Why this ride
416 km from Takanosu to Takanosu, about 8 h 03 of riding. On the way it passes Shirakami-Sanchi, Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle, Kamegaoka Burial Site and back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Isedotai Stone Circles and Kamegaoka Burial Site
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 416 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 03
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Isedotai Stone Circles
In a quiet corner of Akita prefecture, near the town of Takanosu in the north of Japan's main island, a set of stone circles lies on a low terrace above the Yoneshiro river. The Isedotai stone circles were built around four thousand years ago by the people of the Jomon culture, hunter-gatherers who lived in the Japanese archipelago for more than ten thousand years and made some of the oldest pottery in the world. The site is part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, listed by UNESCO in 2021, a series of seventeen sites across Hokkaido and the north of Honshu that illustrate the long, settled life of these people.
Read the complete Isedotai Stone Circles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Isedotai Stone Circles is where the day begins. Next is Shirakami-Sanchi.
2. Shirakami-Sanchi
Shirakami-Sanchi is one of the largest remaining virgin beech forests in East Asia, a vast tract of mountains straddling the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures in northern Honshu. It joined the World Heritage list in 1993, one of Japan's first natural sites, and the core area is left almost untouched, with no roads or facilities. Siebold's beech, a species found only in Japan, dominates the forest, and it shelters black bears, Japanese serows, golden eagles and the black woodpecker. The trees are at their most beautiful in autumn, when they turn gold and copper, and in spring when the new leaves are a startling pale green.
Read the complete Shirakami-Sanchi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shirakami-Sanchi comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle.
3. Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Over three thousand years ago, Jomon people in northern Japan arranged stones into circles on a terrace at the foot of Mount Iwaki, the conical volcano that dominates the Tsugaru plain in Aomori prefecture. The Omori Katsuyama stone circle is one of these monuments, with a ring of standing and placed stones that may have been used for rituals, burials or marking the seasons. It is part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2021, which celebrates a culture of hunter-gatherers who settled in permanent villages and made pottery for over ten thousand years.
Read the complete Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 179 km into the recorded legs you reach Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle. Next is Kamegaoka Burial Site.
4. Kamegaoka Burial Site
In 1887, a farmer digging in the fields near Kamegaoka, in the Tsugaru region of northern Honshu, found a strange clay figure: a stocky body covered with patterns and a face dominated by huge eyes like snow goggles. The shakōki-dogū, the goggle-eyed figurine, became one of the most famous objects of the Jōmon culture, the hunter-gatherers who lived in Japan for more than ten thousand years and made some of the oldest pottery in the world. Kamegaoka was a burial and settlement site of the final Jōmon period, about three thousand years ago, and it has yielded lacquerware, pottery and figurines of remarkable sophistication. It is part of the Jōmon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Kamegaoka Burial Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kamegaoka Burial Site, about halfway. Next is back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle.
5. back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle sits at 160 km, about halfway. Next is back through Shirakami-Sanchi.
6. back through Shirakami-Sanchi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shirakami-Sanchi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Shirakami-Sanchi comes up about 354 km into the recorded legs. Next is Isedotai Stone Circles.
7. Isedotai Stone Circles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Isedotai Stone Circles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Isedotai Stone Circles closes the day.
Leg by leg
Isedotai Stone Circles to Shirakami-Sanchi
Isedotai Stone Circles → Shirakami-Sanchi is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shirakami-Sanchi to Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Shirakami-Sanchi → Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle to Kamegaoka Burial Site
Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle → Kamegaoka Burial Site is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kamegaoka Burial Site to back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Kamegaoka Burial Site → back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle to back through Shirakami-Sanchi
back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle → back through Shirakami-Sanchi is 115 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shirakami-Sanchi to Isedotai Stone Circles
back through Shirakami-Sanchi → Isedotai Stone Circles is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.