Thunder Run: Hit the Slopes in Summer

Over the past few decades, attendance at ski resorts in Japan has steadily decreased. To maximize profits, creative ways were sought to generate profits in the off season. Hokkaido's Rusutsu Resort built an 8 roller coaster strong amusement park. In Aomori, local favorite Moya Hills introduced their 'Green Season.' While nothing more than a scattering of playgrounds and tennis courts, they have something unique to offer.

"What goes up..."

 Hermann Maier said, "Ski racing, especially downhill, is a dangerous activity and there are many accidents. It would be really too bad to lose everything because of a crash." Now imagine plummeting down the slopes, but instead of blanketing snow beneath your feet, there's asphault.

Say こんいちは (konnichiwa / hello) to Moya Hill's ヒルズサンダー (Hills Thunder). Built in 1998, riders manually steer 3-wheeled carts down a 1,546 meter (.96 miles) long paved path from atop the chair lift all the way to the bottom at the club house.

The Course

All riders must first climb the hill in a trusty chair lift. Once your helmet is securely fastened, you unsecurely place yourself in the cart of your choice. Then you are instructed in Japanese, which for those who don't understand, it provides a great opportunity for photos. Basically you're told to pull back to brake, and to never never never put the cart in neutral (unless you want to fly). Then it's up to gravity to push you down.

The open air and single seat car provides the ideal thrill. Though, I'm not sure this would be legal in the states, for it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. While generally safe, it's not uncommon for beginners or speed demonds to run off course or flip over.

Hills Thunder is based off of a Roller Luge built in 1986 in New Zealand that boasted 600,000 riders in 1996 and in the following year received a "New Zealand Tourism Award." (Credit: Moya Hill's website). Obviously, Moya Hills wanted to emulate their success. Whether they were successful or not is up to their bank accounts, but judging how Hills Thunder has continues to remain in operation for 13 years, I'd put a check in the win column. Though the true victor are those who get to thunder 117 meters (384 feet) down the hill!

Price:
Adults: 1 time - 500円, 3 times - 1400円, 6 times - 2600 円
Elementary Students / Seniors / Disabled: 1 time - 400円, 3 times - 1000円, 6 times - 1800 円
1 Adult w/ a child under 140cm (55 inches): 1 time - 700円, 3 times - 1800円
*円=Japanese Yen (as of 06/09/11: $1 = 80円)

Hours:
Daily: 10:00 - 17:00
*HillsThunder is closed in the case of rain.
*Opening/Closing date depends on the weather. Typically it will open to the public after all the snow has melted in May.

Directions:
Unless you have a car, your only viable option is to take a bus. A taxi would cost more than 5000円, and walking would take around 3 hours. Click here for Moya's bus schedule in addition to a map showing the location in relation to Aomori station. (日本語/Japanese only). Please note that bus times are infrequent, so plan accordingly. If you don't speak Japanese, simply print out the bus schedule and at Aomori Station's Visitor Center / Bus Terminal. They should be able to steer you to the right bus. Don't worry about the return trek as there's only one bus to take and it will end up at Aomori Station.

For more pictures and information in Japanese please consult the official website.


It's such a funny comfort to see Japanese businesses make the effort to provide English.
By the way, is HillsThunder soon to be an Olympic sport?



Noodling: The Soba Workshop

If you ever dined in Japan, outside of McDonalds, then you've eaten そば (soba), which are thin Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. While soba is easy to find at the supermarket, few people today make their own noodles. For more on そば / Soba, I'll let google and wikipedia do the dirty work.

Thankfully in the off season, Aomori's local ski resort Moya Hills offers classes in Soba making. The best part being the results are edible, whether they're delicious is subject to skill and opinion.

