ゴールデンウィークの話しですが後半に東京に行っていたら宮城県、岩手県と福島県のいわゆるアンテナショップに寄ってみました。どれも美味しい食べ物、面白いお土産、楽しい文房具や観光とイベントに関する情報が抜群なので、周辺にいたら立ち寄ってみてください♪During the Golden Week run of public holidays I was in Tokyo briefly and while there popped in to three 'antenna shops', one run by Miyagi Prefecture, one by Iwate and one by Fukushima. Filled with cool souvenirs, snacks, and travel and event info, if you're in the area for any of them I recommend stopping by.
最初に寄ったのが池袋にある「宮城ふるさとプラザ」。池袋駅東口を出てサンシャイン通り方面で、左側にあります。First one I stopped at was the one run by Miyagi Prefecture. It's in Ikebukuro in between the station's east exit and Sunshine Doori, just before Sunshine. The link for the store has an informative PDF in English at the top. http://cocomiyagi.jp/
木の後ろに西武が見られます↑You can see the Seibu department store (and where the east exit of Ikebukuro station is) in the background.
入ったら美味しいハンバーグをいっぱい頂きました(^-^)Tasty samples on walking in
↑ショップの奥のほうに隠れ屋がある！ Above shot is of a small restaurant tucked away at the back, specialising in beef tongue which is famous in Sendai.
２階へ Up to the second floor
The colourful streamers hanging on the right can be seen in their hundreds if not thousands at the Sendai Tanabata festival, held this year August 6-8. http://www.sendaitanabata.com
Local booze!
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次に寄ったのが銀座にある「いわて銀河プラザ」http://www.iwate-ginpla.net/ Next antenna shop was the one in Ginza run by Iwate Prefecture.
The store is right across from the Kabukiza theatre, which is a different kind of awesome. Comprehensive English website here http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/eng/
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Third stop was one of the (three) antenna shops in Tokyo run by Fukushima Prefecture. http://www.tif.ne.jp/jp/sp/yaesu/
Store is a five-minute walk from the Yaesu Minami exit at Tokyo station.
In the next pic you can see at the top a signed message from actress Haruka Ayase, who is the leading lady in "Yae no Sakura", a feudal drama set in 19th century Fukushima. She is in the poster in the store window, and has been active in promoting recovery of the Tohoku region.
The above pic is of posters for a couple of upcoming events in Fukushima. The one on the left is for a festival in its third year, and is an opportunity to see in one place a small-scale version of the six major festivals held in the Tohoku region each summer. This year it will be held in Fukushima City, on June 1 and 2. The English website has some cool pics and is here http://www.rokkon.jp/index_en.html
Their facebook page is updated with news regarding preparations etc https://www.facebook.com/rokkonsai
The poster on the right is for a festival in Soma City in late July. Plenty of pics and details on the procession.
http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~nomaoi/english.htm
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In the first half of Golden Week I went to Tsurugajo Castle, in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima. The cherry blossoms had just started to fall but they still made a great sight.
This next link has English info on the castle and also a nearby park.
http://www.tsurugajo.com/language/eng/index.html
Very close to the castle is the Fukushima Prefectural Museum, which is well worth popping in.
