Why this ride
The stops in between: Tagoyano Site, Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle, Shirakami-Sanchi and back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Odai Yamamoto Site and Shirakami-Sanchi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 363 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 22
- 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. Odai Yamamoto Site
Some of the oldest pottery in the world was found on a hillside near the northern end of Honshu, and nobody was looking for it. At Odai Yamamoto I, on the Tsugaru Peninsula in Aomori prefecture, archaeologists dug up fragments of fired clay that date back more than sixteen thousand years, among the earliest known ceramics in Japan, made by hunter-gatherers at the end of the last Ice Age. The site is part of the Jomon prehistoric sites of northern Japan, a World Heritage listing from 2021 that celebrates a long era of settled life without agriculture, with Sannai Maruyama as its best-known example.
Read the complete Odai Yamamoto Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Odai Yamamoto Site is where the day begins. Next is Tagoyano Site.
2. Tagoyano Site
In the far north of Honshu, on the Tsugaru plain of Aomori Prefecture, the Tagoyano site is a shell midden left by people of the Jomon period, the long era of hunter-gatherers who lived in Japan for over ten thousand years and made some of the oldest pottery in the world. The mound consists mainly of shells of shijimi, a small freshwater clam that thrived in the brackish water of the old lagoon. Along with the shells, archaeologists found pottery, tools and bones, and the site has become part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see above ground now, just a grassy area and information boards, but the picture it paints is rich: people living by water, fishing, gathering, making beautiful vessels.
Read the complete Tagoyano Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tagoyano Site comes up about 36 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 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle. Next is Shirakami-Sanchi.
4. 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, 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 147 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tagoyano Site.
6. back through Tagoyano Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tagoyano Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tagoyano Site comes up about 328 km into the recorded legs. Next is Odai Yamamoto Site.
7. Odai Yamamoto Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Odai Yamamoto Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Odai Yamamoto Site closes the day.
Leg by leg
Odai Yamamoto Site to Tagoyano Site
Odai Yamamoto Site → Tagoyano Site is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tagoyano Site to Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Tagoyano Site → Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle to Shirakami-Sanchi
Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle → Shirakami-Sanchi is 115 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shirakami-Sanchi to back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Shirakami-Sanchi → back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle to back through Tagoyano Site
back through Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle → back through Tagoyano Site is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tagoyano Site to Odai Yamamoto Site
back through Tagoyano Site → Odai Yamamoto Site is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.