I was fortunate to join fellow Japan-blogger Tesia, local hero Makoto, and a lovely Korean lady for this all important task. I must say it was a complete team effort. They did the work, and I watched. It's worth it to see how simple yet time consuming it is to make soba noodles by hand and to appreciate the old ways. If you ever get the chance to dine on Soba, make sure to make some of your own to better appreciate this ancient Japanese culinary custom.

You know you wanna...

"Let's get ready to noodle!"

Mr. Happy Dough

The Cutting Floor

Class Exam: Eating

Extinct: Aomori's Fallen Amusement Park

It's hard to believe rural, snow-crippled 青森/Aomori played host to an amusement park. Though for over two decades, 浅虫ワンダーランド/Asamushi Wonderland thrilled locals over-looking scenic Mutsu Bay. In 2005, the park closed its gates, and now only a menegarie of abandoned infrastructure remains. For more on Asamushi Wonderland click here.

Abandoned Amusement

Ride that Bus: A Motivational Tale Told With Words

"I missed the bus"

- Kriss Kross

The only thing lower in quality than the items on sale at Wal-Mart are the people shopping there. But I don't mind. It's a big space with plenty of room for B.O. and secretive farts to wander far away from my snobbish nostrils. Now imagine all of those people crammed inside a small rectangular box. Place that box on wheels. Pencil in a door, and lastly install a row of windows so everyone rich enough to own a car can see that you don't. There are lots of kind-hearted, honest, good-looking folk who ride the bus, I've just never seen any.

But that's the bus in America. Now imagine a community of quiet obedient people in respectful clothing (minus the 50 year old in fish net stockings) transporting themselves through the town because there's too much snow on the ground. Welcome to 青森市/Aomori, a city in Japan annually averaging 233 inches of snowfall (compare that to Buffalo's 93.6 inches). Since I don't own a car, bicycling becomes my primary mode of transport. But when those snowflakes launch their attack, I look to my wallet to spring for a taxi or to my feet to traverse the whiteness. In other words, I stay home a lot. 

But being a new year, it's time to make an excuse for change. I thus decreed the time had come to ride the bus. Don't get me wrong, I've ridden a bus before. Talk about a mistake. You can study the kanji characters for as long as you want, but when no bus arrives at the time listed on the schedule, it becomes impossible (for an idiot like me) to know if he should board the next bus. See riding trains in Japan is a breeze. Each one always (99.9%) arrives on time, so one has just to use the departure/arrival times. Buses in Japan are punctual, but in the snowy horizon of Aomori all bets are off. 

Regardless, a cheaper alternative to access downtown was needed. For two years I had been wasting 1800yen ($20) on a taxi ride or trembling for 20 minutes in the cold to the nearest train station. It was worth the walk when the train was only ￥180, but when it increased to ￥250 for a one-way trip, the ￥300 bus seemed the logical choice. 

Thanks to a helpful friend and a fearless girlfriend, I was able to overcome my fear of buses. We began the process with the simple task of learning how and when to get downtown. We walked a mere 50 yards to the nearby Sakuragawa-Rokuchome bustop. Only one line feeds into it, meaning every bus that arrives is the one we want since conveniently they head directly downtown to 青森駅/Aomori Station. 

My Stop

It pains me to think how many times I forked over the cash for a taxi when I could have just hopped on the bus. Looking at the schedule below, it looks easy enough. But I was too scared of all the characters and the mysterious 4th column, which turned out to just state "weekdays" or "weekends/holidays." So once the basic characters were learned, it became second nature.

The Downtown Path

I'm happy to report that I'm riding the bus with ease. I take great pleasure of scaling the stairs in the middle doorway, grabbing my slip of paper, and sitting nervously in the back of the bus (I'm a minority) as I count my coins to make sure I have enough to cover the ever-increasing fare. But this is just to Aomori Station and back. Let's see how long it takes me to navigate myself to the cinema.

Happy bus riding everyone.

Tourist Haven: Nebuta House Warasse

"How does one measure the success of a museum?"

