Gasetukuri (old style house) in Shirikawa village. Toyama prefecture

One can meet houses with distinctive triangular roof (gassezukuri) in Toyama prefecture. These houses are more then 200 years old, but the government forbids its demolition and people still live in these houses.
Houses conserve heat well, its interior decoration and architecture remained almost in its primitive appearance, that's why they attract hundreds of tourists from all over the country.

Sakura (Japanese cherry tree). Ishikawa prefecture

Sakura is a symbol of Japan. One can meet it everywhere; on mountain rivers' banks, in state and temple parks. There are about 16 species and approximately 400 kinds of sakura.
The sakura's flowering starts at the end of march on the south of country (Okinawa) and finishes flowering on the north in may (Hokkaido). Sakura flowers a short while. Usually sakura's flowers open and fall within one week at free of leaves trees. During this period the Japanese go out afresco to make a picnic under flowering trees and to enjoy short-life beauty.

• Zibu-ni (boiled vegetables with chicken)
• Buri-daikon (boiled daikon with fish)
• Masu-zushi (sushi with salmon)

• Amaebi (shrimps)
• Zuwai-gani (crabs)
• Buri (amberjack)
• Tara (codfish)

The coastline of Fukui, Isikawa and Toyama washed by Sea of Japan is extremely diversified. People hook there different sea food as here meet cold and warm currents. In winter people use such products as hokuriku, zuwai-gani (crab), amaebi, buri (amberjack) and tara (codfish). Tara-no konbuzime (codfish, wrapped with laminaria), boiled masako (full roe) and shirako (milt or soft roe) can be considered as local products. They are available here in a fresh mood. Ishiru (or ishiri) is fish sauce for seasoning and is prepared in Noto city (Isikawa prefecture).

There is a port Kitamae-bune in Hokuriku, through which kombu (laminaria) was imported from Hokkaido. Thus when preparing some dish people use kombu quite often. For example in dashi (base for soups), in kombu roll etc. Toyama prefecture and Okinawa compete between each other for the 1st place by consuming kombu. Local dishes with kombu amaze with its variety. Dish zoni where mochi is put on kombu, is widely spread in Fukui and Toyama. Different vegetables are cultivated here as well, and they are processed and pickled for wintering. It is possible to mark such dishes as hoshi-zuiki (dried stalk taro), hoshi-nasu (dried eggplant) and hoshi-daikon (dried radish).

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