We didn’t see too many foreigners while we were wandering around, but the town obviously rates fairly high on the pecking order as far as the scenic side of things is concerned. There were a number of tour parties as well as a swag of families doing the sightseeing bit as we made our way through the quarter, and given the coloured leaves on display it wasn’t difficult to see why.
We took a turn through the public section of one of the samurai houses, which delivered another reminder of how tough conditions must have been in these parts in the depths of winter.
We made our way back to base via a bottle shop, which carried a range of local beers, all of which went down very well after dinner and with the prospect of moving forward on the morrow were tucked away in the cot reasonably early, something that isn’t too difficult to do when nightfall comes in well and truly just after five in the nominal afternoon.
We’d explored most of the scenic options around the town, enough to know that there’d be a definite case for returning in the sakura season, though that would probably be an overnight stop en route to somewhere else. If we do, there’ll definitely be a stroll through the riverbank tunnel of cherry blossoms, designated by the national government as a Place of Scenic Beauty and you’d fancy the prospect of fresh spring leaves as an additional treat.
Accommodation could, however, be an issue. Kakunodate is strong on festivals and you’d assume the town would be booked out for the Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom Festival) in spring, There’s also a lion dance with drums and flute (Sasara-mai) in summer, Yama-buttsuke matsuri in early autumn (colliding samurai-themed floats), and Hiburi-kamakura to ward off evil spirits and improve the prospects for a healthy new year in winter.
You might think that’s rather unlikely, but given the experience on the endangered railway the next day, you can never tell...