The drift ice arrival at Hokkaido

Drift ice is ice drifting on the surface of the water.

This means the thing except the fast ice (ice taking root in the land).

Drift ice washed ashore on the shore by north wind overlaps, and may make the form such as the small hill; this calls ice hill.

The ice hill of which height is more than several meters and lasted more than 1 kilometer is called as the drift ice mountain range.

The drift ice which went south in the Sea of Okhotsk approached the Hokkaido coast, and a ship of the drift ice sightseeing met with drift ice for starting on February 3 this year.

The drift ice walk began, too.

It is a-limited tourist train in the winter season when "drift ice “Norokko” train” runs leisurely while expecting the Sea of Okhotsk that drift ice visits to link Abashiri to Shiretoko Shari.

Service began on January 30 in this season.

Drift ice “Norokko” train advances at 30km per an hour slowly while looking at the Kita fox of drift ice of the intense cold and the vast snowy field.

We did not know till when we could look at drift ice this year, but there seemed to be it in the year when drift ice was seen even in early April.

We want to go to look at the drift ice in Hokkaido.

The Hokkaido Shinkansen opening to traffic!

The Hokkaido Shinkansen (Superexpress) is a route for extension approximately 360km to reach Sapporo Station from Shin-Aomori Station of the Tohoku Shinkansen.

It has been already completed about 142km during Seikan Tunnel and anteroposterior approximately 82km.

The route from Shinaomori to Shinhakodate Hokuto will open on March 26, 2016.

In addition, the route between Shinhakodate Hokuto and Sapporo will open at the end of 2030.

Between Shinaomori and Shinhakodate Hokuto, it takes approximately one hour 1 minute　(Speed per hour 140km).

In case of from Tokyo to Shinhakodate Hokuto, it takes four hours nine minutes.

It becomes very convenient to go to Hokkaido from the Tohoku district.

In addition, it seems to be able to contribute to further activation of Hokkaido.

Japanese pickles in winter

Do you know the Japanese pickles?

Japanese pickles are vegetable foods of which ingredients various with the pickle such as salt, vinegar, the sake lees pickle it, and pickle it with vegetables, and let raise preservation characteristics, and mature, and is the food which made a flavor better.

In Japan, there are many kinds of pickles and the kinds are a great variety according to each local custom, product, climate, and others.

The kinds of pickles can be classified by the sub-materials such as rice bran, sake lees, sweet sake lees, vinegar, sweet sake, miso, malted rice, soy sauce, sugar, and spice used at cooking.

For example, as a main pickle using these sub-materials, there are salted pickles of a Chinese cabbage, rice bran pickles, pickles seasoned with sake lees, shallot pickles (pickling in vinegar) and others.

In addition, by putting materials in salted water, pickled radish pickles, salted rice-bran paste pickles, the materials preserved in salt has fermentation by the increase of the microbe including the lactic acid bacterium, and chemical change occurs, and a flavor comes out.

Radish pickles and Chinese cabbage pickles are the famous pickles in Japanese winter season.

Please try to eat!

Japanese pickles are good for eating rice.

Frozen Waterfall!

There was the news that a waterfall of Fukuroda became frozen the other day.

A waterfall of Fukuroda is a waterfall in Daigo-machi, Ibaraki and is the Takikawa upper reaches of the Kuji River branch and it is 120m in length, 73m in width.

It is famous that a waterfall called "icefall" freezes in severe winter.

The waterfall is appointed in the natural beauty spot of Japan and may be cited in one of three famous waterfall in   Japan such as Kegon Waterfall and Nachi waterfall and is chosen to 100 selections of Japanese waterfalls.

It is called "a waterfall of 4 times", because Buddhist Saigyou visited this ground in the old days and he praised it highly saying "this waterfall cannot taste the true character if I do not come once in the four seasons".

The whole waterfall freezes up in pure white in the winter when cold is severe and it is called as “Icefall” for the mysterious scenery.

It became "complete freeze" after an interval of six years in 2012, and it seemed that the ice climber who challenged to climb an iceberg visited there..

If possible, “Complete icefall” should be able to be seen.

Do you know National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament?

National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament is a famous baseball game for Japanese National High School students held in Hanshin Koshien Stadium of Nishimiyaichi, Hyogo from the end of March through April in an average year.

This tournament is the one of the most famous games for high school students, another game is held in summer.

The participation school is decided by a selection committee based on the results of each metropolis and districts game (divided 10 blocks in Japan) of which is implemented for new teams at autumn season.

