One of the few Japanese provinces that borders both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, Aomori Prefecture has an amazing coastline that you could spend an eternity exploring. Aomori’s West Coast in particular had many places that I wanted to visited. Unfortunately I was only able to rent a car for one day, so I had to cut it down to just those things that I wanted to see most of all. This one-day itinerary was the result.

The morning

I was staying near Aomori Station (at APA Hotel Aomori Ekihigashi) in the centre of Aomori city, but the only car available when I was renting was from Onix near Shin-Aomori Station, so the first thing I had to do was take the Ou train line between the two. Fortunately, the train is direct and there are several trains that run on this line, so it is very easy to get from one to the other if you are in the same situation.

Getting the car

Renting a car in Japan

Before coming to Japan, there is something important that you need to do: apply for an international driving permit. You then use this document (it looks like a booklet) along with the driving licence from your home country and can drive in Japan.

When you rent a car, you need to have the following documents:

1. Passport
2. Driving licence
3. International Driving Permit
4. Your contact information (phone and email) – optional but highly encouraged

The rental car company will make copies of everything (except the contact information), so you just need to bring the original documents. You will also need to fill in forms. These confirm the information you gave during the booking process (most likely online) – you will have to give the same information again. It is just part of the Japanese system of bureacracy.

Orix Rent-a-Car

I rented the car from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Orix Rent-A-Car near Shin-Aomori Station. I am not a morning person, so waking up around 7 and collecting the car at 9 was perfect for me. You can collect it as early as 8 a.m. However, 7 p.m. is the latest you can return the car fo a day rental.

I chose Orix Rent-A-Car for a couple of reasons:

1. It was the cheapest option. The others were all at least 3,000 yen more expensive while offering the same kind of coverage and times as Orix.
2. They had an extensive (and functional!) website in English. You also get specific discounts going through their website rather than going through a portal-like platform like Booking.com. They also offer to communicate in English for those who do not speak Japanese. While I speak Japanese, I do not necessarily have all of the vocabulary for technical concepts to do with safety and insurance. We did speak Japanese, but it was nice to know that I could fall back to English if I needed it.
3. They are used to dealing with foreigners. Many of the smaller companies only deal with Japanese people on a regular basis and so are not as experienced with the procedures needed vs. those used for Japanese drivers.

I also had a great experience with Orix Rent-A-Car, so much so that I went directly back to them for two other road trips that I did around this time as well:

• Iwate Coastal Trip (coming soon)
• Shimokita Peninsula: Beautiful Coastline

They often have promotions on their website, so you should look there before deciding to go for a certain agency. When I rented the car, the promotion was that full/complete coverage was included free-of-charge in the basic rental package (e.g. just the car), which saved me nearly ¥2,000. Very convenient!

First location: Takayama Inari shrine

The first place on my Aomori’s West Coast roadtrip was Takayama Inari Shrine, a peaceful shrine known for its fox statues & walking paths covered with dozens of red torii gates. I followed this route to get there.

Takayama Inari Shrine is a Shinto shrine similar to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto (which is the head of the Inari Shrines), including having a path of vermillion torii gtaes that wind up the side of a mountain (or hill in this case). The best part about it though is that, in contrast to Fushimi Inari which is heaving with people, you can easily visit and not see anyone else at Takayama. I spent over an hour here on a Wednesday morning and there was no one.

On top of that, Takayama Inari Shrine features a Japanese garden as its setting rather than a mountain. The result is that it has a much more calming, almost zen-like atmosphere. I was very glad it made my list for this trip because the experience was amazing.

Here is a short video of walking through the gates:

Takayama Inari Shrine: Vermillion Torii Gates without the Crowds #japan #shrine #shinto #torii

Watch this video on YouTube.

You can read more about Takayama Inari Shrine here:

Second location: Senjojiki coast and lunch

Further down Aomori’s West Coast (think Sea of Japan) is Senjojiki Coast, which is a unique outcropping of bedrock. I followed this route to get there.

This feature was created in 1792 by an earthquake, which caused the top layers of the coast to be lost to the ocean, exposing what we see today. These dark, relatively smooth rocks contrast with the blue and crystal clear water in this part of the world, creating an interesting if slightly eery scene.

I had stopped at a nearby supermarket to by a bento – a pre-prepared lunchbox – to have for lunch. It was perfect for admiring the area, although with the weather being 35°C and extremely sunny, it got very hot very quickly. Nonetheless, sitting watching the waves breaking and the water lapping gently against the rocks was a wonderful break from driving.

You can read more about Senjojiki Coast here:

The afternoon

Driving along the coast

From Senjojiki to the next destination, the national road follows the curves of the coastline, offering some beautiful views of the coastline. Here is an example of what you can see right next to the road on a relatively straight part of the coast.

You can also sometimes see down Aomori’s West Coast if the angle is just right, such as this picture of from a rest point:

So make sure that when you are going from location to location that you keep your eyes open and enjoy the scenery!

Third location: Cape Yukiai

Cape Yukiai is approximately 20 minutes away from the Senjojiki Coast marker on Google Maps. This small peninsula sticks into the Sea of Japan, offering some nice views up and down the coast. This also includes the next location: Oiwa Rock.

See more (and many more photos) here:

Fourth location: Oiwa Rock

Oiwa Rock is a large rock that sits in a small bay in the town of Fukaura. Less than 5 minutes from Cape Yukiai, I recommend parking at the edge of the nearby Family Mart parking lot, which is the only place to park around here to access this area.

