Tohoku

Kaoru Abe (May 5, 1949 – September 9, 1978) was a Japanese avant-garde alto saxophonist. Self-taught at a young age, Abe performed with notables such as Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves, although he generally performed solo. He was married to the author Izumi Suzuki, and was a cousin to singer Kyu Sakamoto. He was portrayed in Kōji Wakamatsu's film Endless Waltz by novelist and punk rock singer Kō Machida.

Snow-bound and still impacted by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the people of Tohoku wait eagerly for that springtime symbol of hope and life: the blossoming of cherry trees. Northern Japan boasts many varieties of cherry trees and some very beloved ones – a tree strong enough to grow through a boulder and another whose lineage stretches for a thousand years. Some of these trees are cared for by generations of the same families, people who know each bud on their trees and the best places to view the cherry blossoms.

A ravaged high school piano, soaked by the tsunami, sat stoically after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto came across it when visiting the disaster area. The sounds were divorced from conventional tonality, and Sakamoto employed them in his first album in 8 years. He also attached sensors to the keys, transforming the instrument into a machine that converts seismic waves into sounds. It was his way of conveying the message that the disaster should never be forgotten. Watch and listen as the teacher and a student who had used the "tsunami piano" before the quake react to its new melodies.

The stage of our train cruise this time is deep autumn in East Japan's Yamagata, Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures. Our traveler thoroughly enjoys both food created from abundant autumn crops and beautiful views of the colored leaves of autumn. In addition, our train trip touches local people's lives by exploring regional traditions.[