Shiroishi (白石) is a really beautiful city. Today’s Shiroishi was part of ancient Mutsu Province and was under control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period. There are many meaningful things you can experience in Shiroishi.
湯主一條: Old is Beautiful
The Yunushi Ichijoh Hotel (湯主一條) is a hotel with extremely long history. The hotel was founded over 600 years ago, and Mr. Ichijoh, the current owner of the hotel, is the 20th successor.
Visitors can spend their precious time relaxing in their rooms and enjoy open-air baths with good views. Moreover, the hotel has extremely exquisite and elegant cuisine.
The Yunushi Ichijoh Hotel was in very poor state of operation in the 2000s; in fact, when the incumbent owner of Yunushi Ichijoh inherited the hotel from his father, the hotel was deep debt each month.
Mr. Ichijoh worked extremely hard to turned around the situation. In 10 years, the hotel was turned to profitability from deficit.
During the period of Meiji Restoration, the hotel transformed its interior style from Japanese style to western style, and until today, the Yunushi Ichijoh still has an exquisite style of Japanese and Western. “It’s hard to strike a balance, but I believe we did it.” Mr. Ichijoh said with proud.
There are multipule choices for guests to stay at Ichijoh Suite. The Yunushi Ichijoh Hotel has Western-style semi-suite room, Tatami-style semi-suite room, Standard Japanese style room and even Hollywood twin room.
The inner architecture is a master work of art.
Everything inside the hotel is elaborately picked to create a special mood for guests.
The best room of Yunushi Ichijoh Hotel is the Ichijoh suite, it is a presidential-level living suite with in-yard hotspring.
The night view of the hotel is also splendid, and it has a bar that opens from 20:00 to 23:00.
The address of 湯主一條 is as follows.
きちみ製麺: One of the Best Local Products
Today I spent two hours in Kichimi Seimen factory, I then had a wonderful dinner in Kichimi Seimen Restaurant.
The Seimen is very different from Ramen or Udon, it is thinner but more ductable when fully cooked.
The Kichimi Seimen has two different versions – machine-made seimen and hand-made seimen.
Even the machine-made seimen has to go through a certain process, in which the seimen is hand-cut by the workers to ensure they are produced in a unified length.
There are several process to make seimen, and the hand-made seimen have to be kept in a room of constant temperature for hours to make it dry.
The Kichimi Seimen is famous for its special mouthfeel and tasty. And it is carefully packed by the workers.
The seimen is better tasted with seafood sauce or sesame sauce, it is slightly chewy and very healthy. The address of is as follows.
白石城: Feel the City Underneath
The Shiroishi castle (白石城) is definitely a place that worth 2-3 hours to visit. The castle itself is majestic, which you can climb on and see the whole Shiroishi city underneath. Also, it has a huge and delicately trimmed courtyard.
The Shiroishi castle has very long history, which can trace back to the Kamakura era when it was founded by Karita Clan. In early 1868, the castle was the meeting place for the delegates of the northern domains , during the Boshin War, after which it became the headquarters of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei.
Tourists can try samurai’s garments in the castle, which gives you the opportunity to feel the history by wearing it on. I tried the samurai’s clothing with the help from the beautiful staffs in the castle.
Lucky for me, a rainbow appeared in the Shiroishi City.
The clouds as well as the grand city view are just too good to be true.
The top of Shiroishi Castle provides a 360-degree dimensional view of the whole city.
The address of Shiroishi Castle is as follows.
