(the above map of Aomori Prefecture will be a great reference to figure out what on earth I'm talking about! When I talk about the "hatchet" I am referring to that area that looks, well, like a hatchet. The "neck" is that thin stretch of land. When we started out we went from Misawa, North by North East to Noheji, which is just at the southern end of the Western side of the "neck". Continued North to Mutsu on the western edge. Confused? Good!)
November 12 2011 - ADVENTURE DAY!!!! This was such an exciting trip! Shane had suggested leaving at around 6 or 7 am.....I thought that far to early, we left around 9. This will become something to remember later in the day. As always, our now traditional stop at some random Lawson's. It is fall and the steam rolls known as "man" (pronounced "mon") are in full swing. Tasty steamed rolls with stuff stuffed inside. My favorite this year are the pizza variety (zesty sauce and I think hamburger meat) but they come with curry, or a variety of meat. Anyway, Shane came across the "Pink Pepsi". I do wonder if these things appear in the states? Not to bad, but not something I could drink a whole bottle of.
The map above shows our goal for the day. We followed the "neck of the hatchet" on the western coast line to Mutsu. (where the swans are) Then west along the coast to the south western tip of the hatchet. (those are warthogs on the map) North on the blue road. Hotokegaura is midway there where the pathways for the ferries meet up together. The plan was to stop there, then go further up to the Northwestern point city of Oma and see the light house, then down the northern coast line, to the eastern side of the "neck" and back to Misawa. That was the theory.....
So, off we go. The day was just beautiful. Fall day, sunshine, just a hint of "crisp" in the air.
We've taken this portion of the road before. Thought it about time I got a picture of the Crematory sign. Remember, this area is Buddhist, so seeing a sign for the local crematory really shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Though, this is really the only sign I've ever seen in this area pointing the way. But this one might be an old one, and of great importance in the area.
Stopped for a break. Really, this was like our second or third stop, and we haven't even gotten to Mutsu yet. But we've stopped at this location before and have never noticed the statue. That might be because the last time we stopped it was Christmas day and snow was blowing off the ocean and pelting our skin. (last Christmas when we went to Wakinosawa, which we will have to go by on this trip) Not sure who the statue is of, but she is of the sea.
A couple of weekends ago, when we took the trip to Osorezan (Hell) and went up to the observatory. (remember, we couldn't see a thing as it was so packed in with clouds) From this point of view, that is one big observatory! (it didn't seem all that big in the cloud cover, but from below on a clear day....WOW!) Nope, we didn't do a side trip back up there. Day light is short here....oh, that comes back into play with what time we left.....
Above: Seaside village.Below: Ok, we are past Mutsu, heading west (towards the lower tip of the hatchet) Those mountains we see are across the bay. (look back at the beginning picture of Aomori Prefecture...so we are looking across the bay/ocean towards Aomori) I hope this all makes sense!
We got to Wakinosawa (the Southwest corner of the hatchet) Saw the steps leading up to this temple. Of course we had to stop and look, as the colors of the building are what caught our eye. We've never seen one with colors. Usually the wood is stained a natural color. The path way of golden leaves was incredible.
Now we start the trek into the mountains. Up we go!
Can always tell when you're near the top....there's an observatory! Still, perfectly clear!
We got to Wakinosawa (the Southwest corner of the hatchet) Saw the steps leading up to this temple. Of course we had to stop and look, as the colors of the building are what caught our eye. We've never seen one with colors. Usually the wood is stained a natural color. The path way of golden leaves was incredible. 
Now we start the trek into the mountains. Up we go!
Can always tell when you're near the top....there's an observatory! Still, perfectly clear!And, what goes up.....must come down!
Not sure what the name of this formation is. It's not part of Hotokegaura, as far as I know, as it is inland a bit. It did remind of us of Devil's Tower though.
Bridge end caps could become my new past time. I love it when they are themed with what is within the area. Though, this high in the mountains we didn't see many seagulls...not till down by the water...
Oh, did I forget to mention this is the area of snow monkeys?! (remember last years trip to Wakinosawa the ones we saw were in captivity....they really do run wild in the area!)
