One of my first road trips from Misawa City was to see the scenic Oirase River and Lake Towada. Lake Towada is the largest volcanic crater lake on the main Japanese island of Honshu. The Oirase River is the only river draining it, and it exits the lake to the east, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Hachinohe City.
Sign along the road to Towadako
 I snapped this interesting sign along the road to Towadako (Lake Towada). I haven’t taken the time to fully translate it, but I’m guessing it’s a notice posted by the City of Towada, asking you nicely not to dump your trash here.
Oirase River
 This was the first place I could stop for a photo along the Oirase River. There are five kanji on the sign, and I do know that the first three say “Oirase,” but I have no idea what the arrow points to.
View of the road along the Oirase River, on the way to Lake Towada
It was a beautiful area, even if the day was overcast. I’ll forego further commentary to share a few shots of waterfalls along the way, then I’ll pick it back up when we get to the lake.
Waterfall and bench
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Another waterfall
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Yet another waterfall
As I mentioned, the day was very overcast, so I’ll include only one view of the lake. If I find a shot from a nicer day, I’ll post it later. Until then, if you’d like more information on the area, you can browse to the Lake Towada Travel Guide.
- Lake Towada, or “Towadako”
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Here’s a view of the road around the lake, showing the rugged topography. On the left you can see one of the rock slide covers that protect the road.
Road around Towadako
Here’s a better picture of the rock slide deflectors:
Driving the mountains of Japan with peace of mind
