life more beautiful: Memories of the Aomori Autumn, 2010

Tohoku was the only region in Japan I did not set foot on during my one-year university exchange programme in 2007/2008. Which was why I decided to visit one of the prefectures in the region – Aomori – last October.

I also wrote about the trip in a travel piece for The Straits Times.

Little did I expect to go back again this March, so soon after the previous trip. This time round, I was sent by my company to report on the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated vast stretches of Tohoku’s east coast. Of course, it later developed into a major nuclear disaster, which led to an early return flight for me. I wrote about that disappointing trip here.

Well, about three months after that, I made the decision to visit Japan again. Since the triple disasters, airfares to Japan have plunged, with travellers all over the world avoiding the country. At the time of my flight booking, Singapore Airlines was charging just over $500 for a return ticket. I have wanted to go for Tohoku’s 3 major summer festivals since my trip last year, and this year was as good a time as any to go.

But before leaving for the latest trip, , I thought it might be worth sharing some of my favourite pictures from the 2010 trip:

Aomori prefecture is known as the apple capital of Japan. Half of the apples grown in Japan can be found here. This picture was taken at the Hirosaki Apple Park.

An old man buying fish at the Auga Fish Market, in Aomori City.

Fifty-one days to the opening of the Shinkansen bullet train to Aomori city, says the sign board at JR Aomori train station. The salary man on the right is probably one of those who have benefited from its opening last December.

The Aomori-Ken, or Aomori Dog, at the city’s art museum. The towering figure The name is a play on the word “ken”, which also means “prefecture” in Japanese.

The biggest, most succulent grilled scallops I have tasted. At Kakigen, in Aomori city. We practically dropped by every evening for a serving of this.

An old-school diner at Towada Lake, a sleepy resort town three hours by bus from Aomori city. We stayed there for one night.

The Hirosaki Apple Park, in Hirosaki city. In the distant is Mount Iwaki, known as the Mount Fuji of Tsugaru. Tsugaru is the old feudal name of the of Aomori prefecture’s north east region.

Joanne with Daimon-san, a university undergrad working part-time at Boulangerie Four, a classy western-style bakery in Hirosaki city.

A live Tsugaru-jamisen performance at Yama Uta, in Hirosaki city.

A JR train moving on the Gono line. Taken from Michinoku, an inn located on Aomori’s west coast. Not the most technically brilliant shot – the sun was already casting nasty shadows by then. But I remember waiting there eagerly with two train enthusiasts, who had set up their tripods with their SLR cameras mounted, for the train to come.

Probably only the camera geeks will appreciate this, but one of the toughest decisions when it came to packing for the 2010 trip was choosing which camera to bring. I had already ruled out the Nikon F6, perhaps because I’d thought that film was too troublesome for travel. It was essentially down to the Nikon D40X and the Ricoh GXR. I eventually chose the GXR, simply because I wanted to carry less weight for the trip.

Looking at the pictures, I would say the GXR with the S10 zoom lens unit didn’t do too badly. The only time i found it wanting was for night shots.

For this trip, I’m facing a similar dilemma. I’m leaning heavily towards bringing the F6, with which I’ve shot some of my favourite photos this year… It is very heavy, however, and most of my shots will be taken at night – when the summer festivities take place – which means that I will need to spend more money buying higher ISO film. The latter is sure to burn a hole in my pocket. Meanwhile, my (relatively) new digital Nikon D7000 waits in the wings.

Whatever the case, I just hope to spend some quality time chilling out with Joanne, just as we did last year.