Japan Trip - Day 5

10/25 - Lake TOWADA and OIRASE Hiking Trail

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my journal of my trip. Not only do I love sharing them with my friends but I have a selfish reason...my memory (aka senior moment)! LOL! If I don't write it down, I will not remember all the details ;0P

This trip to Lake Towada and OIRASE Stream is my husband's most anticipated trip. He had always wanted to visit so I was excited for him. We back tracked our way to HACHINOHE Station to get on the bus to take us to OIRASE hiking trail. It takes over two hours to get out there (with a pit stop halfway).

Good thing we got there early (45 mins before departure) to find a handful of people already lined up at the bus stop! So glad Hosho reserved tickets - LOL! Also note that most of these folks pictured are not Japanese - a majority of them are from China! Taka's ears were peaked as he is learning Chinese in high school. Perfect opportunity to make friends but alas, he was too shy.

This is what we saw at the entrance of the TOWADA-HACHIMANTAI National Park where the OIRASE hiking trail is located...look at those fall colors!

The hiking trail is 8 3/4 miles long but we hiked about 2 miles in about an hour. We took our time as there were some beautiful spots and waterfalls along the way. For a weekday, there were a lot of people out!

Then we caught the bus from the trail and took it to our next destination Lake TOWADA. After hiking, the boys (me too!) were ready for a hot lunch :) We took a quick stroll around the lake and found a restaurant that overlooked the lake. As you can see by the picture below, it turned cloudy and cold by the time we reached the lake.

After eating our lunches, we walked to the bus terminal and rode to our next hot springs inn (RYOKAN). It was in the TOWADA area which was good - I needed a long hot bath :) Yes, it was as hot as it looks! LOL! This bath is called ROTENBURO (open air bath).

Then we had this wonderful dinner after our baths...a perfect ending to a BEAUTIFUL day!

Tomorrow, it's off to AOMORI Pref. and back to SENDAI to hitch a ride to Mt. ZAO for our last stay of our trip.