North Tohoku - a land of scenic beauty awaits rugby fans
The Tohoku region of Japan is found in North East portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. North Tohoku includes the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate and Akita and has plenty to offer travel-weary Rugby World Cup fans.
The tournament happens to fall at the beginning of the Kouyou season – ‘the autumn leaf season’. This perfect timing makes North Tohoku an ideal location for rugby fans to unwind over the course of the tournament.
The region is also easy to access using the rail network – namely using the JR EAST PASS.
JR EAST PASS
JR East offers the JR EAST PASS for international visitors to Japan which allows sightseers unlimited travel for 5 days on the JR East Japan network. JR East also provides useful information on special pass conditions as well as information on many of the region’s must-see tourist spots.
Click here to get your JR EAST PASS.
Aomori Prefecture
Sukayu Onsen
Sukayu is a mountainous hot spring that has been accessible for over 300 years. The facility is a timber building, the oldest in Hakkoda area. The hot spring was the first to be appointed as the People’s Recreation Hot Spring in 1954. The area is surrounded by great wilderness such as Mt. Hakkoda, Suiren Numa Pond and Jogakura Gorge. In the winter, Sukayu is filled with skiers and snowboarders while in the spring, summer, and fall, the hot spring welcomes trekkers and hikers.
Access
Take a bus from Aomori Station or Shin-Aomori Station and get off at Sukayu Onsen Mae Stop.
Hakkoda Mountains
At the Hakkoda Mountains, beautiful red and yellow autumn foliage of Japanese maple and rowan can be seen during fall. Many visitors – and potentially rugby fans – will come during the peak colouring season at the end of September through October.
The Hakkoda Ropeway allows visitors to climb the summit of Tamoyachidake peak of North Hakkoda, an elevation of 1320 metres (4330 feet). The view from the ropeway is superb. On a clear sunny day, one can see as far as the Tsugaru plains, Mutsu Bay, and even Hokkaido. From the summit park station, the Hakkoda gold line hiking trail leads to the Mutsu Bay observation deck and the Tamoyachi Marsh. It makes for a great hike on a sunny day.
Access
Take JR Bus from Aomori Station or Shin-Aomori Station Bus Terminal and get off at Hakkoda Ropeway Eki Mae
Aomori apple sweets
Hirosaki City is known as the home of the apple in Japan, and there are many shops selling apple pie in the town – a perfect treat for hungry rugby fans. The “Hirosaki Apple Pie Guide Map”, is an indispensable guide the 50 apple pies in the town – meticulously ranking pies for texture, sweetness and character.
No pie-hunting rugby fan should be without it.
Tip: The “Tabe-kurabe Plate (tasting plate)”, which is served weekly, has six different apple pies that feature on the guide map, and it has proved popular among tourists.
Access
Several places are available from JR Hirosaki station
Iwate Prefecture
Mount Kurikoma
Mount Sukawadake (1,628m) straddles three prefectures and is also known as Mount Kurikoma, depending on the region you’re in. On the mid-slope, there is Sukawa Kogen Hot Spring, which can only be approached from the Akita side at present. In summer, you will be greeted by various alpine plants, but for rugby fans in Autumn, you can enjoy the remarkable seasonal colours on display.
Climbing is relatively easy and leisurely and should take the average rugby fan around two hours. Along the way, you will see a crater lake with emerald green water; with the breathtaking peak is about one hour’s distance from the lake.
Access
2 hours and 20 minutes from Tokyo Station to Kurikoma Kogen Station
Maezawa-gyu steak
Even by the ridiculously high standards Japan, the home of wagyu, the quality and production of beef in Iwate is top class. Cattle are raised with painstaking care from calves, enjoying clear air, pristine water and beautiful scenery – basically they’re treated like bovine royalty.
The “Iwate-gyu” beef brand is the leader in quality and welfare standards, characterised by the umami and sweetness of the marbling in Japanese Black beef. This is Japan’s top brand, clinching the title for number one meat quality in the national contest no less than 11 times, the most of any wagyu brand.
Yum yum indeed.
Access
Several places are available from JR Morioka station
Ryusendo
Ryusendo Cave is an extensive limestone cave in the mountains of Iwaizumi Town in Iwate Prefecture and is regarded as one of Japan’s three great limestone caves.
It is estimated that the caverns extend nearly 5000 meters into the mountainside, about 3500 meters of which have been explored to date since surveys began in the 1920s. Large volumes of clear, blue water gush forth from the cave’s depths, forming an underground river and four underground lakes in the caverns.
It’s a must for cave-loving rugby fans.
Access
Two minutes taxi away from Iwaizumi Station
Akita Prefecture
Oyako-don
Oyako-don, which literally means “parent and child rice bowl” is a Japanese rice bowl dish, known as donburi, which contains chicken, egg, and sliced onions, all simmered together in a sauce and served on top of rice.
Hinai Jidori Oyako-don
Hinai Jidori is one of the three most famous chicken breeds in Japan, along with Satsuma Jidori and Nagoya Cochin. The chickens for Hinai Jidori Oyako-don are all free-range, and are known for the high-quality meat. The thick, juicy meat of Hinai Jidori is quickly stir-fried to trap the flavour inside. The eggs of Hinai Jidori are cooked very softly, and hold the flavour of the meat to top the rice. The meat and eggs of Hinai Jidori are both tasty, but the taste multiplies when they are cooked together. Hinai Jidori Oyako-don is a perfect example of the combination – it is a dish that tickles all your five senses.
Access
There are several places available near to and around Akita station
Nyuto Onsen
Nyuto Onsen is a collection of onsen ryokan in the mountains of eastern Akita Prefecture. The area is known for the hot spring baths found at its eight ryokan, some of which are quite traditional and rustic. With a history of over 300 years, Tsurunoyu is Nyuto Onsen’s oldest and most famous inn.
The name Nyuto Onsen means- rather amusingly – “nipple hot spring” and comes from the suggestive shape of nearby Mount Nyuto rather than the milky/cloudy appearance of the area’s hot spring water. All the hot spring baths in Nyuto Onsen belong to ryokan and are not only available to staying guests, but also to rugby day-trippers during certain hours and for a relatively small admission fee.
Most of the ryokan feature mixed gender outdoor baths, and all have various gender-segregated bathing as well.
Access
Approximately 50 minutes by bus from Tazawako Station.
Kakunodate
Looking much as it did back in 1620 when the city was founded, Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture boasts authentic Edo-period architecture in two distinct areas. The impressive samurai and merchant quarters will give you an idea of life in Japan’s feudal past.
Just outside the city is Dakigaeri Gorge, a mountain valley that is great for a nature walk along the Tamagawa River through cedar forests and over suspension bridges and trestles.
Kakunodate is known for its weeping cherry trees, which are a bit gaudier than those of the classic cherry trees most people see blossoming during the spring.
Access
Three minutes walk away from Kakunodate Station
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments