The place is really cold in water, surrounded by snow on one side, and by the sea on the other.

The 1st of January, we went to the shinto shrine, following the japanese tradition.

Some pictures of the family:

Even the train station is really isolated - in fact, when we arrive the 31st of December at around 7 pm, there was no taxi in the station... and the road leading to the station was covered with 50 cm of snow. We had to walk in the snow for 200 meters to reach a bigger street... where we waited 1 hour for a taxi - a real adventure.
Those pictures were taken just before leaving back to Tokyo.

Finally, on our way back, we stopped - of course in two onsen - but also in Morioka, a nice city which seems to be a paradise for fish lovers. In the plate, I mean. Sake (nihonshu) is great, too.