Trip to Fukushima 福島への旅 Fukushima Trip

For winter break this year, I went to Fukushima. We’re on a quest to visit every prefecture, and with this, we have visited every prefecture in northern Japan.

I decided to stop at Shirakawa Station just because the ticket was cheaper, but it’s a nice area.

This ramen is famous in Shirakawa. It’s shoyu ramen, but the noodles are curly and chewy. Personally, I like them better than normal ramen noodles. It was yummy.

Whenever I go to the countryside, I go to second-hand stores. There are often treasures hidden there, whether it’s interesting items or an overlooked good deal!

After picking up our rental car, we set off for Ouchi-juku, which is a historical location filled with traditional thatched buildings from the Edo Period. It had just started snowing, so it was hard to get around, but we enjoyed the amazing view.

After that, we went to our hotel. I was excited because it was my first time staying at a hotel with a personal hot spring!

Not only that, but there was an amazing view that you could enjoy from the bath.

For dinner, we ate at the hotel. It was buffet-style. It was a bit expensive, so I made sure to get my money’s worth! I love to eat at hotel buffets because they usually have the local dishes for you to try. This one was particularly delicious. I couldn’t stop eating the sushi!

The next morning, we found our car covered in snow. I don’t usually drive, so I wasn’t prepared.

My friend worked hard to get it all off while I relaxed at the onsen. (Just kidding—luckily the hotel had tools for us to borrow as well!)

We took a quick look at the Aka Beko souvenirs before we departed. I had seen this before, but I never knew it came from Fukushima.

For lunch, we had another local dish: Negi Soba. This is a unique dish where you eat with a real green onion.

It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

Finally, before boarding our train to go home, we stopped by one more second-hand store. This one was quite large; it may be the largest one I have ever been to.

I think it’s great to stop by these stores to find souvenirs. Especially if you are visiting from overseas, you can find something truly memorable to bring back with you without breaking the bank.

Almost every second-hand store has a section with old cameras. You can always find something unique or cheap!

This store had a particularly large supply of computer hardware. There aren’t many amazing deals, especially compared to online second-hand marketplaces like Mercari, but it’s still cheaper than buying new.

I considered buying this statue of a person walking their dog, but it was a bit too heavy.

While I looked at various items, my friend was in the bag section looking for something nice the entire time. Many people were amazed that you can buy genuine luxury branded items in good condition for less than $30.

Going home, we rode the fancy green car train because I was able to find a discount. I was surprised by how much nicer it was than the normal seats. We were happy with our short trip to Fukushima. There was a lot we were not able to do due to the short time, but we still had a lot of fun!