Japan Diaries 4: Day 265

 

Day 265: July 24, 2022

Sunday - Obira Road Trip with Teacher Kanda

It's a windy and cloudy morning. According to the weather forecast, it would not rain today so it only means that our road trip to the town of Obira (小平町) with Teacher Kanda would push through today. 

First stop: Karakure

As written earlier, this trip was originally scheduled yesterday but the weather wasn't on our side so we decided to move it to today instead. Teacher Kanda picked us up from our home at around 11:30AM. Our first destination for the day is Karakure which is located at 116-1 Obira, Hokkaido Prefecture. 

Inside Karakure

Ella enjoying the view while waiting for her order

Karakure is a soba restaurant and a cafe rolled into one. What makes this place special aside from the good food and amazing ambiance is that it is owned by our dear friend Ikuko-san who is a member of the Rumoi English Chat Club.

Karakure Obira
These are the food that we ordered

I ordered the kamonanban, my wife tried the kashiwa soba, Teacher Kanda had the moli soba, and Ella chose the sweet soba crepe. We also tried the hot cocoa and the cake which are both very delicious. 

Twin Obira melons

Thank you Teacher Kanda and Ikuko-san

Bye for now Karakure, until next time!

After the meal, we spent some time chatting with Ikuko-san and enjoying the view of the beach from the back of the restaurant. 

Obira Roadside Station

Meet Obiramaru

Looking for souvenirs at Obira Roadside Station


After saying our goodbyes to Ikuko-san, we continued on to our next destination which is the Obira Roadside Station Nishinbanya. There, I got my third Michi-no-eki stamp for the stamp rally. We also bought some locally grown corn and also tried the soft cream. 

However, the highlight of today's road trip is our visit to the Hanada Family Fisherman's Lodge which is just beside the roadside station. To enter, we paid 400 yen per adult and 150 yen for Ella. 

Team Nicerio visits Hanada Family Fisherman's Lodge







The Hanada Family Fisherman's Lodge is an Important Cultural Property of Japan. It is a place to see and in a way get a feel of the life of the herring fishermen during the herring boom of the 18th century. During our visit, Teacher Kanda patiently explained to us each corner of the lodge. That made us appreciate the place more. We headed back home at around 4PM wrapping up day 265th and my 38th weekend here in Japan.

Obira manhole cover

Check out the herrings displayed on the net

Overall, it was a fun trip with Teacher Kanda. We learned a lot about the history of Obira and also had an amazing time chatting with her. I hope that we get to have more trips with her in the future. 


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Location: 116-1 Obirachō, Obira, Rumoi District, Hokkaido 078-3301, Japan

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