Monday, August 22, 2011

Sanbongi Kouta: Michael Night 三本木小唄マイケル・ナイト

三本木小唄マイケル・ナイト Sanbongi Kouta: Michael Night
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2011
Time: 19:00~
Place: Towada Art Park 美術館アート広場 (inside the Towada Art Center in the event of rain)
Details: Join in dancing to a traditional Towada song/dance, Sanbongi Kouta. Wear a yukata (Japanese summer cotton kimono) if you've got one! Admission free.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Japan's Festivals in Aomori 日本の祭り in あおもり

日本の祭り in あおもり Nihon no Matsuri in Aomori 
(Japan's Festivals in Aomori)

Location: 
Main Stage メイン会場: Aomori City Bunka Kaikan (Culture Center) 青森市文化会館 
Secondary Stage サブ会場: Aomori Bay Area 青森ベイエリア
Date & Time: 
Saturday, September 24, 2011: Main Stage: 13:30-18:00; Secondary Stage: 11:00-17:00
Sunday, September 25, 2911: Main Stage: 11:00-16:15; Secondary Stage: 11:00-16:00
Admission: FREE *tickets required for main stage; register by Friday, August 19th, 2011*
Parking & Access: Free parking lots (limited spaces - see map) and free shuttle service between the parking lots, Aomori Station (青森駅), and the main & secondary stages
Details: Watch festival performances (dances, Nebuta & Neputa floats, instrumental performances, etc.) from all over Aomori Prefecture, other parts of Japan, and even other Asian countries (Taiwan, Korea and China) 
Ticket Reservations:
To make ticket reservations online, go to this page http://matsuri2011.jp/cgi-bin/magic/ and fill out ALL the sections of the form:
郵便番号 - Postal Code
都道府県: Prefecture (set to Aomori by default)
住 所: Address (part of it should be filled in automatically when you type in your postal code, but you'll need to complete it)
お名前: Name
フリガナ: Furigana (Japanese phonetic reading of your name - although you can just re-write it in English if you want)
電話番号: Telephone Number
希望人数 (2名まで可): Number of people you're reserving tickets for (max. of 2)
観覧希望日: The day you're reserving tickets for (you can only choose one at a time)
メールアドレス: Email address
メールアドレス (確認): Confirm your email address

Click the button on the left (確認画面へ ) to get to the confirmation page. (The button on the right リセット is to reset the form.)
 
Double check the information and click the left button (送信する) to submit the request. (The right button 編集する is to go back and edit the form.)

You will get an email confirmation. In the case of more requests for tickets than there are spaces available, tickets will be allotted by random draw.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Eating in Towada

I never really thought about it before, but there are actually a lot of restaurants in Towada. And over the course of four years, I've probably visited more than my fair share of them. (The benefit(?) of being a lazy/indifferent cook at best.)

In recent years I'd started compiling information about restaurants in Towada--thinking I'd make a more detailed restaurant guide for new ALTs or something--but it seemed like a lot of work to take pictures and write descriptions, so my project never really went anywhere. Then this summer it occurred to me that it'd be much easier to just make a Google map!

So here it is, the result (well, it's actually still a work-in-progress, but anyway...) of four years of living and eating out in Towada: Eating in Towada - Google Map (English)

Hopefully people will find it useful!

(Observant readers may have noticed that I actually posted the link in the "Enjoy Towada City" sidebar under "Dining" a while ago. I just didn't want to draw too much attention to the map until I'd gotten it to a point where I felt like it was mostly complete.)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Towada 2011 Summer Festival Fireworks Display

Natsu Matsuri Hanabi Taikai 十和田市夏まつり花火大会
Date: August 14, 2011
Time: 19:00-21:00
Location: Fireworks will be set off from the track and field track, so anywhere along Kanchogai Dori (particularly around the City Hall/Library) is a good viewing place **Apparently the fireworks display will also be streamed live on the website: http://www.towada-kankou.jp/summer-fes/**
Parking: Limited free parking as well as pay parking available; see below map for parking lot and road closure locations (roads around the Chuo Koen (Central Park) will be closed from 17:30-21:00)