Pick up a wearable Japanese lesson featuring dinosaurs, hot springs, and deep sea fish.
Following the 2011 disaster, Fukushima Prefecture has steadily worked to rebuild its tourism appeal, offering a region filled with natural beauty and history to travelers who seek to venture beyond Japan’s Golden Route of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and sometimes Hiroshima. In the coastal city of Iwaki, known for its Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium and the tropical Spa Resort Hawaiians, a new attraction at JR Iwaki Station’s S-Pal shopping center offers a fun way to connect with the area, and return with a unique souvenir.
Building on the popularity of the original Fukushima dialect t-shirt vending machine at JR Fukushima Station, this latest Iwaki installment brings the wearable local culture directly to coastal visitors.
▼ The Fukushima Station designs: five for each of the three regions of the prefecture
When people think of Japanese dialects, Kansai-ben from the Kansai region centered around Osaka usually comes to mind. However, Japan features a rich array of regional dialects (hogen, 方言), each reflecting distinct local history and geography. Fukushima itself is divided into three cultural and linguistic zones: Hamadori (the coast, where Iwaki is located), Nakadori (the central valley, home to Fukushima and Koriyama cities), and Aizu (the western mountains, famed for Tsuruga Castle, Kitakata-style ramen, and Higashiyama Hot Spring). Each region boasts its own endearing vocabulary and idioms that sound remarkably different from standard Tokyo Japanese.
These local expressions have become the focus of the Fukushima Dialect T-shirts. Priced at 2,000 yen (US$12.69), each shirt pairs regional phrases with charming illustrations, and the Iwaki vending machine offers a selection of 12 designs that are inspired by local icons and differ from the 15 found in Fukushima’s vending machine.
These coastal Hamadori designs highlight phrases like appatoppa (あっぱとっぱ, “confused” or “flustered”), which features the locally discovered Futabasaurus, and koderanni (こでらんに, “the best” or “can’t get enough of [it]”), depicting Shiramizu Amidado, one of the oldest and most important temples in the Tohoku region.
There are also four designs that showcase beloved Iwaki icons: the mehikari (bigeyed greeneye fish), anko (anglerfish that is used in the traditional hot pot dish anko nabe), hula dance, and Iwaki Yumoto hot spring.
▼ Hula dance helped save the town in the mid-1960s after the local mines closed.
Adding to the excitement, the vending machine operates like a mystery capsule, so after selecting your size of medium, large, or extra large, a random design from the collection is dispensed.
▼ Mehikari are delicious both eaten raw and deep-fried
For both domestic and international visitors, these local dialect mystery T-shirts will serve as warm reminders of your time spent in this region, and be a great conversation starter with Japanese locals wherever you travel. So, whether you are playing to delve into samurai heritage at Tsuraga Castle, walk through the thatched roof village of Ouchijuku, explore the beautiful highlands of Bandai, or enjoy Iwaki’s Pacific coast, consider making a little detour and grabbing one of these T-shirts from the station vending machine, so you can carry it home and wear a slice of Fukushima’s charm.
Location information
Iwaki Vending Machine
Fukushima-ben T-shatsu Jidouhanbaiki / 福島弁Tシャツ自動販売機
Address: Fukushima-ken, Iwaki-shi, Taira, Tamachi 1 Esuparu Iwaki 2F
福島県いわき市平田町1 エスパルいわき2F
Open: 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Price: 2,000 yen for a random one of 12 designs
S-Pal Iwaki Website
Fukushima Vending Machine
Fukushima-ben T-shatsu Jidouhanbaiki / 福島弁Tシャツ自動販売機
Address: Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, Sakae-cho 1-1 Esuparu Fukushima 1F
福島県福島市栄町1-1 エスパル福島1F
Open: 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
Price: 2,000 yen for a random one of 15 designs
S-Pal Fukushima Website
Source: Fukushima Minpo via Yahoo News, PR Times, Go Guy Net
Images: PR Times, Photos ©SoraNews24
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