A trip to collect stones, the coast of Aomori Prefecture | Memories No. 15 |

Stone picking trip｜Shichiri Nagahama, Aomori Prefecture

May 4, 2016.

Yesterday we picked up stones at Hiratate and Tsunashiran coast. I was very happy to be able to pick up stones in Aomori, which was my dream! ! It wasn’t that simple, and my heart was in a haze.
Nishikiishi from Aomori. A legendary place.
In my mind, the hurdle of Aomori stone had been raised. As a result, he was not satisfied with yesterday’s stone picking and ended up showing Thoroughbred K a new way to find stones. 384 was also genuinely enjoying collecting stones, and it reminded him of his original passion for collecting stones, which he had almost forgotten.
Drive the car with K&S. West to west.
Even so, choosing Lake Towada as the place to stay was a mistake. It takes quite a while to go back and forth.

I discovered the cafe by chance at lunchtime. What kind of meat curry (bear?) was written on the sign at the entrance. I can’t remember at all. It looks delicious so I decided to go for it. A slightly stylish hometown cafe? It’s like that.
You can see the railroad tracks from the back door of the cafe. Apparently there is a station right behind it.
While I was waiting for my curry, I went outside and saw photographers snapping pictures.

A really nice atmosphere station. Cafe. The weather is nice too. And after this, stone picking is waiting. Isn’t it the best?
The curry that came out was so delicious that I devoured it in one go.
I slowed down a bit and started driving the rental car again.

How far did you run? Is it time for a spot? Even though I thought so, I could not proceed towards the coast at all. According to the car navigation system, it is quite close. I can’t find the road to the coast.
While walking back and forth around the spot, I found a road that caught my attention. Grass stretches to the left and right, and not a single car is running. This is not just a problem here, Aomori has really little traffic. There are almost no cars running in this place, which is not a tourist spot. Therefore, I feel quite anxious. Is this a good way to enter? I wonder if this is the case here.
As I drive, I feel a mixture of anxiety and excitement about the unknown. It’s like a scene in a science fiction movie where you go to a secret laboratory in the middle of nowhere.

After a while, a large torii gate appeared in the distance. Was it red? I don’t have a good memory, and I haven’t taken any photos, so my diary is fuzzy and vague.
Well, it’s not bad to remember the sights of your trip, as if retracing a dream you’ve almost forgotten. Perhaps the stones you’ve picked up will also be a part of that help.

After passing through the torii gate, you will arrive at the shrine’s parking lot. There were also a few tourists here. Of course, they probably came to worship at the shrine, not to pick up stones.

I walked around the shrine, but I couldn’t see anything that looked like the coast. The shrine grounds are on a hill, so you have to get off somewhere to get to the coast. If you listen closely, you can hear the faint sound of waves. It’s going to be a lot, isn’t it?

As I wandered around the shrine, many torii gates appeared. What on earth is this shrine? If you are interested, please check it out.

It’s a mystery.

What is this scene?
Thoroughbred K, 384, has also been looking for a place to get off to the beach, but has never been able to find one. I decided to go back to the parking lot again just to be sure I hadn’t overlooked anything.
Then, I found a small road near the shrine. I wonder if I can pass this?

suspicious. Or rather, it has to be this way. The three of us move forward on this empty road. It’s like an adventure I had when I was in elementary school, and my heart is pounding.

According to Mr. Watanabe’s book, there is supposed to be an old wooden torii gate in front of the beach as a landmark, but I can’t find it. As with Tsuna Shirazu, once again there are no landmarks. However, K and 384 proceed without hesitation. After a while, the sea appeared in the distance.

What a sight. wonderful. The scenery is like the very end of the coast. The atmosphere is magnificent and somewhat melancholy, perfect for a stone-gathering trip.

And finally we arrived at the coast.

A tremendous gust of wind blows. As a result, the sand dunes are being carved out rapidly. Perhaps the place where the torii gate used to be has been completely scraped away.

384 is having a lot of fun. It looks really fun. Thoroughbred K is about to start looking for a stone when Suki takes his eyes off her. Why don’t you just enjoy the scenery and sea like 384? Even though I was thinking that, my fighting spirit was instantly ignited. After all, this is the sea where you can collect Nishikishi. This is the long-awaited beach that I have been thinking about for a long time.
K! I definitely won’t lose this time. I’ll definitely win the stone battle at the inn today! As I was about to start picking up stones with great enthusiasm, I suddenly noticed something.

Um, there’s no stone?
picture.

That’s stupid.

As you can see in the photo, there are no stones to be found.

No, that can’t be true. 384, K, I’ll do my best to find it.
A trio of walking stones in a super strong wind. After a while, streaks of washed-up stones began to become visible. Although I feel a little unsatisfied, I start picking up stones.

Roll, roll, roll.

good. pretty good. Although they are few in number, these stones make you want to pick them up. Overwhelming presence. I was instantly fascinated. This is Nishikishi.

A line of stones on the beach. As I pick this up as I move forward, I notice something. I wonder if the one who walked in front of the three of them will take all the good stones with them. When it comes to picking up stones, I’m aware that I’m being foolish when I show off my fighting spirit, but since K was so ahead of me yesterday, I wanted to pick up a better stone than K no matter what, so I went in front of K. Walk steadily. It’s immature.
However, picking up stones is a profound thing, and there are a wide variety of stones that touch your heart, and you won’t be able to find a good stone just by walking around once.
Out of the countless stones, one stone suddenly catches your eye and resonates with you. What criteria and what meaning do people use to find this stone interesting?

