Sanfuri Yokocho

さんふり横丁,青森

Aomori in the far north of Japan has a well-deserved reputation for the excellence of its local food.

Sanfuri Yokocho (Yataimura) in the east of the city is a recreation of intimate Showa-style food stalls offering a few seats (8-12) around a counter presided over by a mama. The 15 stalls are arranged in an alley covered with paper lanterns. Sanfuri Yokocho opened in 2005 and is open in the evenings.

Diners can try some of Aomori's excellent sashimi (raw fish), kaiyaki miso (pictured above), and oden washed down with a glass or two of local sake or beer.

Yatai Mura is north of Amenity Street, one block north of the Aomori Prefectural Folk Museum.

Yatai Mura
Honmachi 3-8-3
Aomori
030-0802
Tel: 017 745 4242
Map of Yatai Mura

© JapanVisitor.com


Like this blog? Sign up for the JapanVisitor newsletter

Books on Japan
Tags
Japan food
Showa
Eating
Aomori
Japanese food

Hatsumode

初詣

Click here for the sound of New Year hatsumode at Toyokawa Inari shrine, Tokyo.

Hatsumode - is the first prayer of the New Year as people all over the country flock to shrines to pray for success and health in the coming year. Shop owners and business people may visit one of the thousands of Inari shrines in Japan, which are particularly associated with financial and commercial fecundity. Toyokawa Inari, a grand, 700-year old Shinto shrine in Tokyo's Akasaka district, is a very popular shrine at this time.

In the big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya subways and commuter trains run all night to ferry the faithful to the popular shrines.

Hatsumode usually takes places in the first three days of the new year in Japan. New omamori (lucky charms) can be bought at many shrines, such as these daruma dolls below, and old ones are often burnt at this time or later at Setsubun.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tags
Japan
hatsumode
New Year
shrine shinto

Happy New Year 2012

あけましておめでとうございます

Happy 2012 to all our visitors. It's the Year of the Dragon in 2012 and our nengajo (New Year's Card) shows the kanji character for the year of the dragon (辰; tatsu).

2011 may have been one to forget for many people in Japan following the huge earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku area of north eastern Japan followed by a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi (Number 1) nuclear plant.

Join our Japan newsletter to keep up to date to all that is new on Japan Visitor for 2012.

E-mail us if you would like to receive the glossy New Year's card above (until January 20).
desk [at] japanvisitor [dot] com
Subject "new year card"
Just include your name and snail mail address, and we will promptly post it to you, written in beautiful calligraphy.

We wish you all a peaceful and healthy 2012.

© Japan Visitor

Book a hotel in Japan with Bookings

Japan Friends

The Japanese Spa: A Guide to Japan's Finest Ryokan and Onsen

Tags

New Year nengajyo Dragon

Japan News This Week 1 January 2012

今週の日本

Japan Panel Cites Failure in Tsunami

New York Times

Japan delays sales tax increase amid growing opposition

BBC

Japan streets ahead in global plastic recycling race

Guardian

Japan, India hike defense, economic ties

Japan Times

China y Japón estrechan lazos financieros

El Pais

Fukushima : le rapport d'enquête dénonce une cascade de défaillances

Rue 89

日本忧未来遭九级强震袭击

Caijing

A Problem for all Humanity: Nagasaki Writer Hayashi Kyoko Probes the Dangers of Nuclear Energy

Japan Focus

Brewers win right to negotiate with Japan’s Aoki

Yahoo Sports

Last Week's News

Statistics

Per capita GDP in 2010 in Japan was $42,983. That was 14th of the developed countries in the world.

It rose from the previous year, when it was 16th. That was primarily due to the strength of the yen.

Luxembourg was top of the 34 OECD countries at $105,313.

The US was eighth at $46,588.

China's per capita GDP was $4,430. Note: China is not a member of the OECD.

Source: Kyodo News

In CD singles sales in 2011, J-Pop group AKB48 claimed 1st through 5th place on the Oricon chart. "Flying Get" was the top single and sold 1.59 copies.

The top album was "Beautiful World" by Arashi. It sold 908,000 copies.

Source: Daily Yomiuri

© JapanVisitor

Book a hotel in Japan with Bookings

Japanese Fiction

Happi Coats

Tags

Japan News Japan Statistics politics