More than “just a large rock”, it is a bit of a climb to the top using a staircase that has been carved into the rock. The climb is worth it simply for the view, which includes not only the old fishing village but also views up and down Aomori’s West Coast.

Oiwa Rock also hosts Ebisu Shrine, a little red Shinto shrine nested on a rocky outcrop. From the top, you can also see the crystal clear water of the bay, like this:

Fifth location: Blue Pond

The next stop was technically not a stop on Aomori’s West Coast, although it was close enough that I felt like it was worth including, especially as the entrance to get into the natural park is from the coast rather than the land side (which is a mountain range). This is the Blue Pond and is one of the most amazing bodies of water I have ever seen.

The Blue Pond (called Aoike) is located in Shirakami-Sanchi World Natural Heritage Park, which goes from the southern part of Aomori’s West Coast (from approximately Cape Yukiai and just south of Mount Iwaki) to the northern part of Akita Prefecture. It is an extensive mountainous region of 130,000 hectares enclosing virgin forests of Japanese beech. Japan used to be covered by this type of forest, but it has been displaced by other species of trees over the millenia.

Aoike is part of a lake system in Shirakami-Sanchi. As long as it is not disturbed by rain or falling forest debris, it is not disturbed by anything, forming a mirror-like surface that reflects a universe from the depths below.

I think this is one of the few experiences I have had in life that can be described as ethereal. It felt like this was a portal into another universe, where the floating leaves, light filtering through the trees and even the small fish at the bottom combined to make a galaxy of starry light contained within this pond.

You can read more and see a lot more photos here:

Sixth location: Japanese Crane nature park and Tsuru no Mai Bridge

By this time, I only had about 3.5 hours left to get back to Aomori city and it would take 2 to get back. Rather than going straight back (following Aomori’s West Coast road back to Aomori) and losing the rest of the time that I paid to rent the car, I decided to do a stop at the Tsuru no Mai Bridge on the way back. The Tsuru no Mai Bridge is located in Tsurata and is Japan’s longest wooden bridge. It is situated in the Japanese Crane Nature Park.

If you look at this three-arch bridge from certain angles, it looks like two cranes that are in flight with Mount Iwaki as a backdrop.

You can read more about the nature park and Tsuru no Mai Bridge here:

Returning the car

In Japan, it is standard that cars are returned to the car rental agency with a full tank, which is called mantan (満タン) in Japanese. For most places, they allow you to fuel anywhere within a certain distance. For example, Orix usually allows for anywhere that is within the same city. I decided to use the nearest fuel station, which was Eneos. It is a self-service pump where you put the fuel you need into the car yourself, rather than a service style one, where employees put it in for you.

Bonus: What I would have done if I had the time

Sunrise and Sunset

Aomori’s West Coast is known for being an excellent places for both sunrises and sunsets, especially during the warm summer months. If I had been able to rent the car for longer than a day, I would have definitely done so. Senjojiki especially can see some amazing sunsets with spectacular colours, although any of the coastal viewpoints would give you similar views if you timed it just right.

Unfortunately for me, there were no cars available for multiple days and as it is the height of summer, 7 p.m. is still broad daylight, so I was unable to enjoy this experience. If I go back, I will definitely plan ahead to rent a car to be able to experience this.

Hiking

Due to the time constraints of a day trip, I did not have any time to hike in Shirakami-Sanchi, which I was really interested in doing. Public transport is nearly non-existent in this area, so it would not be possible to do without a car.

Unfortunately, car issues were not the only thing holding me back from hiking. This part of Japan is active bear country, and this summer (2024) they have been particularly active – including some fatalities of bears surprising humans or vice versa. There had been an incident very recently when I went, so it was highly discouraged to hike.

It would have been great to see this area, but not at the potential cost of my life, so that was another nail in the coffin of this decision.

Tsugaru Peninsula

The Tsugaru Peninsula is the northwestern pensinula in Aomori Prefecture. Originally I had planned a multi-day road trip around the entire Aomori coastline. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned several times now, car availability put an end to that idea. I then had to pick things to cut from the itinerary, and it went to the chopping block.

However, if I had had time, I would have gone to these places (and probably still will in the future!):

Cape Tappi

This is the northernmost point on the Tsugaru Peninsula. The Shinkansen comes here (albeit underground) and you can see the southernmost point of Hokkaido on a clear day.

Aoiwa

Meaning “Blue Rock”, this rocky beach/cliff area on the Sea of Japan. The coast itself is also very rocky, with many sea-polished rocks sticking out of the water. Some of the photos I have seen reminds me of certain coastal areas in Scotland and northern England.

Chokandai Observatory

This observatory sits in the moutains of the Tsugaru Peninsula, offering views of the moutain range and, on clear days, the Tsugaru Strait and even Hokkaido. It is also located on a scenic driving route, so I think it would be an excellent experience.

Ashino Park

Located in Goshogowara city, Ashino Park is situated around Ashino Lake. This park is regionally famous for the masses of cherry blossom trees, which bloom simultaneously in the spring.

Seikan Tunnel Museum

Located near Cape Tappi, the Seikan Tunnel Museum showcases the Seikan Tunnel, through which the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) and freight trains run from Honshu to Hokkaido. As part of the experience, you can go into a service tunnel that runs 140-metres under the ground, learning about the tunnel that sits 100 metres under the seabed.

The museum portion still has several of the machines that were used to dig and then build the tunnel on display. On top of that there is information and displays about the trains that have used the tunnels, so train enthusiasts will feel right at home!

Thanks for reading! Want to do some more exploring? Have a look at the travel map:

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