Aizu Wakamatsu

Aizu Wakamatsu is the main city of the Aizu region. Wakamatsu boasts a richer history than a lot of places in the ken-heck, it even has more history to it than some of the countries certain ALTs hail from.

History
Aizu Wakamatsu has a long history. It is notable for its role during the Boshin War. The city was a loyal supporter of the Tokugawa shogunate and put up strong resistance during the war. Other notable historical events and people include the Byakkotai, Hideo Noguchi, Nijima Yae, and Naoe Kanetsugu.

Geography and Climate
Aizu Wakamatsu is in a valley and surrounded by mountains on all sides. As a result, Wakamatsu is home to some of the highest temperatures and humidity levels in the ken during summertime. During wintertime, Wakamatsu is privileged with steady snowfalls (there is a layer of snow covering the city from November/December to March/April) and some of the lowest temperatures in the ken.

Another result of the mountains is that earthquakes can be much milder here than the rest of the ken.

Train
The central train station for the city is the JR Aizu Wakamatsu station. The station is operated by JR East. It serves three different lines: JR East's Ban'etsu West Line, JR East's Tadami Line , and the Aizu railway's Aizu Line.

Aizu Wakamatsu Station Platforms

There are other, smaller, stations inside of Wakamatsu, most of which are operated by the Aizu Railway. They include Nishi-Wakamatsu Sation西若松駅, Minami-Wakamatsu Station南若松駅 , Monden Station門田駅 , Amaya Stationあまや駅 , Ashinomaki-Onsen Station芦ノ牧温泉駅 , Okawa-Dam-Koen Station大川ダム公園駅 , Ashinomako-Onsen-Minami Station芦ノ牧温泉南駅 , Nanukomachi七日町駅 (Nanokamachi) Station.

Beyond Wakamatsu Station, both Nishi-Wakamatsu and Nanukomachi Stations are of note. Nishi-Wakamatsu may be an easier station to get off at if you are interested in heading directly to Tsurugajo. It is also closer to where the Aizuwakamatsu Board of Education JHS JET/ALT apartments are located. Nanukomachi Station is a tourist spot in and of itself and is in the middle of Nanokamachi Street, an area famous for its shops and sightseeing. Inside the station there is the mildly famous 'EkiCafe', with Amida Temple across the street.

Bus
Local and Highway Buses

Aizuwakamatsu City has an city bus line and a highway bus service, both operated by the Aizu Bus company. There are also JR Highway buses available from the Aizu Bus terminal. The Aizu Bus terminal is located directly in front of Wakamatsu Station.

Bus schedules are located on the Aizu Bus website, which is unfortunately only available in Japanese. The highway buses are exceptionally easy to figure out and book but the local buses can be a bit more tricky. If you are having issues with the local Aizu Bus line, please talk to the folks at the Aizu Wakamatsu International Association, they will be more than happy to help you out. Fares on the local buses vary by the distance traveled.

The Aizu Bus highway buses serve Shinjuku, Sendai , Niigata, Fukushima City, Koriyama , Iwaki, and Nozawa. For the highway buses that remain within the prefecture (Fukushima City, Koriyama, and Iwaki), you do not need to purchase a ticket in advance and you can pay, in cash, when you get off the bus. There are 8 buses to Fukushima City every day from Wakamatsu. The buses to Koriyama and Iwaki are structured so that they always go through Koriyama. If you see an Aizu Bus bound for Iwaki, it is also servicing Koriyama. There are 2 buses to Koriyama every hour and a bus to Iwaki every hour. Please also be aware the bus schedules change on the weekends and holidays.

Sightseeing Buses

Aizu Wakamatsu offers sightseeing buses (Classic Town Bus). The sightseeing buses are flat rate; 100 yen for one ride or 500 yen for a one day pass. There are two different sightseeing bus routes- the Haikara-san(a green coloured bus), and the Akabe(a red coloured bus). Both buses depart from Aizu Wakamatsu station every thirty minutes. For the Haikara-san line, the first bus departs at 8:30, with the last bus departing at 17:30. The first Akabe bus departs at 9:15, with the last departing at 16:15.

Maps, tickets, and timetables for the Classic Town Bus can be obtained at Aizu Wakamatsu Station and bus station.

