This 2-day trip plan covers these following highlights in Akita and Aomori prefectures.
☑Ride two types of Resort Shirakami
☑1 hour hiking and a tea break at Juniko in Shirakami mountain
☑Biking along Oirase stream
☑Cruise in Lake Towada
Most train and bus rides are covered by JR Pass, JR East Pass Tohoku, JR-East South Hokkaido Rail Pass and JR-Tohoku South Hokkaido Rail Pass.
Overview
On day 1, enjoy riding on Resort Shirakami and visit Aoike. Aomori is the place to stay overnight. And then visit Oirase and Lake Towada on day 2.
Day 1, Tokyo – Akita – Juniko – Aomori
On the first day of trip, you will take the Akita Shinkansen to Akita and then ride the Resort Shirakami. You will make a stopover at Juniko to see Aoike (Blue pond).
Itinerary
| Time | Place and transporation |
|---|---|
| 06:32 | Tokyo station |
| (The Akita Shinkansen Komachi 1) | |
| 10:24 / 10:51 | Akita station |
| (Resort Shirakami 3) | |
| 13:07 / 13:15 | Juniko station |
| (Konan bus) | |
| 13:30 | Oku-Juniko Parking bus stop |
| 1 hour walking and a tea break | |
| 15:30 | Oku-Juniko Parking bus stop |
| (Konan bus) | |
| 15:45 / 15:57 | Juniko station |
| (Resort Shirakami 5) | |
| 19:40 | Aomori station |
Highlight
Resort Shirakami
This train is operated by three types of train set, Aoike Buna (at the beginning of this post) and Kumagera.
All three train sets are very nice but the interiors are slightly different. You can enjoy two of these three train sets and find the difference of the trains.
1 hour walking and a tea break at Juniko
Juniko means “Twelve lakes” in Japansese. But there are 33 lakes in the Shirakami mountain. Aoike is known as most beautiul one in these lakes. Aoike means “Blue pond”. And this is very accessible. It is only 500m away from Oku-Juniko Parking bus stop.
You will walk in the forest and drop by Wakitsubo pond. This small lake is as beautiful as Aoike.
There are a tea house nearby Wakitsubo pond.
The walking distance is less 2km. It takes about 40 minutes without a tea break time. There is a gift shop at Oku-Juniko Parking bus stop. You can complete everything in 2 hours from 13:30 to 15:30.
Day 2, Aomori – Oirase – Lake Towada – Hachinohe – Tokyo
On the second day, depart from Aomori station by a bus for Lake Towada. Drop off a bus at Oirase and enjoy biking along a beatiful stream. Enjoy cruising on the Lake Towada after that.
Itinerary
| Time | Place and transporation |
|---|---|
| 07:30 | Aomori station |
| (JR Bus Tohoku Mizuumi 2) | |
| 09:31 | Oirase Keiryukan |
| Rent a bike and ride to Nenokuchi along Oirase steam | |
| 12:30 | Nenokuchi (Lake Towada) |
| (Lake Towada cruise) | |
| 13:20 | Yasumiya (Lake Towada) |
| Lunch, shopping and sightseeing nearby | |
| 15:20 | Yasumiya |
| (JR Bus Tohoku Oirase 26) | |
| 17:35 / 18:12 | Hachinohe station |
| (The Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa 42) | |
| 21:00 | Tokyo station |
Highlight
Biking along Oirase stream
This stream comes from Lake Towada and it is located on the way to the lake.
You will rent a bike at Oirase Keiryukan which is the departure point of the road along Oirase stream. The road is slightly uphill but mostly it is flat. The distance is about 14km and the avarage trip time is around 2 hours.
The price of the renral bike is 1,000 yen for 4 hours. If you are afraid to get to Nenokuchi in 2 hours, you can rent an E-bike at 1,500 yen for 4 hours.. It is motor assisted bike. You can rent it at Oirase Keiryukan and return it at Nenokuchi. You don’t need to go back to Oirase Keiryukan.
Lake Towada cruise
There are two types of the cruise. The first one is the trip from/to Yasumiya. The other one is one way trip from Nenokuchi to Yasumiya (or versa). You will take a cruise from Nenokuchi to Yasumiya. Yasumiya is the center of Lake Towada area. There are lots of restraunrants, stores and some sightseeing spots.
If you get to Nenokuchi earlier, you can have a lunch time there and spend more time to see the sightseeing spots around Yasumiya.
Travel cost
All train trips and a bus to Lake Towada are covered by JR Pass, JR East Pass Tohoku JR-East South Hokkaido Rail Pass and JR-Tohoku South Hokkaido Rail Pass.
| Trip | Cost |
|---|---|
| The Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo to Akita | Covered |
| Resort Shirakami from Akita to Juniko | Covered |
| Konan Bus from Juniko to Oku-Juniko Parking | 370 yen |
| Konan Bus from Oku-Juniko Parking to Juniko | 370 yen |
| Resort Shirakami from Juniko to Aomori | Covered |
| JR Bus Tohoku from Aomori to Oirase Keiryukan | Covered |
| Rental bike at Oirase stream | 1,000 yen (1,500 yen for E-bike) |
| Lake Towada cruise from Nenokuchi to Yasumiya | 1,430 yen |
| JR Bus Tohoku from Yasumiya to Hachinohe | Covered |
| The Tohoku Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Tokyo | Covered |
| Total cost | 3,170 yen |
Summary
You have to wake up early in these two days. But this trip covers very popular train and lake. And you can enjoy two activities in the nature.
You may download this itinerary in Excel file (.xlsx file) and customize it. Please download it at the link below:
You can put this trip as a side trip for your stay in Tokyo. You also can do this on the way to Hokkaido.
I hope you can enjoy this trip.
