A touching reminiscence that’ll final a lifetime.
There’s a well-known saying in Japan, “hana yori dango“, which accurately interprets as “dango over flowers” and is used to imply “substance over kind“. This that means comes from the truth that dango (candy glutinous rice balls skewered on a stick) are sometimes eaten at hanami flower-viewing picnics, and whereas some prize the aesthetic fantastic thing about the flowers over the sweets, others want the sweets to flowers.
It’s a saying that can be utilized in a wide range of settings, however at Genbikei in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, you may hear individuals rephrasing it as “Genbikei yori dango”, as a result of at this distinctive spot you’ll expertise “dango over Genbikei”, each actually and figuratively.
▼ Genbikei is called “Genbikei Gorge” in English.
Individuals come from far and large to view each the gorge and the so-called “flying dumplings”, which journey from one financial institution of the river to the opposite. Our reporter Saya Togashi was not too long ago a type of guests, even braving the inclement climate to get a style of the weird dango.
▼ There was such a downpour when she visited that the telephone she was taking pictures with was as soaked because the handrail on the viewpoint overlooking the gorge.
Saya’s raincoat and umbrella weren’t doing a lot to maintain her dry however she continued on to the positioning of the flying dumplings, the place she discovered she wasn’t the one one hungry for sweets that day.
▼ The flying dumplings land right here on the gazebo.
Although she’d been involved that the climate may’ve brought about the flying dumpling service to be cancelled, she needn’t have frightened as a result of it was absolutely operational, with the setup under greeting her on the gazebo.
It’s an ingenious system the place clients place their fee into the basket, with a one-person serving priced at 500 yen (US$3.22) and a two-person serving priced at 1,000 yen. After you’ve positioned your cash within the basket, you’ll must faucet the wood board beside the setup twice, utilizing the hooked up wood stick, which alerts the proprietor of the dumpling store throughout the way in which that an order has been positioned.
▼ The dumpling retailer known as “Kakko Dango“, which interprets as “Cuckoo Dango“.
The clack of wooden on wooden is so loud it rings clear throughout the valley, and the pulley system instantly springs into motion, with the basket disappearing alongside the wire rope because it heads in direction of Cuckoo Dango. Inside seconds, the basket begins its return journey again to the gazebo, due to the skilful efforts of the proprietor, who manually operates the pulley so your order glides gracefully to you over the gorge.
With the assistance of gravity, the basket flies at such excessive velocity that it elicits cries of enjoyment and shock from onlookers. Saya squealed in pleasure as her particular supply arrived, and although the gray skies above her continued their heavy downpour, they wouldn’t rain on her parade.
She was impressed when she noticed her supply, as her field of sweets had been rigorously packaged in a plastic bag to maintain it dry, and it got here with two cups of inexperienced tea that have been in excellent situation, with no spills to be seen.
The package deal had a ravishing picture of the pulley system in motion, and as she opened the field whereas huddling with the opposite clients beneath the gazebo, she was happy to seek out that the dango inside have been completely attractive.
▼ These have been giant dango, with three totally different varieties per serving: black sesame, purple bean paste, and soy sauce.
They have been so smooth and delectable that they deserved to be a well-known native specialty in their very own proper, with out the necessity for any flying shenanigans.
She was glad for the shenanigans, although, because the pulley system actually did delight everybody there that day, with individuals of all ages ordering dango one after the opposite.
There was no scarcity of shoppers, and the dango store did a gallant job of fulfilling everybody’s orders with velocity and precision. Nonetheless, there was one downside to the distinctive dumplings — each time the basket moved, it attracted the eye of everybody round it, so relatively than having fun with the views of the gorge, they turned absolutely absorbed within the dango.
▼ Therefore, Genbikei yori dango, or “dango over Genbikei“.
It was among the best dumpling experiences Saya has ever had, and is absolutely deserving of all the eye. You’ll be able to even eat the dumplings inside the shop too should you like, and that’s an expertise in and of itself, particularly should you’re a buyer visiting from abroad, because the proprietor has a private assortment of nationwide flags and anthems by his aspect. He’ll fortunately strike up a dialog with you and prop the flag of your nation onto the aspect of the basket, together with a speaker which blares your nationwide anthem out to the world because the basket delivers an order to the opposite aspect of the river.
It’s a sort and touching gesture that’ll stick with you endlessly, so subsequent time you’re travelling in Japan, you’ll want to make a cease at Cuckoo Dango throughout enterprise hours. It’s situated in a mountainous space that receives loads of snowfall, although, so it closes in the course of the winter season, which this yr runs from 30 November to mid-March. There are occasions when the flying dango sells out or stops working resulting from robust winds too, however within the case of these occasions, a yellow tag might be put up on the retailer, which you’ll be capable to see from the gazebo.
Although you’ll be tempted to offer all of your consideration to the dumplings, the gorge itself is fairly spectacular too, with boat rides at close by Genbikei being one other must-do exercise. The boat operators sing a ravishing conventional native track on the return leg of the journey, with the sound of their voices echoing across the gorge, creating one other shifting reminiscence that’ll final you a lifetime.
Retailer data
Cuckoo Dango /かっこうだんご
Tackle: Iwate-ken, Ichinoseki-shi, Genbi-cho, Takinoue 211
岩手県一関市厳美町滝ノ上211
Open: 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (earlier if offered out) Enterprise hours could range barely, with irregular holidays
Closed from December till early-mid March
Web site
Photographs ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]
