Lake Towada Area

Our first overnight trip was in the beginning of September to Towada-Hachimantai National Park. We stayed at a pretty nice campground, not unlike those you would find in the states. Our main objective was to hike the Oraise Gorge (the bottom pic of the waterfall). This was about a 6 mile round trip hike that included numerous waterfalls.

The campground we stayed at was just outside a town called Yasumia, that just happened to be hosting a festival that weekend (middle picture). There were all kinds of food and beverage vendors that served anything from candy to grilled fish on a stick (scales, eyes, and all). Although our favorite was the very simple and plain grilled chicken, we did venture out and try some different noodles, soups, and items we're really not quite sure of what food group they belong to. All Japanese festivals have either an elaborate parade or fireworks (many times both). The parades consist of different floats being pushed/carried by as many as 50 people. They are always surrounded by dancers in traditional dress and followed by ice chests full of sake and various Japanese beers. The highlight of this parade was what I like to call the "lantern balancing guys." These fellas would take turns balancing a 70 foot bamboo shoot stacked with lit paper lanterns (quite impressive).

After a long day/night of hiking and festivaling we took a nice leisurely drive around Lake Towada (a volcanic lake and top picture). We'll put up all these pictures on our shutterfly website soon.