go left or right). Go through two stoplights and the Pia Do sign is at the left corner of the second stoplight. Toys R’ Us is behind Pia Do and Hinano is to the right of Toys R’ Us and Yamada Denki.

Kabushima Shrine

If you are afraid of Hitchcock's famous suspense/ horror The Birds, you may want to stay away from this next location. Or, if you are a big Hitchcock fan, this may just be the place for you!

Kabushima Shrine in Hachinohe is a Shinto shrine which also habitat for forty thousand Black-tailed Gulls or, “Umineko.” It is suggested to bring an umbrella if you go to the shrine to shield you from any gull “accidents". There are also umbrellas available at the bottom of the shrine if you forget. I brought my own and it didn’t get dirty. It is also said that you should walk around the shrine three times for good luck. We did! It was very loud but really interesting. I liked Kabushima Shrine!

Note: Dogs and cats are not allowed at Kabushima. Also, don’t be surprised if you see some injured (or dead) baby gulls. There is a pecking order and it is quite a crowded island. (We only saw one dead baby bird and a few with a bit of blood on their head).

I don’t have directions to Kabushima right now but I’m pretty sure there are directions available at Misawa Inn and Misawa ITT.

Tanesashi Beach Coastline Festival

 

Tanesashi Beach in Hachinohe is a beautiful grassy beach located in Hachinohe. We had our first visit here during their coastline festival. There were pony rides, a juggler, bon dancing, several Japanese musicians, a kite coloring contest and more!

The beauty of this beach is very popular among the Japanese and I’m sure it will be a favorite for you too!

Directions: (Thanks to Misawa Life) Approximate travel time is about 50 minutes.
Take the toll road or route 45 to the Hachinohe exit. Make a right at the stoplight and travel towards downtown Hachinohe. You will go about 4 km before you see the Ferry Wharf exit (stay in the left lane). Go down the ramp and make a left, there will be a gas station on the left. Travel down this road about 5-6 km and stay in the left lane. The road will split and you want to stay in the left lane. After the split you will travel through a small tunnel and over a small bridge. After the bridge get in the right lane. The Ferry Wharf (large boats will be in front of you at the stoplight) make a right at the stoplight and travel over two very large bridges (you will get a great view of the coastline). At the first stoplight after the two bridges make a left turn. Immediately following this make a right turn (Shell Gas Station on the right). You be traveling down this road for about 4 km. Before you get to Kabushima Shrine (it will be directly in front of you make a right turn down the small alley and an immediate left turn. This will get you on the road that takes you in front of the big blue building (Hachinohe Marine and Science Museum). This is a winding almost one lane road for about a kilometer. It will take a strange turn up the hill and you will be forced to either go left or right, go LEFT. Drive up the hill and you will see signs for the Hachinohe Seagull View Hotel. Keep going straight on this road until you see the sign for Shirahama Swimming Beach. Make a left turn to drive along the beach and at the end of the beach you must make a right up the hill to the stoplight. Make a left at the stoplight and travel straight for another 6 km (there is a sign in English that reads "Tanesashi Beach". You will pass a gas station on the left and cross a set of train tracks right before you see a long stretch of grasslands and the beautiful ocean. There is parking available on both sides of the road.

Ootoya

 

Ootoya is a chain restaurant located in Hachinohe. They serve Japanese style dishes. There is also an Ootoya located in New York!

I apologize for not having directions or hours, but if you are in Hachinohe and happen to go by Ootoya, why not try it out?

Website: http://www.ootoya.com/

Hachinohe Morning Market

 

We took a trip to the Hachinohe Morning market which is held by the fishing docks.  There are a lot of local vegetables, fish, honey and prepared food. They had a small performance the day we went. And of course, a lot of seagulls! The market is open on the 9th, 19th and 29th of each month.

Korekawa Archaeological Museum

Hachinohe is known for the abundance of relics from the Jōmon period (circa 10,000 B.C. - circa 300 B.C.), and among the findings are the well-known ruins of Korekawa from the late Jōmon period. This museum introduces life from the Jōmon period using models and videos. In the information center are computer terminals to help obtain more detailed references of the ruins and findings. The adjacent Korekawa Archaeological Museum and Hachinohe History and Folk Museum display findings as well.

We were pretty confused when we got here because we entered the adjacent building first and were surprised it was free. We were looking for this statue=> which is from the Jōmon period and considered a Japanese national treasure. Instead we found this---> replica. We finally realized the big “bus station” we had been passing was the ACTUAL museum. I couldn’t take a picture of the actual national treasure because it was in a section of the museum where photographs are not allowed. I think it was worth it, the Jōmon pottery is exquisitely lacquered in red and black. It is amazing to see how rich the colors still are from so long ago!

Inside the museum the railings of the stairway are made of red nylon rope. The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them.

