Myeong-Dong Korean Restaurant

 

Myeong-Dong Restaurant is located in Towada. Though their menu selection is limited, the food is wonderful. Once you step inside, you feel as though you have entered the home of a Korean mother. They have both western and eastern style seating.

The menu is divided into three sections, Main Dishes, Noodles and Barbeque and Snacks and Side Dishes. Two of my favorite dishes are actually on the snack menu, Ddokboggie and Hotteok. I highly recommend them! Along with the dishes, this restaurant serves Korean beverages as well.Non-alcoholic=  Sikhye (traditional sweet rice bevarage), cinnamon juice, Korean Cider (soda) and Alcoholic = Makgeolli (milky, sweet alcoholic bevarage made from rice), flavored makgeolli, black bean makgeolli, pear makgeolli and soju.

Directions: From POL gate go straight following Route 10 into Towada. Bear left at the fork in the road and take a left onto route 45. 45 turns into 145 and the restaurant is on your right.

Taiwanese Restaurant

We were very excited when one of our Japanese friends told us about this Taiwanese restaurant in Towada! The food is pretty good and really cheap! You get a lot for what you pay for. You can order a set (like you see above) or a la carte.

Hours: 1100-1500; 1700-2400

Directions: From POL gate:  Go straight all the way into Towada (Route 10). Take a right at Towada Technical High School (Route 165). The restaurant will be on your left, before you hit the light at the intersection for Route 4. There is parking on either side of the restaurant.

Café Fuku

We often pass Café Fuku on our way to Towada and have always wanted to drop in, so we did ! The seating style is mostly Japanese but I love that the seats on the floor have backs to them. I find that very American friendly.

This café’s specialty is soba noodles (cold or hot). At certain times during the day, I believe you can go to the building next door and either watch or help soba noodles being made!

A free service here is inari filled with not only rice but soba noodles as well. Everything here is delicious!

The menu is in Japanese so I advise bringing someone who can read Japanese, or if you know common soba dishes’ names you can probably ask for it and they most likely will have it.

 

Directions: From POL gate, go straight all the way into Towada (Route 10). Café Fuku is on a hill on your right. You will see a sign peeking out from a hill. I will have to get back to you on the approximate distance.

KNK Soy Sauce Factory

 

 

We visited the relatively new KNK soy sauce factory in Towada. Their soy sauce was recently featured on the news. The factory was impeccably clean! After an explanation and being shown around, we were allowed to purchase soy sauce (and other sauces) at a discounted rate. We were also presented with a goody bag of samples of different types of sauces.

Shotokukan and Komakko Land

 

When it rains it pours in Misawa, so having options for indoor excursions such as museums keeps boredom at bay.

Shotokukan is located on the grounds of Komakko Land in Towada. It opened in June 2000 and contains almost 5,000 items and artwork relating to horses and their historic and cultural significance in Japan.

The museum consists of 8 sections or “houses” within the building.  The first house is the Kihoku house which contains colored woodblock prints, a Nebuta Festival Float, sacred horses, historical records from the Michinoku region and other relics.

The Harness House displays a Muromachi Era saddle, Momoyama Era horse masks, bits, horse shoes and saddles.

 

The toy house has horse toys and stamps from Japan and other places worldwide. This was one of my favorite displays!

The Ex-Vote gallery displays votive tablets (the wooden ones found at Shinto Shrines) withhorses. There is a vending machine here which you can purchase souvenir tablets but it was empty when we went.

The Horse-Religion House displays horse deities, straw horses, stable monkeys, and paper offerings.

Special Exhibit house (1F) displays local historical materials, a horse riding and other simulators.

 

The museum also has a historical records house, another special exhibit house on the second floor and a folk-story house which boasts 3-D movies and storytelling in a farm house setting. It also has tea rooms and resting areas on the first and second floor. The one on the second floor has a fireplace and gives a great view of Komakko Land.

 

When you get to the parking lot at Komakko Land you will notice an outdoor amphitheater with a stage in the middle. I don’t know what kind of events are held here or when they are but it looks like it would be really nice. There is also another building (pictured) which has a ramen shop inside. On the opposite end of the amphitheater are these steps, you need to go up them to get to the museum. It’s also handicap accessible. Once inside the museum, there is a machine on your right where you can purchase tickets. 

