See map at the end of the post for route and location details.
I obviously couldn't capture the sulfur smell of these places (too bad, right?), but here's a video compilation of bubbling mud, boiling water and steam vents from two of the places we stopped.
First stop was Yakehashiri Lava Flow on the northeast slope of Mt. Iwate. A 1732 volcanic explosion formed the lava flow which stretches out over 3 kilometers and is 5-10 meters deep. There's a hiking trail so it's not too difficult to explore. I believe the entire hike takes 1-2 hours. We turned back before finishing because the skies were threatening rain...glad we did! It started raining right as we got back near the parking lot. Luckily the rain was short lived!
Yakehashiri was about 140 km from Misawa and took about 2 hours to drive there. Tolls cost about ¥3,200 one way.
GPS coordinates: 39.875210, 141.047291
As we drove on toward Goshogake Onsen we entered the Hachimantai portion of Towada-Hachimantai National Park, enjoyed some beautiful mountain scenery and got to drive through a cloud...
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| And then suddenly there was this guy...toward the top of this mountain...no parking lots in site...he'd been pedaling for way too long in our opinion! |
Goshogake Onsen was our next stop. Onsen is a Japanese hot spring, it's a very popular activity to spend time soaking in the natural hot waters. Onsen facilities vary from primitive muddy holes in the ground to indoor baths covered by shacks to very fancy indoor/outdoor spas. We don't really "onsen" so I can't speak the details of the facilities at this location other than the free foot bath, but behind the main buildings there is a valley with lots of "activity." It's a good place to have your nasal passages assaulted by sulfur gas, but what's better than the smell of rotten egg?? There's a 2 kilometer walking path that leads past "bubbling mud ponds, hissing sulfur vents and hot water streams, as well as Oyunuma Pond, a large body of hot water and mud with numerous miniature mud volcanoes." The trail also leads to Odoro Volcano, Japan's largest mud volcano. And let me tell you it was impressive! Haha, not really, much smaller that we expected the "largest mud volcano" to be, but we still enjoyed this place a lot! All the captions are from signs posted along the walking path.
The drive from the lava flow to Goshogake was about 50 km and took a bit over an hour.
GPS coordinates: 39.968777, 140.799769
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| The name Goshogake centers around these 2 steam vents, Motome (wife) and Oname (mistress) and a local legend. "A long time ago, a young man became very ill while he was herding cattle. However, he was nursed back to health by a young woman who was on a pilgrimage that happened to come by. They fell in love and lived happily together until they were visited by the young man's wife, who he had left with their child in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, and who had heard that he was still alive. The young woman, not wishing to take away the happiness of his wife and child, committed suicide by throwing herself into a steam vent. The wife, deeply remorseful at the sight of the young woman's great sacrifice for her and her child, would not listen to her husband and, seeking a better life, threw herself into another steam vent. Since then, the area has been called Goshogake (seeking a better life) by visitors, and the steam vents have been called Oname and Motome." |
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| "As you walk along the path, you will observe rare volcanic phenomena such as fumarolic gas, boiling water and mud, and mud volcanoes. However, since hot water and poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas are erupting all around, there is always a danger of subsidence. For your own safety, therefore, please do not step off the path." |
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| Odoro-Kazan Volcano "Intermittent steam pressure has created volcanic swells called the Yu-numa type of mud volcano. The Odoro-kazan Volcano, formed in 1917-18 has grown to become the largest volcano of this type in Japan. The depth of the mud is about 8 meters and it's temperature is about 94.5°C (202°F)." |
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| Nakabozu-Jigoku Hell (Throng of Boiled Springs) "Please observe the hot spring on the roadside. It is transparent because of the small amount of dissolved minerals. The water temperature is about 86°C (180°F) with an acidity of pH 1.8. In the northern section the temperature rises to around 95.5°C (204°F) and many small craters have been created. Please be careful, because although the streams in this area look like normal water they are hot enough to scald you." |
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| "Oyu-numa Pond is a collection of many ponds. Natural steam created the composition of the sand, and has formed mud volcanoes and small mud craters. The water temperature is over 83°C." |
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| In front of Oyu-numa Pond. The water is over 180°F! |
Tried out the free foot onsen before we left Goshogake. So relaxing!
Refreshed from our foot soak we headed down the road toward Tamagawa Onsen. Of course, while driving there I got distracted and forced a quick stop to check out a field of wild day lilies. Obayachi Picnic Site according to the sign. It's a wetland that has various wildflowers throughout the spring, summer and fall. The hiking path is 700 meters and takes about 30 minutes. I did not do the whole thing because somebody chose to stay in the car...
GPS coordinates: 39.990602, 140.749082
And on to Tamagawa Onsen (for real this time)! Once again, I can't speak too much about the onsen facilities, but I can say this was another crazy, not sure we're still on Earth place. I do know this is a place where people come for healing powers in both the rocks and the water. We stayed on the walking trail and took in the sites, sounds and SMELLS! Once again, we really enjoyed seeing nature in action.
The natural springs here produce Japan's most acidic water at a pH of 1.2...that's between battery acid and lemon juice as far as pH goes...supposedly the water is "slightly painful if you have sensitive skin or a wound." Ummm, yea, I know how lemon juice feels in a paper cut, don't think I'll put my body into an entire pool of it! They do have pools of water that has been mixed with regular water to decrease the acidity for those that would prefer.
The rocks here are a rare radioactive stone, hokutolite, said to have many health benefits including prevention and treatment of cancer. Cancer patients come here from all over Japan. There were people laying on the rocks everywhere.
Using the link below you can read about this onsen and also navigate to a page listing all the health benefits of the acidic water and radioactive rocks.
http://www.tamagawa-onsen.jp/ (reminder: most of the sites I link to will be in Japanese! Use Google Chrome for automatic translation)
GPS coordinates: 39.963060, 140.724106
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| The onsen's water source produces 9,000 liters/minute, which makes it Japan's most productive hot spring. The water is 98°C (208°F). |
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| Basking in the steam... |
Checked out a new ramen place once we were back in Misawa, Takumiya, also known as orange roof ramen. I had the butter corn ramen. Yummy!
Map of today's route and locations. The oops is where we missed an exit to take a non-toll route home, but by the time we backtracked we decided to take the toll roads all the way home to save time.
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| Yellow: Misawa AB Dark blue: Yakehashiri Lava Flow Purple: Goshogake Onsen Orange: Obayachi Picnic Site Brown: Tamagawa Onsen Red: oops! |
Up next: We're Going to Alaska! Or Not?
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