Bicycle
Aizu Wakamatsu offers bicycles for rental at a rate of 500 yen per day. There are four bicycle rental stations in Aizu Wakamatsu, all located at strategic points linking popular tourist sites. Cycling is a great way to get see the city. There are also several bike trails to Ashinomaki-Onsen, and Lake Inawashiro. Bicycles are available for use from 9 :00 to 16:30.

Rental Shop Locations

・Tsuruga-jo Station

・Oyakuen Station

・Omachi Station (Aizu Machi-Kata Densho Kan)

・Imoriyama Station (city-operated parking lot)

Schools
Aizu Wakamatsu is home to several different youchien, elementary, junior, and senior high schools. Wakamatsu is also home to the University of Aizu, the first computer science and engineering university in Japan.

The majority of the youchien and elementary schools have English taught by part-time English teachers.

Wakamatsu has twelve public junior high schools and one private junior high school. With the exception of Aizu Gakuho, all of the public JHS operate through the Aizu Wakamatsu Board of Education (Gakuho is a prefectural school). Four ALTs cover the twelve Board of Education JHS while Aizu Gakuho's JHS section has one dedicated ALT. Wakamatsu's JHS vary greatly in size. The larger schools (Aizuwakamatsu Third Junior High School for example) have 4 JTEs, with 15 homerooms across the three grade levels, each homeroom averaging over 35 students.


 * Aizuwakamatsu First Junior High School (会津若松市立第一中学校)


 * Aizuwakamatsu Second Junior High School (会津若松市立第二中学校)


 * Aizuwakamatsu Third Junior High School (会津若松市立第三中学校)


 * Aizuwakamatsu Fourth Junior High School (会津若松市立第四中学校)


 * Aizuwakamatsu Fifth Junior High School (会津若松市立第五中学校)
 * Aizuwakamatsu Sixth Junior High School (会津若松市立第六中学校)


 * Ikki Junior High School (一箕中学校)


 * Ōto Junior High School (大戸中学校)


 * Minato Junior High School (湊中学校)


 * Kitaaizu Junior High School (北会津中学校)


 * Kawahigashi Junior High School (河東中学校)


 * Aizu Gakuhō Junior High School (会津学鳳中学校, prefectural)
 * Aizuwakamatsu Xaverio Gakuen Junior High School (会津若松ザベリオ学園中学校, private)

To Do
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/slbanetsumonogatari.html

Festivals and Events

 * January 1	Tsuruga-jo New Year’s Day visit	Tsuruga-jo
 * January 10	Toka-ichi	heart city area
 * 2nd Fri. & Sat. of February	Aizu E-rosoku Matsuri	Tsuruga-jo and Oyakuen
 * March 18 – 24	Aizu Higan Shishimai	at various spots in the city
 * Mid-April	Tsuruga-jo Sakura Matsuri	Tsuruga-jo
 * April 24	Byakkotai Ireisai	Imoriyama
 * July 1 – September	Ohi-ichi	Nisshin-machi
 * August	Higashiyama Onsen Oyukake Matsuri	Higashiyama hot spring
 * August	Higashiyama Bon-odori	Higashiyama hot spring
 * August	Ashinomaki Onsen Matsuri	Ashinomaki hot spring
 * September 22 – 24	Aizu Matsuri	at various spots in the city
 * September 24	Byakkotai Ireisai	Imoriyama
 * Early October	Tsuruga-jo Dai-chakai	Tsuruga-jo
 * November 3	Oyakuen Koyo-no-Tsudoi	Oyakuen


 * Oyaku-en Garden First Tea Ceremony of the Year January 3rd, 10:00 to 15:00
 * Aizu Kawahigashi Yokaichi January 8th, A New Years market held in Kawahigashi where festival stalls line the street and sell charms for the new year.
 * New Years Market January 10th, A 400-year old tradition. The streets of Wakamatsu are lined with shops selling good luck charms and other goods.

Restaurants and Food
All of these are vegetarian friendly:
 * Floresta (doughnuts)
 * Café Kanae
 * Vege Café
 * Kiria Soba
 * Angelo Bianco (Italian)

Resources and Links
Google Map of Aizu Wakamatsu schools, grocery stores, and restaurants