TLCTravels

One thing we learned from visiting Northern Japan was that the locals love to party. We visited Shimizu and along the port where our ship docked, they had a festival where they had performances and food stalls offering everything from okonoyaki to dango's.  An elementary school even came out to perform for us. These cute kids sang and dance for us. The festival went on all day and we watched the taiko drum performance and the cultural dances. It was a real nice treat and it gave me a sense of local pride.  There were ladies in kimono gowns that greeted us when we disembark the ship.

Once docked at the cruise port in Akita, we were bused in to downtown Akita where there was a large pond full of lotus plants. The leaves were huge! The pond was part of Senshu Park, a beautiful garden showcasing all four seasons. In the park was the ruins of the Kubota Castle. The pond provides a 254 m wooden boardwalk that floats and lets visitors stroll alongside blossoming lotus.  The park offers a tranquil walk through a forest. There is a small torii gate and shrine known as the  Yojiro Inari Jinja. Glimpse of Kubota Castle through the trees. You can go inside of the castle and get to the top where you can see Akita from high up. There were lots to see at Senshu Park. If we had more time, we would visit the museum there. After visiting the castle, we walked out to find a restaurant to sit down and have lunch. Funny we ran into a cat. The cat was on its way to a parade. 

One of the everlasting memories we have on visiting Akita, Japan is when we arrived at the port of Akita.  A local performance group from the Namahage Taiko met us at the cruise port in full costumes. It was a sight to reckon with because the masks were downright scary. Later when I googled it, I found out that these scary creatures were hired by the parents of bad children to help discipline them.  The blue masks are worn by the woman and the red masks are worn by the men. There was a shore excursion to see the Namahage Taiko show but we did not go. Perhaps next time we go to Akita, we would take in the local culture. If you went to the show, please leave us a comment and tell us whether you enjoyed the show or not. I'm sure it was a cultural event. I have always been fascinated by taiko drums. The constant beating and rhythmic sound of the boom-boom excites me. I hope you get a chance to see a performance of it somewhere. If you visit Akita, Japan, please leave us a comment ...