SL Ginga: Japan's Starry Steam Train Journey

Experience JR East's unique steam locomotive with onboard planetarium through Iwate's magical landscapes. Inspired by Miyazawa Kenji's universe.

★★★★☆ 4.8/5

Resort Shirakami: Scenic Train Journey Through Tohoku

Experience breathtaking Sea of Japan views on JR East's Joyful Train through UNESCO-listed Shirakami Mountains - Free with JR East Pass!

★★★★☆ 4.7/5

I have finally found time to write more about my Tohoku trip last year!

With a JR East Tohoku Area Pass, I have managed to visit many places, from Tokyo to Nikko, Sendai and Matsushima, Iwate and Aomori. :)

I am also glad to be able to board two of JR East's Joyful trains: the Pokemon with YOU train and Resort Shirakami (Bune and Kumagera).

So here I would like to share about these trains with you!

I'll talk about:

• What is Resort Shirakami
• The train route
• Reservation of the train
• Boarding the train

What is Resort Shirakami

Resort Shirakami - Buna

Resorot Shirakami - Aoike

Resort Shirakami - Kumagera

All three designs of the Resort Shirakami are different, so you can enjoy the train along its route between Akita and Aomori. The train runs on a hybrid system - diesel engine (acceleration) + lithium ion batteries (start up) to operate the motor. When the train decelerates, the motor acts as a generator, while Shirakami's brake system uses the energy to convert to electricity that is restored in the batteries.

Internally, all of the Resort Shirakami has four cars that consists of the combination of the following: (1) Event space + Observation Room, (2) Ordinary Car reserved seats, (3) Box Seats, and (4) the ORAHO counter.

Top of Risshakuji during summer

If you love Japanese temples and shrines and is looking for something that you'd love to keep (and unique to your own), consider temple stamps!

I would like to share something special in Tohoku that I don't think I have noticed much written in full details in English yet.

In Japanese temples, we can collect temple stamps called Goshuin. But if you are into something more interesting than just collecting Goshuins, consider this activity in Tohoku called Shiji Kairo!

They are like stamp rallies - you pay a visit to a certain list of temples, then you can pay and collect stamps. Of course, Shiji Kairo is not the only place that you can do this (you can do the 7-temple primilege in Onomichi too but I personally like to share about Shiji Kairo in Tohoku better, since I actually managed to finish a cycle before the new Reiwa Era.

So, what is this Shiji Kairo thing?

Shiji Kairo (四寺廻廊) is an activity where you pay a visit to the 4 important temples founded by Ennin (円仁) a.k.a. Jikaku Daishi (慈覺大師). What makes this popular is that, these locations were also visited by the late poet Matsuo Basho.

Basho-sensei has written poems that beautifully describes various places that he have visited that portrays the beauty of each place, in his work named "Oku no Hosomichi". You can find some pillars/ stone blocks that has his works on it in all four of these temples (and places nearby too).

What are the four temples? Where are they?

1) Chusonji in Hiraizumi, Iwate prefecture

Chusonji is listed as the national treasure of Japan. To go there, you can take a bus from Hiraizumi station and climb up a slope. You will find multiple temples here but for the stamp, you'll need to go to the main hall.

Chusonji is my third stop of Shiji Kairo in April.

Outside of Chusonji's entrance

The temple gives a relaxing vibe, and has a surprising amount of Taiwanese tourists. When I was there, I was able to enter the interior of temples and see their exhibition of the temple's history, and some artworks by a local artist.

What makes this place nice is also the slope. It has nice rows of trees and is very eye-pleasing. Though the slopes might not be so suitable for those with weak legs. There are benches along the way if you need some rest, though!

The slope up to Chusonji

Also Chusonji has this hall called Konjikido. It's a hall decorated in gold foils, and is one of the three temples that are heavily decorated with gold foils in Japan. The other two are Kinkakuji of Kyoto, and Taiyuin of Nikko. It is so beautifully decorated with a lot of beautiful details in it using colorful shells and golden leaf. If you leave Konjikido there is also a small hut that shows how the decorations are made (in Japanese) as well.

2) Motsuji in Hiraizumi, Iwate prefecture

Motsuji is also part of the heritage sites in Hiraizumi of Iwate prefecture. It was actually my second stop for this round of Shiji kairo. The temple's main prayer hall is below:



But for the stamp, the counter is very close to the entrance.

What Motsuji offers, is their beautiful garden with pond.

The pond of Motsuji

If you visit during summer you get to see patches of iris flowers as well! The iris flowers are donated by Meiji Jingu. But if you visit during spring, there are some sakura trees that are beautiful outside (there's one inside too).

Sakura tree outside Motsuji's entrance

Going to Motsuji was an easy 15-minute or so walk from Hiraizumi Station. I visited this place early morning so the streets were fairly quiet, but there are some little shops that you can drop by with friendly obasans!

3) Yamadera Risshakuji in Yamagata prefecture

Yamadera Risshakuji Temple (not the hiking place yet)

Risshakuji has its main temple that is only a short walk (in 10 mins) from Yamadera station. If you are up to hiking, you can consider hiking the mountain that actually it's just a couple of flights of stairs totaling up to about 1000 steps (you can rest midway, there are observatory spots that are great too! You can hike with a small fee of 300 yen. This place is my final stop of my Shiji Kairo.

Before hiking you can also buy konjac with mustard. It has became my favorite local snack. I'd eat them again and again! It's a healthy snack and it was also said to give you a lot of energy (well I didn't really feel as tired as I thought I would be since I ran out of breath climbing Batu Caves with only 272 steps). It took me less than 2 hours to return back to the train station.

If I remembered them correctly they were 100 JPY per stick

The stamp collection doesn't require you to hike, by the way! But the view is amazing!

Almost arriving the top of Yamadera

A local lady from Sendai told me that she frequently visited Yamadera, and the time I visited in April was perfect because there are both sakura and also the snow-capped mountains in the same view! (I hiked on 23 April 2019).

4) Zuiganji in Matsushima, Miyagi prefecture

This was my first stop of Shiji kairo in April 2019. Coming here with the intent to pray as well as to take some good shots of graduation photos, I've decided to visit Matsushima.

You can buy the entrance ticket via a machine to Zuiganji. Then, you can let the staff know that you wanted a Shiji Kairo stamp. You'll be most likely to leave your book there (if this isn't your first stop) and get a waiting number. The staff will let you to visit the insides of the hall before coming back for your stamped book.

Waiting number

Zuiganji gives a strong impression where it offers a museum where you can understand the history of the temple as well as the treasures, how this place is made and what it is made of. They have some nice plum blossoms in the temple as well.

Before entering the halls of Zuiganji

Temple monks outside the Kuri (Zen Kitchen)

JR East Joyful Train - Pokemon With YOU

What is JR East Tohoku Area Pass?

My JR East Pass

Do take note that this pass doesn't allow you to go to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takayama, Toyama, etc. without additional charges.

If you want to go oto Mt. Fuji, you can still use this pass to go to Otsuki Station, then change to Fujikyu Railways to Kawaguchiko Station, or take a normal JR Train to Odawara station (for Hakone).

What are the types of transportation I can take with JR East Pass?

Where should I use my JR Pass? 

Some of my reserved tickets

Why is JR East Tohoku Area Pass better?

How do I use this pass? 

Can I reserve train tickets prior arriving Japan?

Where do I purchase a JR East Tohoku Area Pass?

When should I purchase a JR East Tohoku Area Pass?

What do I need to know about my 14-day validity period?

How do I know if my JR East Pass is worth it?

Are there any freebies that we can get by using JR East Tohoku Area Pass?