- Paul Getty

Tourist Traps typicaly exist in areas highly trafficked by visitors with time and money at their disposal. So in January, 2011 when Nebuta House Warasse,　Aomori's new Nebuta museum, opened, one could easily give it the aforementioned disctinction. However, despite the arrival of the shinkansen (bullet train), Aomori still remains a city on decline. Besides the first week in August during Nebuta Festival, the mother of all night-time float parades, there's little in the downtown vicinity to stimulate tourists.

Thankfully thanks to the tourist haven of the Nebuta House Warasse, conveniently located footsteps to the north of Aomori Station, people have something besides generic shopping and eating at an izakaya to spend their time and money on.


Nebuta House Warasse

Truth be told, this small museum and hall will never receive recognition from the International Museum Federation (if one existed), but it's the perfect fit for the city of Aomori. The building's red striped exterior adopts a modest yet invoking presence. Inside, designers stuck to a black and white pallete, thus opening up the entryway and interior hallways. As a bonus, while the red strips masked the museum's interior, once inside, one can easily see past the red stripes and peer outside towards the newly opened A-Factory market, the bridge, or the bay.

The Exhibit Midway

The museum itself, open 9am-7pm from May to August and closing at 6pm Stepmeber through April, is a bargain at ￥600 for adults, ￥450 for high school students, and ￥250 for elementary/junior high school students, with slight discounts available to groups of 10 or more.

Nebuta Mask: Inside & Out

The museum exhibits both impressing and a disapointment. The artistic yet technologically advanced design shatteres the stereotype of Aomori as a backwards slumbering farm land. The 'create your own custom Nebuta face' attraction is a can't miss, and since photography is permitted, it'll perfectly fit your facebook profile picture needs.

Crave's Ninja Shadow

The main attraction rests in the Nebuta Hall showcasing a handful of full-sized floats. For Aomori residents who regularly partake in the festival, these floats may be a familar yet un-exciting sight. However, for those visitors who are unable to visit Aomori in August, these floats are pure eye candy.

For those fluent in Japanese, volunteer staff (center) share centuries of stories.

Though with arguably only 3 exhibits, and the hall, Nebuta House Warasse isn't meant to be a day-filler, instead the Nebuta House Warasse is the perfect one to two hour compliment to a quaint afternoon making this museum a success.

BOO! Halloween in 青森

The western tradition of ハロウィン (Halloween) is slowly creeping its way into Japanese culture. Currently Halloween is limited to pumpkin themed decorations and school sponsored costume activities for young children. The idea of Halloween as a sinful, guilt-free party seems to only occupy areas where foreigners reside in full force, such as Tokyo's Roppongi ward. 青森県　(Aomori prefecture) in Japan's rural north consequently lacks in 外国人 (foreigners). But  that didn't stop a dozen english teachers from properly celebrating All Hallow's Eve.

Traditionally, a Halloween party is hosted by local charity Everest of Apples in the city of Hachinohe. This costume party is a popular event for the foreign population but usually lacks in natives. This year was different, and in 青森市 a public party was held at One-Shot Bar, a newly established 'western' bar owned by a former Tohoku Jet Ski champion.

It was delightful fun to see an equal mixture of stranges, local and foreign alike. Though, if there had been a costume contest, the Japanese would have came in dead last. Most Japanese just wear a hat or add an accessory. The ladies become a witch, and the men become Santa. Though, I don't think the lack of costume creativity has anything to do with the shy reserved nature of Japanese culture. While Party City would be a welcome addition, the Japanese are costume specialists. Most Karaoke parlors offer a selection of costumes to wear, women often transform into maids or school girls, and full body pajamas are made to look like Winnie the Pooh or Stich. In addition, it's hard to ignore cos players in Harajuku on Sunday.
If ex-pats continue to dress up children in costumes, and entice adults towards mischief, Japan will naturally adopt Halloween. I just hope trick-or-treating can eventually walk its way into the neighborhood.