DYA717 Japan H I S Tohoku Food & Flowers May 18, 2026

DYA717 Japan H_I_S Tohoku Food & Flowers May 18, 2026 [Hotel Listel Inawashiro, Yamagata Nippon no Yado Koyo, Inawashiro Herb Garden, Tsurugajo Castle, Yamanaka Senbei Honten, Obara Shuzo sake brewery, San-no-Kura Highland Flower Fields] Day 5 – I did a little BURA-BURA around the front of the hotel and found a ski lift so I guess this place is a ski resort/onsen. 7:00 a.m. breakfast at Hotel Listel Inawashiro. Google said today will be 48-82 degrees. About a 2-minute drive to the hotel’s Inawashiro Herb Garden. Then a short drive to Tsurugajo Castle which is a reconstructed castle. Then lunch at a restaurant on the castle grounds. Then a short drive to Yamanaka Senbei Honten for a DIY make your own senbei rice crackers session. Half of the group did the senbei DIY while the remaining folks went for a tour of Obara Shuzo sake brewery. Then we switched sides. Obara sake brewery is a very old brewery. The street the brewery is on has many preserved heritage buildings. Then a short drive to San-no-Kura Highland Flower Fields which is actually part of a ski center. Then a short drive to Kongokaku Restaurant in Yamagata a Yonezawa beef yakiniku place for dinner. ONO, ONO, ONO! Yonezawa beef is one of top 3 Wagyu beef along with Kobe and Matsusaka. Then a 50-minute drive further into Yamagata prefecture to Nippon No Yado Koyon onsen. I did around 4.2 miles with about 9000 steps – everyone else did more than me. This video is a composite of misc photos I usually share with family and friends. Nothing fancy; you’re welcome to view it.