Snow, Onsen and Crab!

[rbjhan]

Finally reached the ropeway station!
Next to it was the entrance to Onsen-ji.
Don't be fooled though, the actual temple was half way up the mountain
I certainly do not recommend hiking, especially in this weather.


Now it's the time to mention I have acrophobia.... So I was not exactly thrilled to ride the ropeway!

For some reason the way going up I was the only guest (coming down it was so full) ! Luckily there's also a staff member riding it, so I chatted to him to distract myself He recommended the cafe on top, saying that there's an outdoor terrace with great views...

7 minutes later....


Right it's all worth it.


Sea of Japan in the distance


Then I went to the cafe.
Yeah okay coffee was terrible as expected
But you paid for the view!



PS people keep saying coffee here is expensive. But hey at least it's good coffee! In Japan you pay 700 Yen for dirty water

 

[rbjhan]

Feeling a bit hungry and didn't want to try food from that cafe....
I went back to town centre.

In case anyone's curious about the crab...oh yeah they are not cheap!


Saw this shop selling local Tajima beef




Another small place attached to a fishmonger, selling made-to-order onigiri.
I had one crab miso and one Mentaiko


Those were HUGE!
Definitely skipping lunch after this

 

[rbjhan]

The next destination is Taiza.
Well this needs a bit of explanation....

So winter is snow crab season all over Japan. It's caught in Sea of Japan and also in Hokkaido. Hokuriku and San'in region are most famous for it though.
There are strict regulations regarding fishing period, capacities, crab sizes, etc.

The snow crabs are the same species (Chionoecetes opilio) but depending on where they are caught, they have different names and prices.
Tags of different colours are put on the crabs to identify origin, and these have become a symbol of quality. Tagged crabs are expensive as shown in picture above. Blue tags are from nearby Tsuiyama.

So what's so special about Taiza crab?
It's because the trawling grounds are deeper than most but closer to the shore. So boats can return to port on the same day. There are only 5 boats allowed to fish here so the catch is small.
The freshness and small quantity make Taiza crab extra special and it's often called phantom crabs.

Very little of Taiza crabs make their way to Kyoto or Tokyo.
To maximise the freshness, eating the crab at a local ryokan is recommended.
The most famous ryokan in Taiza is Sumihei, but hmmmm I don't have that kind of budget!

 

[rbjhan]

I booked Shorenkan Yoshinoya.

The driver picked me up at Amino Station, about 20 mins drive to Taiza port.
Lobby




My room was in the main building facing the port.


Those were the 5 crabbing boats I think?

 

[rbjhan]

Dinner!

Eating crab is never going to be elegant so a private dining room is necessary.


Menu first.




Sashimi


Crab sashimi!

 

[rbjhan]

Boiled crab.


Grilled crab.


Crab miso rice




The green tag of Taiza crab!

 

[rbjhan]

Crab hot pot.


Crab miso soup!!


Shabu shabu


Rice porridge.


Ice cream to finish.

 

[rbjhan]

Nothing else to do in a fishing port!

Onsen of course
There's a private onsen that you can book for 45 mins.




Time to sleep.
Hmmm, they made the bed on the heated blanket, with 2 doonas (aircon was originally set at 24C, I had adjusted to 21C)
By this stage I could only laugh....

 

[rbjhan]

The next morning.
Look at the clouds!



Went to the public bath.


The outdoor onsen was good.


Anyone knows those pillows in ryokans? I thought the fillings might be some kind of beans or something...
Ah this was when I checked the pillow and found out it was in fact plastic tubes

 

[rbjhan]

Breakfast was in the same dining room




Tofu


Salmon


Dashimaki tamago

 

[rbjhan]

Took the 10am shuttle back to Amino Station.


Kyoto Tango Railway is the private rail operator of this region.




Next stop: Amanohashidate.

 

[rbjhan]

Amanohashidate 天橋立, is bascially a sandbar in Miyazu Bay.
View from moutaintops either end of the bay, the sandbar is quite pretty, but somehow this is a top 3 scenic view of Japan? Sorry but hard disagree...

Still, since I have been to the other 2 and was going through the region, I thought I might as well come here to complete my Nihon Sankei collection.

Amanohashidate Station


A sento right next to the station.

 

[rbjhan]

As mentioned before, the sandbar can be viewed from either end of the bay.
I chose the one (much) closer to the station as I was short on time.



Sadly the weather was not great...


Closer look


Ah, there's a famous activity here....
To look between your legs upside down! (I'm not kidding, just google it, lots of photos of people doing it...)
Apparently that way it looks like a dragon??

I dunno....nowadays we have the technology to..... just flip the photo....?
I'll leave it for you guys to judge!

 

[rbjhan]

Ah, I found this online.


Certainly the imagination is doing the heavy lifting here.

 

[rbjhan]

Throw a clay(?) plate at the ring for good luck!


No, not this ring.
This is the ring of wisdom.


Viewing sky path.




Kids park at the back.


Ah yes took the chairlift up to this place! Very proud of myself

 

[rbjhan]

The sandbar is about 3.5KM long.


I didn't have time to walk the whole way...if it wasn't so cold I'd probably rent a bike.

That's the other viewing platform across the bay.


Chionji


They have this unique fan shape Omikuji.
Very cute but at 300 it's 3 times the normal price!

 

[rbjhan]

There's even a restaurant on the sandbar!
Hashidate Chaya


Local delicacy, Asari-don.


Cafe du pin, next to the bay.
Great view, cough coffee.

 

[rbjhan]

As some of you might be aware, I have a thing for TRAINS.

So far this trip, well, I took the Hokuriku Shinkansen all the way to the newly opened Tsuruga Station, but that's about it....

Missed the Tango no Umi train because I was trying to get a shunin at Kiyomizudera (and didn't remember the correct departure time!)...

Sigh, the Akamatsu was the only special train this whole trip.



It was full!


The window-facing seats got the best view.

 

[rbjhan]

Akamatsu runs twice daily every Tue & Wed, between Amanohashidate and Nishi Maizuru.
One way trip takes about one hour.

It was a scenic ride along the coast.
We stop at Yura Coast for a bit.


Yurakawa Railway Bridge


Came across Aomatsu of the same company.


Finally got an almost empty picture at Nishi Maizuru.


Sigh, I do think think 36+3 kinda ruined it a bit as I'm not easily impressed now

 

[rbjhan]

Oh, one last thing.
I booked and paid for this train way back in November 24.
Imagine my surprise back home to see another identical transaction on the day of the actual train ride!

More importantly, it was on my Bankwest mastercard - which I tried to use during booking but was unsuccessful. I ended up paying it using my AMEX.
Somehow they not only stored the credit card info but charged it again?!

Wrote to them, with the screenshot of my mastercard. The reply was " If you have noticed two charges on your account but cannot identify any additional reservations with us, it may be due to your card issuer’s policies or regulations. In such cases, we kindly recommend contacting your card issuer directly for further clarification, as we do not have visibility into their specific processes."

WTF?!
So chargeback I did. Bankwest reversed the transaction in about one week.
However they also cancelled this card since it was compromised.

As a result I cannot recommend this train, or the company.