As I was picking up stones again, muttering questions and answers in my mind, K was right behind me, enthusiastically picking up stones. Oh, it’s so close. Now, I’m going to go ahead and destroy the stones. Things like 384 that you can just pick up innocently.
However, the wind is strong. I can’t open my eyes at all because of the sand hitting my face, and more and more sand is getting into my clothes. Another stone-picking ordeal. The waves are strong and it is almost impossible to get close to the sea. I think it was probably nearing high tide. If I had come during low tide, I wonder if the stones would have been falling all over the place. Looking at the books of my predecessors, I feel like a few more stones have fallen.
・Japanese stone specimen box

Just when I thought I had picked up quite a bit, I found a piece of driftwood that had been scraped by the waves. Normally I wouldn’t even look at driftwood that wasn’t even stone, but for some reason this time I was curious and picked it up. When I felt it in my hand, it felt hard and smooth, unlike driftwood, and it had the mass of a heavy stone.
Th-This is! ! ! ! ! I knew it right away, even though it was our first encounter. This is petrified wood.
Petrified wood is wood that has become silicified and becomes stone-like. It might be easier to understand if you imagine fossils of dinosaurs or plants. I knew of this existence by looking at it on the internet. I had picked up some agate in Fukui, but this was my first time finding petrified wood.
happy. I’m so happy. My heart is pounding as I glance at K. Wait, calm down. Trying to somehow calm down the tension that had reached its maximum, I pretended to be calm for a while and continued picking up stones.
Then, as K gradually becomes curious about the stone he picked up, he tells her that he picked up a piece of petrified wood.
“I found something like this,” he said proudly showing off the petrified wood.
“What is this?” K said, looking a little surprised. It looks like driftwood. However, when you hold it, it has the mass of a stone. “Hehehe. This is what petrified wood is…”

,,,I wonder if I’m not quite getting it right. K quickly returns to picking up rocks. What kind of mental power is that? If it were me, if I saw such a mysterious stone, my head would be filled with it. I can no longer calmly pick up stones. Mumumu,,.
K’s reaction doesn’t make sense, but I start picking up rocks again. As for 384, it seems like he’s still picking up stones at his own pace. I don’t feel any distractions while picking up 384 stones. I truly enjoy collecting stones. Unlike K and I, who unconsciously convert the interesting colors and shapes into natural art like suiseki (appreciation stones) in our minds, they seem to be enjoying the stones as they are.

Time passed quickly and it was almost time to return to the hotel. how about that. Did you pick up any good stones?
Go back the way you came. On the way, I started arranging stones on the ground to do my usual stone selection.

Stones picked up at sea｜Shichiri Nagahama, Aomori Prefecture

good. The stone is too good. This may be the first time I have picked up a stone with such a strong presence. And he has a great personality.
One strange thing was that I kept my eyes peeled for the petrified wood I had found earlier, as well as other things that looked like driftwood, but I couldn’t find any. It’s not just that petrified wood. Almost all stones have no similar stones. In my experience, whenever I found one stone, I found several stones of different shapes from that family, but this time at Shichiri Nagahama, there were almost no such occurrences. What exactly is that? Maybe it just happened that there weren’t many stones and I couldn’t find them well.

It was a wonderful beach that I would definitely like to visit again.
Return to the shrine and remove the sand from your clothes. When you take off your shoes and turn them upside down, a large amount of sand falls out. I made the right decision not to take my camera to the beach. If I had taken it with me, the lens would have been scratched or broken in the sandstorm. I want everyone to be careful.

What kind of stone did K and 384 pick up? I go back to my hotel while thinking about it.

By the time I arrived at the inn, it was already night. I immediately eat and take a bath. Then, while sharing drinks, it all started again. The second stone battle in Aomori.
Before that, I washed the stones in the bathroom.

Gasha gasha gasha gasha!
Gasha gasha gasha gasha!

I wonder if other guests can hear me?
Hisohiso…
Also, there’s a strange sound… I wonder what that sound is…

Wash without hesitation 384.
Gasha gasha gasha gasha!
Gasha gasha gasha gasha!

Well, first of all, 384 stones.

Wow.
Wait a minute. It would be a violation if it got wet. 384.

This is what it looks like when it dries a little. I think you now understand how difficult it is to distinguish wet stones, and the beauty of foul play. Therefore, picking up stones on rainy days is not recommended.
The pitch black stone in the bottom left with a somewhat slimy surface looks quite nice.

Next up is Thoroughbred K.

that. It’s surprisingly normal. It’s normal. The pattern on the top, second from the left, is unique and feels smooth to the touch.

Finally my stone.

Do you understand? This time, it’s completely my victory. If you ask 100 stone people, all 100 will choose my stone. (I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore)
This time, it’s definitely one of the best stones I’ve had so far.

→Various stones I have picked up so far

Petrified wood. Unbelievable beauty. Impeccable.

Transparent dots on a black base.

A stone like Jupiter.

Photos arranged again.

Closer cut.

Even when I look at it now, I still fall in love with it. I have nothing more to say this time.
There is no point in talking about good stones. Its very existence is wonderful.
And when all the stones think so, the path to becoming a stone saint will be opened.

Tomorrow, we will sightsee in Aomori. Towada Art Museum and Aomori Prefectural Museum of Art.
I don’t pick up rocks or write in a diary.

Tsugaru sea, thank you for the stones.

*384 works

Little did I know at the time that I would continue to be troubled by the stone walls of Aomori.

Next time, memory number 16 is picking up stones on the way back from Tokyo to Nagoya.

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