This past weekend, I went up to the Masakari-hanto (axe peninsula) of Aomori Prefecture with the Hashimoto family. We spent the first night in Mutsu, before driving along the coast to the town of Sai. Along the way we were close enough to see the neighbouring island of Hokkaido across the strait. The peninsula is sparsely populated, dominated by small fishing villages and wind farms. We rarely passed on-coming traffic.When we reached our destination, we boarded a small boat that took us to a beach with huge limestone formations. A rare sight in Japan, this beach felt like another world when we stepped on to the shore. It reminded me of visiting the Hopewell Rocks out East with my family when I was younger.