Further on the grounds is a big playground featuring a slide in the shape of a horse. These are just a few pictures of the park area. Use of this area is free to the public.

They also have horse rides for children here as well.

Directions to Komakko Land/ Shotokukan museum:

• Go out the POL gate
• stay on this road (straight) it is route 10 to Towada City
• This parallels the railroad tracks, turn right at the Y
• Go through 4 lights (this takes a while)
• Turn right at the first street after the 4th light.
• Go 1.4 km (7 streets) and turn left (you’ll see a brown sign with a golden horseshoe above white kanji.
• Go past a house with lots of apple trees at a strange intersection.
• Continue straight up the hill until you see the sign for the Towada Horse Museum on your left.

Shotokukan Hours:

9:00am to 4:30pm. Museum guests are asked to enter the museum before 4pm. Closed on Mondays. If Monday is a national holiday, the museum will be open on that Monday and closed Tuesday.

Show Times of 3-D Hi-Definition Movie and Storytelling:

3D-movies are shown on weekdays, Sundays and holidays 10-1015,11-1115,12-1215,1330-1345,1430-1445 and 1530-1545.

Story telling (15 minutes)is available only on Sundays and holidays at 1115 and 1345. Storytelling on weekdays (groups only) can be made by appointment.

Admission Fees:

Adults ¥300

High School and University students ¥100

Elementary  and Middle School students as well as children under 6 are free.

Group rates (20+ people): please buy your tickets at the ticket counter. Adults are ¥240 and University/High School students are ¥80.

telephone:

0176-26-2100(Shotokukan)
0176-20-6022(Komakko Land)

website: http://www.towada.or.jp/kankou/en/sightseeing/koma.htm

Towada Fall Festival 2011

 

Towada Fall Festival was located near Towada Art Museum  and hospital. If you are like me, you know not all festivals are equal. I really enjoyed the Towada Fall Festival because it had all the beautiful floats and festive music (like Sansha Taisai) without the overwhelming crowds and heat. (Don’t get me wrong, there was a big crowd but nothing compared to the Nebuta Festival in Aomori!)

Game Souko

 

We were driving around Towada when we came across this store. Intrigued, we went inside.

Game Souko is a very eclectic store. They have used games, books, clothing, anime figures and more! This is a great place for all you Otaku (anime fans) out there that love figures or trinkets. They have so many and the used ones are in great condition and very reasonable prices! (The cheapest small figure I found was 50 yen). There is so much to look at in here, who knows what treasure you will find?

A chain store, Game Souko is also located in Hachinohe next to Sega World.

Risoukyo Flower Farm

Risoukyo is a little hidden gem in Towada. We found out about this place from The Insider newspaper. It is a large Japanese style garden with a waterfall, mill and restaurant. They also have local artisans doing traditional crafts like basket weaving and pottery.

 

The main attraction this time were these strange vertical flowers called lupis. They come in a variety of colors.

Along with lupis flowers, a few Japanese irises and peonies were in bloom. I really enjoyed the peonies and thought this particular type was more beautiful than the ones at the Peony festival!

It costs 500 yen to enter but we got free tickets for our next trip there. This place is very lovely for a stroll on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Directions to Risoukyo: (taken from little rain drops blog)

You will need to drive about 40 minutes from Misawa through Towada and to the foothills west of Towada.

• Leave through the POL / Falcon gate. Continue straight as the road continues through many stop lights. It bends to the west as you pass under the expressway. Continue to Towada.
  As you reach Towada, the train line will be on your left. You will pass two schools on your right, separated by a stop light.
• At the next major stop light, take the right hand Y. You will pass Aomori Bank on the right at a stop light.
• Continue past two more stop lights.
• As it seems you are leaving the city, you will pass another school on the right, set back a few blocks. There will be a stop light with no buildings nearby.
• After this stoplight, the road bends slightly to the left. At the next intersection, turn right.
• You will begin picking up signs to the Horse Park. Continue straight. Do not turn left to the Horse Museum. You will continue straight for about a half mile. Look for a road that angles to the right. There will be a sign with an iris on it. Shortly after this turn, look for a thatched roof building. there are two turn-ins to the parking lot