With the JR EAST PASS, exploring eastern Japan by Shinkansen is now easier and more affordable. Our travel writer finds out how
Dashing through the snow, we rode through the magical landscape of eastern Japan. Only two hours away from sunny Tokyo, winter had already made a dramatic entrance in Tohoku, providing an entirely different view of the country. Snow-capped mountains rose in the distance, framed by pine trees, fields and homes donning pure-white coats.
This beautiful region of Japan has now opened up thanks to the JR EAST PASS (Tohoku Area) by the East Japan Railway Company, which covers the area of Tokyo all the way to Shin-Aomori on the edge of Hokkaido. Here are seven treasures we uncovered in the reaches of Tohoku.
4. Takahata’s Showa Enmusubi Street
Station: Takahata
In the sleepy town of Takahata, an entire street has been frozen in time. Enraptured with the Showa Era — nicknamed “the period of radiant Japan” — the people of Takahata have made a living and breathing time capsule where visitors can relive the memories of the 1950s to the 1980s.
Along this Showa Enmusubi, we were received by the most hospitable townspeople, who showered us with homemade local specialities like red bean Hacchan-yaki (pancake), fresh fruits, preserved persimmons, picked radishes and, our new favourite, imoni soup. It is here where we also enjoyed the lightest dripped coffee, made on-demand in a café hiding behind a Showa movie memorabilia store.
Showa Enmusubi Street, 992-0351 Oaza Takahata, Takahata-cho, Higashiokitama-gun, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
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