いやあああああ。忙しかったよ、先週。山形の東根、東京の大田区蒲田、秋田の横手、三重の津、北海道の紋別、岩手の山田、静岡の静岡福祉大学。全部行ってきました。来週は沖縄と東京と新潟と、えええと、どこだっけ？

Man, what a week I had last week. I went to Higashine in Yamagata, Kamata in Tokyo,

Yokote in Akita, Tsu in Mie, Mombetsu in Hokkaido, Yamada Town in Iwate, and Shizuoka Welfare University in Shizuoka. Next week, I’m heading to Okinawa, Tokyo, Niigata and –uh–where else?

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東根はサクランボで有名だけど、もう一つの名物はこの大ケヤキ。１５００歳で、幹の周囲は１６m、高さ２８m。ケヤキ番付で「東の横綱」になってるよ

北海道にまけねーど

Higashine is famous for its cherries, but another claim-to-fame is its “Big Keyaki Tree”.

It’s 28m tall (93 ft.) and 16m around (53 ft.) near the base of the trunk. In Japan, there is actually a “Sumo Ranking Sheet” for these Keyaki Trees, and this one in Higashine is known as the “Yokozuna of the East” (Grand Champion of Eastern Japan). Cool, huh?

東根はフルーツの宝庫

ぼちぼち旬となるよ、東根のりんご。

Higashine is, of course, best known for its cherries (June – July), but we are coming up on the season for another of its famed products — apples.

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よこてダンサーズと記念写真

本番中、よさこいの一種かな

B級グルメの王様じゃ

Yokote is probably best know for the igloos they make out of the deep snow that falls there in the winter. You build an igloo out of packed snow, set up a little Shinto shrine inside, and sip “sweet sake” to ward off the cold.

But Yokote is also better known recently for its Yakisoba (fried noodles). Yokote Yakisoba, with its distinctive sunny side up egg on top, has recently won several awards in those so-called “B-Grade Gourmet Contests”.

Since the economy is slow, people here are more interested in less expensive yet tasty ways to eat-out. This dish fits the bill perfectly.

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三重県津市の身田中生が金融研究の結果を発表

三重県津市に行ってきました。身田中学校の生徒達が、会社の設立の事、いろんな職業と業界を調べて習った事を発表しました。自分のみらいについて、真剣に考えている生徒さん達の顔を見て、心強くなりました。お疲れ様でした。

I made a speech down in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture this last week too.

A bunch of Junior HS students made presentations about research they are doing into careers and the business world. I spoke a little bit about how kids in America learn about careers and money matters.

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岩手県山田町のカッパ

岩手県の太平洋側のリアス海岸のほぼ真ん中（宮古と釜石の中間）に

山田町といういい町がある。漁港でホタテ貝で有名なスポット。

海のあんなにきれいなところ、めったに見ない。町のキャラは「ホタテ・カッパ」です。普通、カッパは「河童」と書くけど、山田町のカッパは川から海に降りてきたものだから、「海童」と書く。つまり「うみがっぱ」なんだそうだ。さらの上にホタテの貝殻を帽子のようにかぶるから、ちょっとめんずらしい。

I also visited Yamada-Machi in Iwate last week. As any fan of Old Japanese Folk Tales will know, Iwate is famous for its various legends of supernatural creatures, including the “Kappa”, a sort of green, frog-like water sprite. “Kappa” usually inhabit rivers, but the “Kappa” of Yamada is a “Sea Kappa”. It wears a large scallop shell on its head like a hat. The town’s Chamber of Commerce recently published a children’s book about the creature to instill a sense of local pride in the town’s youngsters.

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Some of the modes of transportation used during my trip

Good old reliable Y-Shink

Local airports use these babies

キーワード: cool places in Japan, speech, Tohoku, travel, 旅, 東北, 講演