Not sure what the name of this formation is. It's not part of Hotokegaura, as far as I know, as it is inland a bit. It did remind of us of Devil's Tower though.
Bridge end caps could become my new past time. I love it when they are themed with what is within the area. Though, this high in the mountains we didn't see many seagulls...not till down by the water...
Oh, did I forget to mention this is the area of snow monkeys?! (remember last years trip to Wakinosawa the ones we saw were in captivity....they really do run wild in the area!)The big question, is can you find the one above?
We arrived at the parking area for Hotokegaura. Always nice to start out with a big warning sign! I figure though that there is usually enough people in the area that they shouldn't be around.
From the car is a gently sloping trail, between a quarter mile and half a mile long. This lulls you into a nice false sense of security. "I can do this, piece of cake". Then comes what we termed as the "resting hut". A covered area with benches and a nice view....should've known.
We arrived at the parking area for Hotokegaura. Always nice to start out with a big warning sign! I figure though that there is usually enough people in the area that they shouldn't be around.
From the car is a gently sloping trail, between a quarter mile and half a mile long. This lulls you into a nice false sense of security. "I can do this, piece of cake". Then comes what we termed as the "resting hut". A covered area with benches and a nice view....should've known.Then we started down the steps. Back and forth they went. Though as a break some weren't steps but gently sloping ramps. (I liked those!)
Oh, how many steps? Well, we counted on the way up. And counted how many steps we took on the ramp ways as well. From bottom to the resting area I got 550. Andi came up with 476. But she's young and was taking two steps at a time. (I swear her legs are made out of rubber) Andi counted from bottom all the way back to the car, a total of 1057 of her steps (including the trail before the stairs)
But at the bottom, what views we had!
But at the bottom, what views we had!
Lots of tidal pools to poke around in. For awhile I wondered if they weren't going to fall in, they were leaning over so far!
The area is set up really nice. There are piers built to take you out over the water. The tour boats tie up there, so the water is fairly deep. And oh so blue! There was a bit of trash around (but the coastline of Japan just seems to collect it) But the reflections of the water, and the white, white sand just made for an amazing blue!
We noticed that the Japanese were walking along in the tidal pools, picking up critters (putting them back, but yippee! hands on!). So, when in Rome...I mean Japan, we do as the locals!
Above: Queen of the World!
The formations reminded Shane and I a lot of what is seen down around Zion and Bryce and such....just minus the redrock.
She really isn't standing that far away from me....just the formations make her seem so tiny!
The hike back up the path was not as fun. Well, it wasn't to bad. The weather was just right, had it been hot, it would've been torture! I had to laugh, as I was leaning against a tree catching my breath (asthma and 550 steps just don't combine well) and these Japanese business come by in their suits, not even breaking a sweat. And they were all older than me!
Now, did I mention that the days in Japan get very short! (we don't do the whole clock thing....the amount of sunlight is still the same regardless of what you do to your clock) Anyway, once we recovered, we got back in the car, drove a whopping 2 kilometers and found the observation deck. It just seems so small....and that was a long way we climbed down!
More monkeys! For the most part, they run as soon as they hear a car. This one seemed a tad overweight and not as inclined to scamper. We saw quiet a few, but as soon as they see the camera come up, they take off. Or hear the window roll down a little...they are definitely wild!
I think this might be the fishing village of Sai. Not sure. But who can resist that sunset?!
Sigh, it must be getting late? No, it's only 4 in the afternoon, and we aren't even halfway done with our trip! We had hoped, however briefly, that we might have gotten to Oma, the Northwestern point of the hatchet, and taken pictures of the light house. But alas, it was completely dark when we got there. I mean completely dark. The rest of our drive back down was dark, dark, dark. There aren't a lot of streetlights in this area. Even in the villages, dark. The moon was full but hiding behind the clouds a lot. Hopefully next weekend will be nice. We'd like to go back, running in the opposite direction, and see what we didn't see. Shane will have his way this time, and we'll leave at 6 am. This will leave us more time for those fun impromptu stops. Andi votes to go back to the cliffs. They were something else. We'll have to see if the weather holds out for us!
