This is actually my third time in Marumori, but every time I come here I find something new.
陽だまり工房-The Most Special Ohinasama Doll Made By Silkworm Cocoons
The Hidamari Workshop (陽だまり工房) is the No.1 Recommending place to visit in Marumori Town. This shop is even better than some of the museums which display the traditional Japanese hand-made crafts.
March 3rd is Hina-Matsuri – a traditional Japanese festival that celebrates the healthy growth of the girls and boys of the family. And the Ohinasama Doll is a set of dolls that used at the ceremony to pray for the sound growth of the children in the family.
The Hidamari Workshop is famous for the Ohinasama Dolls. Unlike other Ohinasama Dolls in Japan, the Hidamari Ohinasama Dolls are made of silkworm chrysalis. More specifically, the Hidamari Ohinasama Dolls are made of the hard crust of the silkworm cocoons as well as the soft skin of the chrysalis.
The cocoons and chrysalises are dyed into different colors.
Mrs. Ajima is the owner of Hidamari Workshop and an Ohinasama Dolls master as well. She has been making Ohinasama Dolls for 10 years and she may be the first one in Tohoku Area to use silkworm cocoons instead of wood or paper as the raw material
Under the guidance of Mrs. Ajima, I managed to make the first Ohinasama Doll in my life.
The Ohinasama Doll making is very time consuming and you have to be very cautious. Every set of Ohinasama Dolls composes three materials only existed in Japan – the Japanese Silkworm Chrysalis, the Japanese Washi paper and the Sakura Tree wood.
The address of 陽だまり工房 is as follows.
阿武隈ライン舟下り-A Combination of Delicious Food and Wonderful View
I had my lunch during the Abukuma Line Boat Ride (阿武隈ライン舟下り) Riding a boat is no more fresh to me. In the past ten years, I experience more than ten different kinds of boat ride in my travel – Safari in Singapore Zoo, Boat-riding in Everglades National Park, Boat-riding in Guilin, China and so on. But none of the previous experience is as unique as this one – I had a Japanese Hot Pot on the Boat.
The Hot Pot is quite unique, too, in that we ate the local-produced white hog with Japanese beef.
The outside is very cold indeed, but inside the boat is very warm – there was a heater under each table on the boat, and the fire to warm the food also warmed the boat.
I know the river view must be awesome and fantastic, but I was too busy eating the delicious lunch to go outside to take a picture. When excellent food combined with splendid sightseeing, only the word “magical” can be used to describe my mood.
The wild ducks are another thing to see in this journey. As an old Chinese saying goes:“The duck knows first when the river becomes warm in spring.” Animal’s acuteness in predicting warm weather is better than we human beings. Indeed, Marumori is slightly warmer than other cities in the Tohoku Region, being almost the most south town in the region.
As temperature started to climb steadily from the beginning in February, I had the feeling of an early-spring in Marumori Town.
Animal Portraits are always my favorite; therefore I took this chance and took a lot of pictures of the ducks by the riverside.
Those little creatures were so cute and they all look hungry and excited.
The address of 阿武隈ライン舟下り is as follows.
丸森の景色– Have I Seen Them Before in Japanese Movies?
Maybe the weather is too good, maybe the season is so perfect, merely walking in the streets of Marumori is a great pleasure.
Marumori Town gives me the impression of an old-town with samurai stories with beautiful-like-pictures view.
If it is not because of time pressure, I could spent the whole afternoon just wondering on the streets of Marumori.
丸森橋-The Tohoku Version of Golden Gate Bridge
The Marumori Bridge is one of my favorite spots in Marumori town. The bridge is decades old, but the designer had chosen a very fashion color – the ocean blue.
The Marumori Bridge is comfortably stretching across the Abukuma River and in spring, there are lots of Sakura trees on the river bank.
Being so graceful and good-looking under the sun, the Marumori Oohashi Bridge reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Despite the fact that Marumori Oohashi Bridge is smaller in size and length, it is still a magnificent bridge to me.
I walked back and forth to take pictures for the bridge. Here is another angle.
The cross-grained and rusty texture of the bridge shows its glorious history and how old it is.
The address of 丸森橋is as follows.
愛敬院-The Temple Surrounded by Waterfalls
The Aikyouin Temple (愛敬院) is one of the largest temple in Marumori Area. It is hundreds years old and it is a saint place for local citizens.
Legend goes that if you can throw a stone on the top of the shrine, it will bring you good luck.
The interior decoration of the temple is quite different from other temples I have been to. The address of is as follows.
不動尊公園-More Than Just A Park
The Fudouson Park (不動尊公園) is a middle size natural park in Marumori, it take approximately one hour to see everything inside the park.
The Fudouson Park is famous for its waterfalls. In fact, there are more than four waterfalls in the park.
I went to the park at a wrong time maybe – the waterfalls and stones look better with sunshine or autumn leaves.
The boat-shape restaurant looks great at dusk. The wind mill in the water is quite unique, too.
The address of 不動尊公園 is as follows.
