National Parks · Aomori, Akita, Iwate
Towada-Hachimantai National Park
十和田八幡平国立公園とわだはちまんたいこくりつこうえんTowada-Hachimantai Kokuritsu KōenCaldera lake, mountain stream and hot springs of the northern mountains
Towada-Hachimantai National Park spans the volcanic highlands of northern Tōhoku across Aomori, Akita and Iwate. Designated in 1936 around Lake Towada and the Oirase stream and extended to the Hachimantai plateau in 1956, it is known for beech forests, snow monsters on Hakkōda and some of Japan's most traditional mountain hot springs.
Overview
The park covers two separate volcanic areas in the far north of Honshu. The Towada-Hakkōda area in Aomori and Akita includes Lake Towada, a double caldera lake, the Oirase Stream that drains it and the Hakkōda volcanoes to the north. The Hachimantai area, straddling Akita and Iwate further south, includes the broad shield of Hachimantai, the stratovolcano Iwate-san, the highest peak in the park at 2,038 m, and Akita-Komagatake.
The Towada area was designated in 1936 as one of Japan's early national parks; the Hachimantai area was added in 1956, when the park took its present name. The landscape is one of beech and Maries' fir forests, high moors, fuming vents and deep snow. Winter monsoon winds from the Sea of Japan bring some of the heaviest snowfall on earth to these mountains.
The park is also a landscape of hot springs. Mountain inns with wooden bathhouses, such as Sukayu, Tsurunoyu and Fukenoyu, preserve the tradition of tōji, extended bathing cures once taken by farmers after the harvest.
Landscape and formation
Lake Towada fills a caldera formed in a series of huge eruptions, the largest around 15,000 years ago. A later volcano grew inside the caldera; its crater collapsed to form the deep central basin of Nakanoumi between two peninsulas, and its last major eruption in 915 CE was the largest in Japan in the past 2,000 years. The lake is 327 m deep at its deepest point, the third deepest in Japan.
Hakkōda is a cluster of stratovolcanoes and lava domes, Hachimantai is a broad, gentle shield volcano with bogs and ponds on its summit plateau. Iwate-san is a large stratovolcano made of an older western and a younger eastern cone. Throughout the park, geothermal activity is intense: acid springs at Tamagawa, mud volcanoes at Goshogake and steaming ground at Jigoku-numa on Hakkōda.
Highlights
- 十和田湖Towada-ko
A double caldera lake on the Aomori–Akita border, ringed by forest and cliffs, with the Nakayama and Ogura peninsulas reaching into it.
- 奥入瀬渓流Oirase keiryū
The 14 km outflow of Lake Towada, a moss-covered gorge of rapids and waterfalls such as Chōshi Ōtaki and Kumoi-no-taki.
- 八甲田山Hakkōda-san
A group of volcanoes south of Aomori city, with a ropeway, high moors and famous winter rime.
Hachimantai
八幡平HachimantaiA 1,613 m shield volcano with a summit plateau of bogs, ponds and Maries' fir, crossed by the Aspite Line road.
- 岩手山Iwate-san
The 2,038 m stratovolcano above Morioka, called 'Nanbu Fuji', highest peak of the park.
Akita-Komagatake
秋田駒ヶ岳Akita-KomagatakeAn active volcano of 1,637 m with celebrated alpine flower meadows, above the Nyūtō Onsen group.
Tamagawa Onsen
玉川温泉Tamagawa OnsenA hot spring of pH around 1.2, the most acidic in Japan, where the rare mineral hokutolite forms.
Nature
Ecology
Siebold's beech forest covers the lower slopes, particularly along the Oirase Stream and around Lake Towada, while higher up the Maries' fir forests of Hachimantai and Hakkōda become the snow monsters of winter. Heavy snow creates high moors and snowbed meadows at relatively low altitudes, with flowers such as Chinguruma and Hakkōda's white-flowered Nikkō-kisuge relatives.
The forests are home to Asian black bears, Japanese serows and golden eagles, as well as the forest green tree frog, which lays its eggs in foam nests over ponds. Lake Towada originally held no fish; kokanee salmon were introduced in the early 20th century and are now a local speciality.
Flora
Siebold's beech forest
ブナ林buna-rinThe typical forest of the Oirase Stream and the lower slopes, with its moss and fern undergrowth.
Maries' fir
アオモリトドマツAomori-todomatsuThe subalpine fir of Hachimantai and Hakkōda, which forms the snow monsters when coated in rime.
Komakusa
コマクサkomakusaThe alpine bleeding heart grows on the volcanic gravel of Iwate-san and Akita-Komagatake.
Moor flora of Hachimantai
Summit bogs with sundew, cotton grass and Nikkō-kisuge day lilies in summer.
Fauna
Asian black bear
ツキノワグマtsukinowagumaCommon throughout the park's forests, including along the Oirase Stream.
Japanese serow
ニホンカモシカnihon-kamoshikaA goat-antelope of the mountain forests and a Special Natural Monument.
Golden eagle and black woodpecker
イヌワシ・クマゲラinuwashi, kumageraBoth inhabit the park; the black woodpecker lives in the old beech forests.
Forest green tree frog
モリアオガエルmori-aogaeruLays its eggs in white foam nests on branches above ponds.
Kokanee salmon
ヒメマスhimemasuEstablished in Lake Towada in the early 1900s by Wainai Sadayuki after years of failed attempts.
