June 12

Kazuno - Aomori

Well, that was a rather fabulous day!  Yet another big day of climbing, though.  We exited the city through a Torri Gate.

Lots of agriculture, including a lot of orchards; apples, I believe.

Everywhere we've been in Japan, we constantly see people out weed-whacking the vegetation.  Usually by hand, but today I also saw big machines in action (no photo).  And in places - there were clean-up crews out cleaning up the mess.  And, of course, someone to direct traffic around them.

And rice paddies, of course.

Nice setting for a town.

Apple village.

And the first climb is underway.

The first big climb today was 13 km, 450 m.  Thank goodness much of it was in the shade.  

The reward at the top of the climb was this fabulous view of Lake Towada.

Much clearer when I got there about 10:30 than when the lunch van got there at 9-ish.

Lake Towada is the largest caldera lake on Honshu.  It is 400 m above sea level and is famous for its crystalline blue waters, surrounding peaks, and the spectacular Oirase Gorge.  It is Japan's 12th largest lake, and its 3rd deepest.  When I first looked at it, it reminded me of Crater Lake in Oregon.

We continued to ride around it for about 13 km.  But first - at about 39 km there was an amazing apple pie stop; soooo good!

At the pie shop I had taken my camera and left my handlebar bag open.  Before I knew it, a raven (maybe a crow) had helped himself to my Nuun tube (only 1 table left) and a small tube of butt butter.  Thankfully he left my power bank in there.  Dangerous wildlife!

Cruise ship at the dock.

We haven't seen any bears (yet), and no a whole of monkeys.  But - I saw this cute little Japanese red fox today before he scurried off into the forest.

And speaking of forests - they are soooo noisy with cicadas.  I took a video today just to capture the sound; have to keep the volume turned down.  

And onward around the lake.  Lots of construction again today.

At about 50 km we entered the Oirase Gorge.  Oh my!  We rode through there for about 12 km.  Amazing!  And - a lot of tourists walking the paths beside the river.  Maybe my favourite stretch of the trip so far.  Pictures just don't do it justice.

Lunch at about 62 km.  And then - a big climb.  Thirteen km and almost 700 m.  Ugh.... In the end it wasn't all that bad.  Maybe I'm finally getting stronger........  Again - thankfully a lot of it was in the shade.

How quickly things can change.  With 5 or 6 km still to go on the climb, I started to hear the rumble of thunder.  Oh no!  At the top, I put my rain jacket on, both for warmth and for the seeming inevitability of rainfall.  Luck was on our side today.  These two pics were taken partway down the other side, the first one looking forward and the second looking back.

  We ended up staying dry, but some of the frontrunners apparently got thoroughly drenched!  There were still some puddles on the streets when we approached Aomori.

The downhill was one of the best!  About 15 km (interrupted by a small-ish hill).  Not too windy, not too steep, pretty good surface.  Into town; urban riding again for a while.  I saw this statue and stopped to take a picture.  I quickly acquired a new best friend - Grace - who was very chatty and had quite good English.  There was a temple and a shrine.  I would have liked to look around more, but I was pretty close to the end of the group.

    

Dinner tonight was quite the event.  A traditional Japanese meal and an open bar.  Lots of singing and dancing.  

Found a hospital on the way home.   Cute sign...........

Travel day tomorrow.  To our last island - Hokkaido.  Then a rest day.  Then the final push to Sapporo.  Good night..........

Stats for the Day:

Garmin:  109.7 km.  5231 feet up.  5702 feet down.

RWGPS:  112.2 km.  1795 m up.  1926 m down.

Aomori

Population:  265,000

Wikipedia:  Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tohoku region of Japan.  Near the end of WWII (July 1945) a US air raid killed 1767 people and destroyed 88% of the city.  The city was not connected to Tokyo by highway until 1979.  Aomori and the surrounding areas are known for having the heaviest snowfall in the world.  In the summer, thick fogs from the Oyashio Current are often observed in mountainous areas.  Aomori serves as the regional commercial centre for central Aomori Prefecture.  Agriculture and commercial fishing for only 4% of the city economy, with manufacturing forming 16.2% and the service sector forming 78.2%.  Aomori is the only perfectural capital in Japan which has no national university.  Apparently it is quite the curling hub, and hosted the World Women's Curling Championships in 2007.   Major attractions of Aomori include ruins, museums, and mountains.