Food – Micha's Blog

Aomori to Oma

Weather: mostly sunny with some clouds; later afternoon storm.
Low of 19C or so, high of 25C.
Distance: 364km

<< Previous Day | Next Day >> | Photo Album | Video

Today was a day of epic roads and some backtracking..

Woke up before 6am, but didn’t get going until after 7am. I was semi-thinking of eating the Aomori nokke-don for breakfast but wasn’t really hungry, and then seeing the ferry museum. But it doesn’t open until 9am and the weather was nice, so I wanted to get going.. so instead of waiting for it to open, I just went and took a look from the outside and then headed off.

I had picked “the Spot where Sergeant Goto was found”, apparently a famous soldier from the area who nearly died in a disastrous winter march in the early 20th century. The road leading up to the spot was epic, but trying to get to the actual spot turned out to be futile.. As has happened to me so many times before on this particular trip, the road turned to gravel and there was a sign saying it was closed in 6km. Well, the spot was roughly 6km away, so I figured I could still visit the spot and then turn back again if I really couldn’t get through. Well, except the road was most definitely closed about 500m before the spot. There wasn’t even a way to hike the last 500m..

Backtracking, I at least found a cafe with coffee and a cream bun as a consolation prize..

I eventually got back onto my planned route and went along it, mostly following the coastline. I had one or two nice stops, the most memorable being the Hotoke-ga-ura Rock Formations. Despite needing to trek down several hundred meters these were well worth the effort with some spectacular views, especially when the late afternoon sun managed to break through the clouds!

Then it was a bit of a rush to get to my final destination in Oma before sundown.. earlier in the day I was supposed to get there by 1pm or so, and now I’m rushing to make it by 6pm Story of this trip! I dodged a heavy rainstorm and safely made it to Oma just before dark. A bit of kefuffling with the codes and I got to my room. Despite being a techie, I must say I very much dislike these automated “hotels”, this one being just a private house turned into a bedsit.

A quick shower, and then I was off to find some of the famous Oma tuna. The most highly recommended shop in the local area, apart from the fishing wharf early in the morning, is Umaiya, and it turned out to be a delightful little Izakaya. I enjoyed quite a bit of tuna and had a trial-set of Aomori nihonshu which was a rather nice accompaniment.

Hirosaki to Aomori

Weather: cloudy in the morning, then sunny. Low of 19C or so, high of 25C.
Distance: 274km

<< Previous Day | Next Day >> | Photo Album | Video

Today was a day of epic roads and several unexpected side quests..

Woke up before my alarm at 6am, then slowly got ready. Surprisingly my motorbike gear was mostly dry despite having been kept in a locker overnight. I programmed the first part of the route into my phone and headed off, only then remembering that I had wanted to take a look at Hirosaki Castle. My route actually went past the castle grounds, so I did a complete loop. Unfortunately there’s no spot from which one can see the castle from the road. I stopped at one of the gates and went to take a look on foot, but the grounds are quite large and to get close to the castle you need to buy a ticket – for which it was much too early.

So I jumped back on the bike and kept going, grabbing petrol and then doing my loop of Mt Iwaki. The circle-road around the mountain is actually a fair way out, and the southern and eastern sections offer some nice views onto the mountain whereas the northern and western sections are more in forests. On the recommendation of somebody I took the road up to the 8th station, being naughty and skipping the queue that had formed at the toll booth. It’s 1200yen to drive up. I had also tweaked things a bit so that my bike hit exactly 40,000km at the top!

Here starts the first of my side-quests. My plan was just to drive up, take a look at the view, then keep going. Instead I saw a chairlift going up to 9th station, so I did that. And from there the walk to the summit was supposed to be only 40 minutes, so I did that! In all my motorbike gear… Unfortunately by the time I got to the top it was pretty cloudy and while bits and pieces of the view poked through I never could get a full picture. Still cool to have done it! I skipped back down the mountain, jumped on the bike, and headed up towards Cape Tappi, my original plan for the day!

Enroute was a my next side-quest – a sign to an Inari shrine, which I followed on the spur of the moment. Turns out it’s a pretty huge shrine, with a “walk of a thousand tori gates”. While I didn’t count them, there were a LOT and they were set into a very nicely landscaped garden. My next stop was just on the side of the road near the ocean as I was getting a bit tired – the climb up the mountain, then the stairs at the shrine, and a bit of lack of sleep and long days were taking their toll. Unfortunately I didn’t find a coffee, so I made do with a coke and a grilled squid. Squid seem to be very popular in this area!

Unexpectedly route 339 going up to Cape Tappi turned out to be open after all! This was one of the most epic roads I’ve ridden on, fast sweeping corners and stunning coastal scenery as it sweeps over the cliffs along the ocean. Cape Tappi, on the other hand, was very underwhelming, so I’m glad I had done a lot of other things earlier in the day instead of spending a lot of time at the cape as I had originally planned. The lighthouse is quite small and not open to the public and there didn’t seem to be much else on at the cape.

So after a quick ice-cream and a look around I kept going towards Aomori. Unlike the epic road on the west coast, the east coast road is narrow and almost entirely goes through suburbia with limited overtaking opportunities and a lot of slow traffic. An exercise in patience for sure, although it has a few nice views as well. Overall a road to forget.. once into Aomori my route took me over the bay bridge and soon I was at my hotel, just a standard business hotel with the downside for bikers that they not only charge for bike parking, but also require them to park in an overflow car-park 2 blocks away..

A nice hot shower later and I went to find some Aomori cuisine – Miso Curry Milk Ramen. Sounds weird, but it was delicious! Now time to update the blog and head to bed.. it’s been another long day!