 

I felt the best part of the museum was the section that you had to pay to see and couldn’t take photographs. Not only is the national treasure there, but a hologram show which depicts life of the Jōmon people, red and black laquered pottery and jewelry and many Jōmon dolls. After seeing the national treasure, you can go to the “library” where there are many books about this era

Adults ¥250, senior high and university students ¥150, elementary and junior high students ¥50 / Open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. / Closed Mondays (closed Tuesday if Monday falls on a holiday), closed last day of every month / 0178-38-9511

http://www.korekawa-jomon.jp 

By Car
- Head towards Hachinohe. (Rt. 45)
- Take a right at the "Sega World" intersection. (Rt. 45)
- Take a right at the second traffic light, this is an one-way street.
- Take a left at the fourth traffic light, this is an one-way street. (Rt. 251)
- Take a left at the second traffic light, this is a T-intersection. (Rt. 11)
- Take a right at the first traffic light. (Rt. 11)
- Take a right at the second traffic light. (Rt. 138)
- Take a right at the second traffic light.
- The annex hall is the first large building on the left.
- The main hall is the second large building on the left. (Park here!)

By Bus
From Hachinohe station take the Hachinohe Shiei Bus for Mikka-machi. Get off at terminus (20 min. ride) and transfer to Nanbu Bus for Hachinohe Eigyo-sho via Nakaibayashi. Get off at Jomon Gakushu-kan (10 min. ride).

Hachinohe City Museum

Hachinohe City Museum is a great place to go especially on a rainy weekday. When we went we had the entire museum to ourselves! This museum is divided into four zones. The Archaeological Exhibit Room has displays of utensils used in daily life from the Jomon period (circa 10,000 B.C. - circa 300 B.C.) through the Heian period (794 - 1185). The History Exhibit Room introduces items related to the Nanbu clan found at the Nejo Castle site. The Folk Exhibit Room features references pertaining to the history of Hachinohe's fishing, farming, and business industry as well as traditional art forms of the area. The Intangible Reference Room is where visitors can listen to Hachinohe's folk songs, folk tales, children's songs, and the local dialect.

 

The Hachinohe International Association’s Volunteer Tour Guides are available for free English tours. To reserve guides for your tour, please contact the museum one week in advance.

Hours 9am-5pm (Entry until 4:30pm)

Closed: Mondays (except the 1st Monday of each month and Public Holidays)

The day after Public Holidays (but OPEN if it is Saturday or Sunday)

December 27-January 4

 

Admission:

                  Adults                HS/college                    Elem./jr.high

single:               ¥250                        ¥150                                            ¥50

group *:            ¥130                         ¥80                                             ¥30      

combined **: ¥400                         ¥240                                           ¥80

group comb.: ¥260                         ¥160                                            ¥60

*Group rate is for groups  of 20 or more persons

**Combined ticket covers admission to BOTH the Museum and Nejo Historical Sites.

Transportation:

Take Nanbu Bus from JR Hachinohe Station going via the Shiho Center (Judiciary Center), getting off at the Nejo (Hakubutsukan-mae) bus stop. (15 minute ride). It is 5 minutes by car from the Hachinohe Interchange of the Hachinohe Expressway.

Hachinohe City Museum

35-1 Higashigamae, Nejo, Hachinohe City, Aomori-ken 039-1166

TEL: 0178-44-8111

email: haku@hec.hachinohe.ed.jp

homepage: http://www.hachinohe.ed.jp.haku/haku.html

Chuu ka tetsu

We found Chuu Ka Tetsu while looking through the latest edition of Amuse magazine. Amuse can be found at most restaurants in the local area as well as book and convenience stores. Located in Hachinohe, this wooden lodge hosts some of the hottest and greatest home-made tasting food around!

The owner is also from Misawa! This restaurant does not have an English menu, so if you can’t read Japanese please bring a native friend, or choose the bowl from the picture (what I did, it’s the picture from the magazine).

Here is what I ordered and it was absolutely delicious. The soup was thicker and the noodles had a very homemade taste. It was rather hot that day but I think this dish would be perfect for one of those cold snowy days in Aomori!

Here is another set which is a Chinese dish called Ma Po Tofu. Tofu with ground pork in a slightly spicy/savory sauce over white rice. It was also quite good.
I’m not sure what else is on the menu, I need to bring a Japanese friend or brush up on my Kana.
If you have the opportunity, please try Chuu ka tetsu, the food is great and staff is very friendly!

Directions
- Head towards Hachinohe via Rt. 45.
- Turn left at "Sega World" Intersection.
- At the second traffic light, turn right.  You should be going away from the Pia Do sign.
- After the fifth traffic light.  The restaurant will be on the left.
  *Note: It is across from a pachinko parlor.  Parking is very limited.
 

Tyura-Tei

 

Tyura-Tei is a restaurant/bar in Hachinohe which specializes in Okinawan  cuisine. 
Unfortunately for me, the menu is not in English and there were very few pictures.

The interior of the bar was decorated in red and black with a bar  adorned with large jars of very expensive sake.  The pork bowl was filling and delicious as was the Okinawan ramen and their scallion pancakes were crepe thin and delicious! I hope to come back with some Japanese friends to figure out the rest of the menu! Looks like I need to brush up on my Japanese!

Directions: to be updated.

Hours: 11:30-14:00~
               17:30-1:00
phone: 0178-44-2678