A woman with short gray hair and a bright green jacket smiles while standing, and a bald man with glasses, a beard, and a blue jacket kneels beside her. Both are outdoors with a large brown and white dog sitting happily between them. A brick building is in the background.

Day 19 - Odate to Hirosaki

Hirosaki is our final stopover before reaching our final destination and a place we could happily have had more time to explore.  Hirosaki castle is one of the handful of feudal era castles that have survived intact.  We enjoyed wandering around the city for a few hours and felt there was much more to explore.  Hirosaki would make a great base to explore the western half of Aomori prefecture.

Route

This ride is a perfect mountain valley climb.  It's a short run to clear the outskirts of Odate before we are on to the valley road and the climb up to Yatate Pass, which marks the transition from Akita prefecture into Aomori.  The road isn't busy but there is steady traffic.  For the most part we are on a separated path which is generally in good condition and only overgrown in a few areas.  

On the day we rode, low clouds were nestled amongst the forested hills.  There are a few small towns dotted up the valley that provide an opportunity to get off the main road and meander through quieter streets.  In one, we come across an older man tending a garden adorned with sculptures he tells us he made himself.  

We had light rain on the Akita side which waned to to an imperceptible drizzle over the morning.  There was heavier rain forecast for the afternoon, which started on time while we were having lunch.  It was forecast to only last for an hour or so and we thought we'd planned things to perfection.  Even after dawdling through the souvenir shops after eating, the rain was still showing no signs of stopping so we pedalled away with the rain still heavy enough to dampen socks and thus my enthusiasm for riding.

Map of the route from Odate to Hirosaki
Elevation profile of the route

Stay and Eat

Roadside Station Ikarigaseki Tsugaru Sekinoshō was our stop for lunch and temporary refuge from the rain.  Our set meals from the restaurant were great.  The local speciality soft serve was wild yam (for me) and quince (for Beloved) but we failed to document that experience (quelle horreur!), so you'll just need to to take my word for it.  The facilities overall on the better end of what you might discover in a roadside station.  Hunting down a website just now I can see there's even an onsen - who knew!

We stayed at the Smile Hotel, which is a well maintained and centrally located business hotel. Reception team kindly pointed out a spot in the internal walkway on the ground floor near the elevator where we could park the bicycles. One of only 2 hotels in the whole trip where we could easily plug in and charge everything we needed to charge.

Capricciossa in the Nakasan Department Store building was our choice for dinner. With both a ride and a walk under our belts we'd worked up an appetite, so were able to do justice to a pizza, a large arancini as well as some doria, or was it a lasagna (?) between us.  

See and Do

Given the forecast and both of us being not feeling quite 100%, the plan was to just ride direct through to Hirosaki and even forego the Akita Dog Visitor Experience on the way out of Odata.  In the end Beloved relented and we rolled in for a quick look.  The very friendly staff gave us a special overseas visitor present of a badge, but disappointment reigned supreme when it was a holiday for the dogs. As we left, an Akita owner was in the next door park and we were ushered across to meet Mutsu and his owner.  Decision to stop vindicated.

We rode past the Nagabashiri Wind Caves Eco Museum, but we were on a mission to get to Hirosaki, besides we were already plenty cool.  On a warmer, drier day I can imagine it would be an interesting place for a quick stop and to check out the all natural cold storage from the days before refrigeration.

At the Yatate Pass roadside station, there were signs directing us to the scenic forest walk and the large cedar trees you can see there.  The accompanying signs warning of bears, the preponderance of bear sighting signs over recent days and the nightly news reports of bear sightings and attacks all argued against walking in the forest.  We satisfied ourselves with a comfort stop and a snack to fuel us through to our lunch stop.

Beloved was keen to get a photo of the big white dog she'd seen in a poster.  Hotel staff helpfully pointed us in the right direction but upon arrival it was discovered said sculpture is in the foyer of the just closed Museum of Contemporary Art, which is not open tomorrow.

With a couple of hours light left, we struck out for the castle precinct. We enjoyed a lovely hour or so wandering the gardens. The main keep and museum has an entry fee and closed at 5pm, but everything else was available to us to explore.  

A stone statue of a dog stands embedded in a curved slab of stone, overlooking a lush green riverside path under a cloudy sky. In the background, a small village and mountains are visible.
A warning sign on a wooden surface features a photo of a bear and text in both Japanese and English. The text reads
A rusty old railway bridge crosses over a small creek surrounded by lush green trees and vegetation. The scene is set in a dense forest with hills in the background under a cloudy sky. The bridge's red-brown color contrasts with the vibrant greenery around it.
A touring bicycle with a black frame is parked on a paved path beside a metal guardrail. It is equipped with multiple packed blue panniers and a black handlebar bag. Dense green trees are visible on both sides of the path, indicating a forested area.
A touring bike loaded with gear is parked in front of the entrance to Smile Hotel. The bike has multiple bags, a water bottle, and a helmet hanging from the handlebars. The hotel sign features a large smiley face logo.
A large, historic, two-story building with ornate architectural details and green exterior walls. It features a central arched entrance, numerous windows with shutters, and a decorative roof. The building is surrounded by a stone fence and a paved area with green shrubs.
A serene scene of a red and black bridge partially obscured by lush, green trees. The bridge crosses over a calm river, surrounded by greenery. An old, gnarled tree stands prominently in the foreground, with branches extending outward.
A majestic, old tree with a thick, gnarled trunk and sprawling branches stands tall. Its lush green leaves create a dense canopy against a backdrop of a partly cloudy sky. The tree's base is surrounded by grass and a slightly elevated dirt mound.

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