Explore Tohoku: Akita and Aomori

I have heard from foreigners living in Japan that they like Japan so much, one of the reasons is because of its beautiful scenery (it is! undoubtedly and undeniably). On the first week of November in this year, I went for a short time for exploring Tohoku area with my friends. Specifically, Akita and Aomori prefecture. We went to (ordered by course): Kakunodate, Oodate, Lake Towada, and Aomori. We moved from the southern part to the northern part of Tohoku, and then we return to Tokyo from Aomori by bus. Personally, I like less touristy places because it feels more “Japan” (for whatever reasons).

Kakunodate (角館)

Kakunodate is kind of famous as samurai village. In this place, there is a traditional street providing housing for samurais. The easiest way to reach Kakunodate from Tokyo is by using Akita shinkansen to Kakudate station.

Right after you go out from the station, there is a sightseeing map of Kakunodate area.
We were just following the street to samurai village, and stop along the way for whatever scenery we found.

There is this museum (I don’t know the name) on the way, hosting a Japanese garden and traditional house (free admission).
and… the following pictures are the scenery of the samurai village…

We came during the right time, and it seems this time was the peak season of autumn in Kakunodate. Unexpectedly, there were many international tourists. I subjectively felt that the leaves in Kakunodate are wider than the leaves in Tokyo area. Moreover, the color is also redder. Aside from the scenery, we enjoyed local food. The signature of Kakunodate is kiritanpo (rice cake). 

The shop owner told us that the chicken in this area is delicious, so we also ordered oyakodon (chicken bowl)

After feeding ourselves with the nice scenery and delicious food. We moved to our next destination to Takanosu Station (to go to Oodate). From Kakunodate station, you can reach Takanosu station by using Nairiku Line (Bijin line). This line offers an exotic scenery.

Oodate (大館)

We did not spend much time in Oodate (only for spending the night), so probably there is nothing much to tell for this part. But… apparently Oodate area is famous for its dog. As hachiko was from Oodate, we saw hachiko statue right across Oodate station.

We also did not forget to take a picture with the real cute doggo of the infamous doggo meme.

From here on, the public transportation is though. Our next destination was Lake Towada, and the most common ways to reach Lake Towada are from Aomori City or Hachinohe City. Because of transport difficulty, we rented a compact car. One of the (probably) most difficult challenges for foreigners traveling in rural Japan is communication in Japanese. Fortunately, we have a Japanese friend on our side.

Kosaka (小坂)

Kosaka is a village on the way of Oodate to Lake Towada. The famous attraction around this area is Nanaki waterfall. Honestly, this is in the middle of nowhere.

According to survey, one of the 10 common hobbies in Japan is driving (ドライブ). I did not understand this hobby until I go this this place. The road is wide, and the scenery is super beautiful. This is probably why many people love to drive in Japan. As stated by the legend, photography skill does not matter in Japan, because anywhere you go, your pictures will be beautiful!

 

Lake Towada (十和田湖)

If you come across trip advisor, you will find Lake Towada as one of the recommended places in Aomori prefecture. I also recommend this place!

The most common activity in this area is riding a ferry to make around in the lake. However, our hostel owner told us that it probably would be boring for young people. So, he suggested us to ride a speedboat by guriland. It was fun and cold! The guriland staff gave us sweet potatoes, and it was really lovely eating sweet potatoes in winter. He told us that ten years ago, there were more people in Lake Towada. But now, they have fewer residents and visitors. He said not many Japanese tourists come here because they probably do not know the existence of this place. For now, their primary activity is from Taiwanese tourists. This site is cold and night, and transport is rare (even from Aomori or Hachinohe). So, I recommend you to go here by car!

November should be still autumn, but for Lake Towada, it is the beginning of winter. We went to the tip top of the Lake Towada area, and found a snowy area (さすが東北)

I was so excited here because I have never seen snow this thick in Tokyo. Last but not least, the food! I forgot what is the name, but Lake Towada speciality is seafood (of course).

Aomori (青森)

Aomori is the one and only city we went on this trip. At first, we went to the pre-historic museum (sannai-maruyama), free admission!

The picture above shows very old potteries. The following two pictures show old figures/figurines.
Next, we visited Itou Shrine. If I have to state something special about this shrine, it is the atmosphere (雰囲気).

Next, we went to Nebuta Warase (Nebuta museum). Nebuta festival is a famous activity in Aomori. The goal of this festival is to drive away sleepy feeling during summer. An artist designs the Nebuta, then realize it into 3D object.

Cool isn’t it? I heard they use around 1500~ light bulbs for a single nebuta (medium-sized) Nebuta.

There is a must try dish in Aomori, scallop (ホタテ).

Last but not least, I show you pictures of Aomori bay bridge (evening vs. night).

Concluding Remarks

It is hard for me not to fall in love in Japan (again and again). The atmosphere, the scenery, the food, and the people; everything is excellent. Rural Japan offers you an exotic experience which of course, cannot be encountered in Tokyo.There is no way I can describe my experience in words (or maybe it is just my poor command in language, IDK). You have to go there by yourself because the experience is almost spiritual!

Japan declining population is a severe problem, and you can only feel it as a reality in the countryside. I sincerely hope the problem will be solved, so the places I visited in this post won’t be left as shattered towns (especially Lake Towada). Probably, they can take an approach by signing a contract with anime company, similar with Numazu.