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Hirata |
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Hirata Events | Facilities | Sights | Shops/Services | Further Information
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Asuka Junior High School and Mt. Chokai |
Hirata is a small town 20 minutes drive east of Sakata and 10 minutes north of Amarume. The population is 7,284 at last count. The name means "rice fields plain" and as you can guess, that means it's pretty flat and there are a lot of rice fields. That said, as with other towns in the area, there is usually a magnificent view of Mt. Chokai and other surrounding mountains.
The closest town to Hirata is Matsuyama, which is about 5 minutes away. One ALT covers the junior highs and elementary schools of both these towns. To get to Hirata from Sakata, take the route 40 (turn-off from the 7 is by Book Off, signposted to Matsuyama). You can also take the infrequent trains to Sagoshi station which is about 15 minutes walk from the town centre (or you can take the buses that coincide with the trains).
Events
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Asuka Shrine |
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Hadakamairi: local boys strip off and have cold water thrown on |
The main shrine in Hirata is Asuka-jinja, which is at the junction of the 40 and the 345. In the first week of January each year it holds the Hadaka Mairi, a festival in which "The stout young men of the district gather at the local shrine and immerse themselves in cold water in order to pray for the safety of the village and a good harvest in the coming year." (1) As the ALT here, I was invited to attend, with the promise that as a gaijin I would certainly be shown on TV, but I politely declined. I hope that my debut on NHK won't be shivering in a fundoshi while small children pour ice cold water over me.
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Young people dancing in the summer |
June 15-17 sees the Ueki Matsuri, or Garden Festival, for those horticulturalists among you.
Between the 14th and 19th of August there are various events and a hanabi (fireworks) with traditional (and not-so-traditional) dancing.
Facilities
Hirata has great facilities for a town of only 7,000 people. As well as the sports pitches at Asuka junior high school, the B&G centre has a sports hall with a climbing wall and outdoor swimming pool. The sports centre is part of the Town Centre building, built in the last few years, which contains a library, computer centre, auditorium/theatre/cinema (Oz theatre), coffee bar and creche, as well as numerous meeting rooms for special events.
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Music party at Sakurada-sensei's |
There is also a community centre (komisen), located about 5 minutes outside the centre of Hirata on the road to Junitaki. The centre hosts various sports activities, such as kendo, basketball and tennis (there are 2 outdoor courts), as well as cultural activities, such as enka. Both the komisen and the nouson centre (in the centre of town, opposite the yakuba) host cultural events and exhibitions.
On the road to the Komisen you will also pass the turn-off to the Hirata Marine Centre. There is a small lake where you can practice canoeing or sailing. Just past the lake is the log cabin of one of the Asuka junior high teachers. On the second Saturday of every month he hosts a music party here where any ALTs are invited to turn up and jam on any of the plethora of musical instruments that Sakurada-sensei owns (including a full drum kit, bass and lead guitars, a synth and even a didgeridoo!).
Sights
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Autumn leaves in the hills of Hirata |
The most popular tourist site in Hirata is Junitaki. This is a waterfall which, it is claimed, divides into 12 waterfalls (hence the name). If you are able to spot all 12 waterfalls without the aid of the sign at the viewing point, you are almost certainly half-way to true enlightenment, my child. Good luck. Whether there are 12 or just 1 waterfall(s) there, it is a pretty place, especially during the kouyou (when the leaves change colour). Around here there are a number of pleasant hikes you can do in the hills/mountains. To get to junitaki, take the 40 into Hirata, then the 365 and follow the signs. Too easy.
Another place to view the kouyou is from Tazawagawa dam. Although the dam itself is as ugly as dams are wont to be, the surrounding countryside is beautiful. To get here, take the road to junitaki, turn right at the komisen, cross the bridge and follow the signs.
A peculiar feature of Hirata is the presence of 14 bronze statues dotted about the town. These were created by a local-born artist, Koji Ishiguro, who now lives in Saitama. Most can be found in or near the town centre; others are at Tazawagawa dam, Picnic Land (Chokai no Mori - see Matsuyama) and Sagoshi railway station.
Shops/services
There are a number of places to eat ramen in Hirata, but the most famous is Kenchan ramen. It is famous because you have Hobson's choice when it comes to what you eat - they only serve one kind of ramen (but you can choose whether to have large or very large). To get to Kenchan ramen, go along the main road past MaxValu on your left, and the turn-off to Kenchan ramen is on your right (you can see the sign from the main road, written in hiragana). NB Kenchan ramen is only open for lunch.
For your evening's entertainment, there are 2 izakayas in Hirata.
The easiest to get to is Tsutaya (not to be confused with the video rental store). On the main road from Sakata it is in the centre of town on your right just past the JA-SS gas station. You will see its sign in hiragana next to a bright red Coca Cola sign. Tsutaya is great - they serve good teishoku (such as ginger pork), ramen (the tantanmen is good, but beware the garlic ramen unless you want garlic seeping from your pores for the next few days) as well as classic izakaya dishes like tsukune, pizza, gyoza etc. On Wednesday nights karaoke is free; at other times you can pay to have it in your dining area.
The other izakaya is Gotoya. If you come out of the Nouson centre on foot, turn left and walk down the street parallel to the main street you will get to it after 3 blocks (a big house on the right-hand side). Gotoya is one of those places that you dread being invited to as a foreigner. Sample fare includes basashi (horse sashimi), pig knuckles (I didn't know pigs had knuckles; I wish I didn't know what they tasted like), chicken skin yakitori, liver yakiniku, and a tofu dish too terrible to describe. On the plus side they sell beer. If you drink enough you can forget you are offending the sensibilities of either your home country or your taste-buds. On a side note, the last time I went there the food was great - my colleagues ordered take-out pizza for me. Bonus!
Also in the town are the ubiquitous MaxValu, Komeru, 7-11 and Sunkus. Opposite the Yakuba is the Mentama Batake - a grocers which sells fruit and veg produced by local farmers.
As for services, there is an English-speaking doctor (Kagesawa), whose surgery is on the opposite side of the main crossroads from Sunkus. There are a couple of reputable dentists (but personally I go to one in Amarume whose English is excellent), and lurking somewhere is a chiropodist (ask Alisha for details).
Further information
For more information on Hirata, please see the town's website at: http://www.town.hirata.yamagata.jp/indext.htm. If you're wondering why you see a fried egg looking at you from the website, it's because Hirata claims to be the "eye-town" ("mentama no machi") within the "face" of Yamagata-ken. The Japanese for a sunny-side-up egg is "medamayaki" (literally, "fried eyeball") and so the logo for Hirata's homepage is "eye-chan." Clear? No? I wouldn't worry about it.
The website of Asuka Junior High School is at: http://www.inetshonai.or.jp/~asukachu/. It contains details of the school's excellent ekiden team (a kind of long distance relay), which in the 2003/4 season contained Takahashi Yui, who came second in her age group in the national championships. The school's motto is "Power up Asuka", which I think carries a pertinent message for all of us in these troubled times.
Power up, dudes.
Ed Fec
(19 March, 2004)
1. http://www.yamagatakanko.com/english/ca03.html