Hirosaki, Hirakawa and Kuroishi

Left towards the Akita prefecture and their big mountains, through a wild path with lots of fallen trees and rough ground (still pretty fun). But first, took a slight detour to visit Hirosaki, a town that had been really important for the Samurai History. Cycled through the gardens of the Hirosaki castle and tried a delicious (but small) apple pie from a fancy tea shop and an apple icecream from a cute lady selling them in a trolley, Hirosaki apples are famous. I was also lucky enough that I still got to enjoy the last bits of the cherry blossoms. Then I continued my journey towards the base of the mountain so I could have a shorter day climbing up. What I wasn't expecting was that there were bear signs everywhere where I was planning to camp (it was an abandoned campsite). The signs said "bear infestation", but I had no idea if that was from years ago, from when the campsite closed or very recent... So after thinking and thinking I decided to be prudent and find a different place to sleep. My first option was to ask someone if I could camp in their garden, but I couldn't find anyone outside with potential for my mission (japanese people are pretty reserved, so it's hard to see them outside if they are not mending their garden or going somewhere and their houses are always closed with blinds). So I accepted I deserved a fancy day and went towards a hotel that I found online (and that was incredibly cheap, obviously). They said they were full, so I had to do a bit of drama, until they pitied me enough to give me a room. And it was so nice to have my own space. There was also an onsen (where I met some really cool ladies), free breakfast and a tv (so I even watched the greatest showman, only a movie in english, just for the luxury of having the option haha). It was also a futon type of room (same as where I had been staying with the couch suffers), which means you sleep on the floor and the carpet is made of bamboo. So nice.

⛺ Takara Onsen Nurishi (4500 yen breakfast and onsen)
🏯 Hirosaki castle gardensLæs mere