The start of week 4 has us back in northern Japan in the prefecture of Iwate. Iwate is in the Tohoku region of Honshu on the Pacific coast; its capital is Morioka.
Fun fact: Iwate is the second largest prefecture in terms of land size and has the second lowest population density out of all the prefectures.
1. What does danburi (だんぶり) in Iwate mean?
2. What does tebirako (てびらこ) in Iwate mean?
3. Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Iwate was part of which province?
4. Which #Pokemon character is the tourism ambassador for Iwate?
5. In what city in Iwate is known as the land of the mythical creatures known as kappa?
6. Inside which cave in Iwate can you find Japan’s deepest underground lake?
7. What is the name of this festival in June which started 200 years ago so farmers could give their horses a day off from the rigors of rice cultivation and to go to the shrine to pray for their health?
8. What is the name of the soba dish in Morioka where staff keep serving you bite-sized cups of noodles until you close the lid of your bowl?
9. What is the name of this two-km-long gorge in Iwate whose name was inspired by a rock formation that resembles a lion’s nose?
10. Write a haiku poem which best describes the beauty and charm of Iwate.
Answers for Day 15: (1) Bungo & Buzen (2) mushrooms (often shiitake) (3) friend (4) true (5) Four of them (Umi Jigoku, Chinoike Jigoku, Tatsumaki Jigoku and Shiraiike Jigoku) (6) Lake of Blood or Blood Pond Hell or Blood Pool or Chinoike Jigoku (血の池地獄) (7) Fukiji Temple (富貴寺) (8) Saiki (9) chicken feet (momiji; もみじ)