Golden Week Trip 2010 - Mogami River Cruise

From Hanamaki (Iwate), we moved southwest to Akita prefecture, then down to Yamagata prefecture.

岩手県花巻から、今度は西へ。秋田県に入り、そこから南下し山形県へ。

We were on Mogami river cruise.

奥の細道で有名な松尾芭蕉も詠う、「五月雨をあつめて早し最上川 」最上川下りへ。

It was such a gorgeous day! The weather was nice and boat ride was beautiful. I guess it is usually chilly around this time of the year, so they still had a winter boat out. It was gorgeous outside but inside of the boat was a little warm. Kids had a lot of fun.

5月も初旬だというのに、暑いぐらいのゴージャスなお天気に恵まれました。通常この時期はまだ寒いぐらいらしいので、舟下りの舟の中は暑いぐらいでした。船頭さんの説明や素敵な歌に耳を傾けながら、最上川のとてもすばらしい景色を満喫させていただきました。

This is Ellie waiting for the boat ride.

舟下りを待っている間のエリ。傘をトライ！

Around Mogami river, there were several historical sites. On the way to the cruise, we stopped at this place which displays Japanese traditional house. The roof was made of straw (thatching). Traditional style was kept inside of the house and had displays of things people used back in Edo era.

途中、昔の茅葺屋根の民家を見ることができる場所が、周辺の町、新庄にあり、ドライブの休憩がてら寄ってみました。内装もそのまま残して展示してあり、子供たちは昔の人の生活をちょびっと体験です。

While we were stopped at this place, there were several people around us who were working and happened to be taking a break while we were there. They saw we had Tokyo license place on our car and brought some food for us. I have heard Tohoku people are very kind and hospitable, and it was so true! We love Tohoku people!

民家の前の駐車場に車を駐車し、民家を観光し、ゆっくり休憩していた私たち。ちょうどその近くで作業していて、たまたま同じ場所で休憩されていた工事の作業員の方々が、みたらし団子を子供たちにおすそ分けしてくれました。品川ナンバーの車を見て「遠くからよく来たねぇ。」と声をかけてくださいました。田舎の方の優しい心遣いに感激の私たちでした！

We also stopped at the park nearby. Sakura (cherry blossom) was gorgeous there! Kids were tired of being in the car for a long time, so it was nice for them to run around at the park.

お宿の近くの公園にも足を運びました。こちらも桜が満開。とても美しく咲いておりました。子供たちは、長時間の車内に飽き飽きしていたので、公園で思いっきり走り回っておりました。