Page 312 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

u i sacred to spirits of the dead,
with a crater lake and sulfur
Towada-Hachimantai Oga Peninsula hot springs. It is open from
National Park 男鹿半島 May to October and blind
十和田八幡平国立公園 medi ums communicate with
! F1 ⌂ Akita Prefecture
! G1 ⌂ Akita, Aomori, and £ JR Oga Stn n Next to JR the spirits from July 22–24.
Iwate Prefectures £ JR Oga Stn; (0185) 24-4700 Take the ferry from Sai along
Morioka & JR Aomori Stns Kicking 12 miles(20 km) into the west coast to Hotoke-ga-
ura (Buddha Coast), past sea-
EXPERIENCE Northern Honshu This national park is in two scenic rocky coastline, pleasant Wakinosawa is home to sassy
@ From Stns to Lake Towada
the Sea of Japan (East Sea), this worn cliffs and rock formations.
or Hachimantai n At Lake
foot-shaped peninsula has a
In the southwest the port of
Towada; (0176) 75-1015
snow monkeys. A ferry runs
little fishing villages, good sea-
from here to Aomori.
food, and hills covered with
sections, with the mountainous
Hachi mantai section 37 miles
Akita cedar. The lookout on
(60 km) south of the Towada
Mount Kanpu offers a pano-
ramic view of mountains, sea,
section. The best way to get
p
around the park is by car:
and spreading rice fields. The
trains are limited and buses
not available in winter.
Namahage Festival on New
青森
Year’s Eve, when men dressed
Hachimantai offers hiking
! G1 ⌂ Aomori Prefecture
in horned masks and straw
and ski trails aplenty, frozen peninsula is best known for the Aomori
£ n JR Bus stn bldg; www.
lava flows, alpine flora, and coats go from house to house, en-aomori.com
mountain views. A favorite scaring children into being
with Japanese tourists, it has good and idlers into working. Aomori is a nondescript city,
scenic toll roads, hot-spring A tourist version of the fes- but it is home to the riotous
and ski resorts, and a variety tival, the Namahage Sedo Nebuta Matsuri and Sannai-
of tourist facilities. Good Matsuri, is held at Shinzan Maruyama, a Jomon-period
stopping places include Shrine, in the city of Oga. site. Since its discovery in 1993,
Goshogake onsen, the site has yielded relics and
Hachimantai Resort ski ruins from 4,000 to 5,500 years
complex, and the tourist o ago, including a woven pouch,
village of Putaro. red lacquerware, and clay
In the Towada section Shimokita Peninsula figures. Most impressive
high lights include the lovely 下北半島 are the reconstructed pit
Lake Towada. Its symbol, a ! G1 ⌂ Aomori Prefecture dwellings and a standing-
statue of two maidens (1953) pillar building.
by Kotaro Takamura, is on the £ JR Ominato Stn n Next to
JR Shimokita Stn
southern shore. More dramatic Sannai-Maruyama
is the 6-mile (9-km) Oirase This axe-shaped peninsula ⌂ 3 miles (5 km) SW of city
Gorge to the east of the lake. offers unspoiled beauty. In center § (017) 734-9924
North of the lake are some the interior is the desolate @ From Shin-Aomori & Aomori
atmospheric spa inns, such Osorezan (Mount Dread), one Stns to Sannai-Maruyama
as the excel lent Tsuta Onsen. of three Japanese mountains Iseki-mae # 9am–5pm daily
a
Hirosaki
弘前
! F1 ⌂ Aomori Prefecture
£ n Hirosaki Stn; www.
hirosaki-kanko.or.jp/en/
The cultural and edu cational
center of Aomori, Hirosaki is
a delight to explore. Most
Atmospheric waterfall
in the forest of Towada-
Hachimantai National Park
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