Culture
Lake Towada has long been a place of mountain worship; Towada Shrine on the Nakayama Peninsula is associated with the monk Nansobō, who, according to legend, fought a dragon for control of the lake. The lake became famous nationally through the writer Ōmachi Keigetsu in the early 20th century, and the statue of two maidens at Yasumiya, the last work of the sculptor and poet Takamura Kōtarō (1953), commemorates the park's founders.
The Hakkōda disaster of 1902 is one of the best-known tragedies of Japanese military history, told in Nitta Jirō's novel and the 1977 film Hakkōda-san. In the Hachimantai area, the hot-spring inns and the matagi hunters of Akita represent older mountain cultures of northern Tōhoku.
Towada Shrine
十和田神社Towada-jinjaA shrine in cedar forest on the lakeshore at Yasumiya, linked to legends of the lake's dragon.
Statue of the Maidens
乙女の像Otome-no-zōTakamura Kōtarō's bronze of two women facing each other on the shore of Lake Towada.
Sukayu Onsen
酸ヶ湯温泉Sukayu OnsenA historic inn on Hakkōda with a vast wooden mixed bath, the Sen-nin-buro.
Tsurunoyu
鶴の湯TsurunoyuThe oldest inn of the Nyūtō Onsen group, with thatched buildings and milky-white open-air baths.
History
c. 15,000 years ago
The largest of the Towada caldera eruptions blankets northern Tōhoku in pumice.
915
An eruption in the Towada caldera, the largest in Japan in the last 2,000 years, forms the central basin of Nakanoumi.
1902
199 soldiers die in a blizzard on Hakkōda during a winter march.
1903
Wainai Sadayuki succeeds in establishing kokanee salmon in Lake Towada.
1936
Towada National Park is designated on 1 February.
1952
Lake Towada and the Oirase Stream are designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument.
1953
The Statue of the Maidens by Takamura Kōtarō is unveiled at Yasumiya.
1956
The Hachimantai area is added and the park is renamed Towada-Hachimantai.
Through the seasons
Spring
Snow walls line the Hachimantai Aspite Line and the Hakkōda road when they reopen in spring; the Dragon Eye appears in late May or early June.
Summer
Fresh beech greenery along Oirase, alpine flowers on Akita-Komagatake and Iwate-san, and cool weather on the plateaus.
Autumn
One of Japan's classic autumn-colour destinations, peaking on Hakkōda and Hachimantai in early to mid-October and at Oirase in late October.
Winter
Heavy snow closes the high roads; Hakkōda's rime-covered firs attract backcountry skiers, and the frozen waterfalls of Oirase are lit up on winter tours.
Routes and trails
Oirase Stream path
A mostly level riverside walk of about 14 km from Yakeyama to Nenokuchi on Lake Towada, often done in sections using the roadside bus stops.
Hakkōda Ōdake circuit
From the Hakkōda Ropeway top station over Akakura-dake and Ōdake (1,585 m) and down to Sukayu Onsen; a full day.
Hachimantai summit loop
A short, easy walk from the Aspite Line car park past Kagami-numa to the summit plateau and Hachiman-numa.
Akita-Komagatake
From the Hachigome (8th station) bus stop to the summit and flower meadows of Onamedai; half a day.
Lake Towada cruise
Boats between Yasumiya and Nenokuchi pass the cliffs of the Nakayama and Ogura peninsulas.
Practical notes
- The Tōhoku Shinkansen serves Hachinohe, Shichinohe-Towada and Morioka; the Akita Shinkansen stops at Tazawako for Nyūtō Onsen. Buses from Aomori and Hachinohe serve Oirase and Lake Towada in season.
- High roads such as the Aspite Line and parts of the Hakkōda–Towada Gold Line are closed or restricted in winter.
- Bears are common, including along Oirase; carry a bell on walks.
- Volcanic gas is a hazard in some hollows around Hakkōda and Tamagawa; heed warning signs and closed areas.
- Iwate-san and Akita-Komagatake are monitored active volcanoes; check the Japan Meteorological Agency's alert levels.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Oirase Stream?
A clear mountain stream flowing about 14 km out of Lake Towada at Nenokuchi through beech forest, with more than a dozen waterfalls and rapids. A walking path follows the whole length.
When is the best time to visit Lake Towada?
Autumn colours peak in late October, and fresh greenery in May and June. In winter the Hakkōda mountains are covered in rime-encrusted trees known as snow monsters.
What happened on Mount Hakkōda in 1902?
During a winter training march in a blizzard, 199 of 210 soldiers of the Japanese Army's 5th Infantry Regiment died of exposure. The disaster, retold in novel and film, is commemorated by a statue on the mountain.
Which hot springs are in the park?
Among the best known are Sukayu at Hakkōda, Tsuta, the Nyūtō Onsen group with Tsurunoyu, Tamagawa with Japan's most acidic spring, and Goshogake and Fukenoyu on the Hachimantai plateau.
What is the 'Dragon Eye' of Hachimantai?
In late May or early June, snow melting on the pond Kagami-numa near the summit of Hachimantai leaves a ring of ice around a central patch, resembling an eye. It lasts only a few days each year.
Related
Sources
- 1.十和田八幡平国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
- 2.国立公園の概要 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
- 3.Towada-Hachimantai National Park (opens in a new tab) — Ministry of the Environment, Japan
- 4.文化遺産オンライン (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