When people say Japan, what comes to your mind?

Probably most of whatever we thought about is located in the Kantō (green) or Kansai (dark blue) region in Japan. That’s where Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, three of Japan’s most famous cities, are located. But of course, not all is limited to these regions. They have beautiful scenery and hot springs in Kyūshū (grey), in Chūgoku (orange) you can find the famous city of Hiroshima and also a boat ride that goes to Busan in South Korea, Shikoku (purple) has amazing temples and traditions and Chūbu (light blue) has mount Fuji!

But what about the north of Japan? Maybe two things might come to mind when this region is mentioned: Fukushima, the unfortunate prefecture that suffered greatly because of a tsunami and a nuclear reactor breakdown; and Sapporo, one of Japan’s most famous beers. Maybe for natives, they can even think about skying in Hokkaido. But the truth is: little is told about the north.

Isn’t it enough reason to be madly curious with such a mysterious part of a country you love and desire to know? Why nobody talks about the north of Japan? Is it boring? Is there absolutely nothing worth talking about? In the Japan guide I bought some years ago there’s so little about the north! Even in sites, most of the advertising goes to “mid-to-south” Japan.

In my trip, because of lack of money and time, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to see all of Japan. I would have to choose between south (awesome views, fantastic places, exquisite food and touristic attractions) or north. The mysterious north that I knew almost nothing about. And even less than a day back from Seoul, after a warm welcome party that involved japanese karaoke, takoppa (literally, a party where you eat a lot of takoyaki) and playing Smash Bros. thru the night, I boarded the train bound for Aomori.

Aomori prefecture (meaning blue forest), of all the prefectures of Tōhoku (yellow, in the north of Japan, along with Hokkaidō, red on the map), was the one that attracted me the most. It was the farther north of all the prefectures, it had old castles from the Tokugawa periods, it had mt. Iwako, a mt. Fuji of the north, if you will. And I had only three days to uncover the secret of that mysterious north.

That was the start of the three days that showed me a side of Japan unbeknownst to foreigners.

[to be continued…]