In addition, the prefectures that there is not produces participation school one school every time except Tokyo, Hokkaido established as 1 block because participation proofreading is set of up from 32 to 36 schools..

National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of this year will be carried out in 32 chosen representative schools from the whole country from March 20.

It will be very excited what kind of drama there is.

A graduation ceremony and Hakama

A graduation ceremony is the ceremony celebrating that all the curricula has been completed.

There is the ceremony of the laureation of the university in Europe and America, but the ceremony to celebrate every completion of each school is like the custom to be seen only in Japan and Korea.

At the graduation ceremony of the university, there are a lot of women wearing a hakama.

A woman having come to generally wear a hakama from the Meiji era is.

European and American culture began spreading through Japan and the wonderful fashions which big ribbon and Japanese culture and European and American culture were mixed in in lace-up boots, a Western-style hairstyle to a hakama in the Meiji era seemed to be all the rage.

Speaking of the basic design of the hakama, it is cloth with arrow-feather patterns.

As for this cloth with arrow-feather patterns, a meaning, "charge straight like an arrow straight" is put; and of the day of the departure is said that deserve to be you.

When a woman put on a hakama , a woman looks beautifully because they can walk for a beautiful posture.

I think that it is good for a graduation ceremony to go to the new life to wear a favorite hakama.

Oden is delicious in cold winter!

Do you know the Japanese famous food, oden?

“The oden (Japanese hotchpotch)” is one of the food served in a pot with kind of the food boiled and seasoned dish among Japanese food.

It is the dish which a Japanese radish, a tubular fish meat, konjac, a boiled egg, and various oden seeds are put in the soup which seasoned soup stock with soy sauce and stewed.

“The oden” seeds and the taste are different among an area and home.

Originally “the oden" is court-lady language to mean “Dengaku”.

There was "the stew dengaku" that boiled a kind other than "the fried dengaku" that dengaku or the miso dengaku skewered a kind with the dish which appeared in the Muromachi era and baked.

It was the Edo era, and "the oden" came to point at "stew dengaku", and "the dengaku" seemed to come to point at "fried dengaku".

“The oden” is treated not only on a stand, a specialty store, a mini supermarket, but also the menu of the relatively excellent Japanese restaurant widely.

It is famous Japanese food in winter and it tastes good.

Fantastic scene of Juhyou (Snow Monster）!

Is there not the person who has seen the scene which a flower of the ice bloomed to trees at skiing?

It is Juhyo (rime on trees). Sometimes Juhyo is called as Snow Monster.

Juhyo hit the tree that a grain (supercooled drop of water) of the water which became less than 0 degrees Celsius cooled off and stuck and it froze and was accompanied and grew up.

A cloud and the fog which winter periodic wind included a drop of water in from the Sea of Japan are carried.

Therefore the Juhyo spreads towards windward.

The northwest periodic wind from the Siberia gets much steam from the Tsushima warm current (in the summer even as for around 25 degrees Celsius, the winter around 10 degrees Celsius) of the Sea of Japan and makes snow cloud.

The snow cloud rises in Asahi mountain range and brings a large quantity of snow.

The snow cloud rises again in Mount Zao through Yamagata Basin and brings snow.

Many cloud particles are 0 degrees Celsius or less, but it becomes the supercooled drop of water which does not freeze and, in the cloud at that time, is in a condition to have mixed together with snow.

The Juhyo grows up in such a climatic condition.

In Zao, there are a lot of courses of the ski, and it is particular to ski while looking at the Juhyo and then, to enter hot spring.

March 3rd is the girls’ festival.

March 3^rd is the girls’ festival called “Hinamatsuri” and it is an annual function to pray for the healthy growth of the girl at the Doll's Festival.

Dolls and peach blossom are displayed and the birth and the growth of the girl is celebrated by eating and drinking such as sacred white sake or sushi .

It does not seem to become clear, but there seems to be the record that has been already performed as "every elegant doll’s play" of the children of the peace noble in Kyoto of the Heian era historically when "the Doll's Festival" began at.

In Makabe town of Ibaraki, much Dolls are displayed in a house or the shop of the downtown for one month.

The Dolls' Festival to come is decorated from generation to generation in approximately more than 300 houses or warehouses and cityscape of Makabe where the gates link the eaves and historical building.

Spring Makabe town overflows in good old warmth.

Do you not make Dolls' Festival circulation while mentioning a heart of the Japanese hospitality?