Why this ride
457 km from Hanawa to Hanawa, about 8 h 28 of riding. On the way it passes Isedotai Stone Circles, Shirakami-Sanchi, Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle and back through Shirakami-Sanchi. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ōyu Stone Circles and Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 457 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 8 h 28
- 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. Ōyu Stone Circles
Two great rings of river stones lie in a quiet field on a plateau near Kazuno, in the north of Akita prefecture, and at the heart of each stands a small arrangement of upright stones that has been called a sundial. The Ōyu Stone Circles, known as Manza and Nonakadō, were built by the Jōmon people around four thousand years ago, and they are the largest stone circles in Japan. Beneath and around them archaeologists have found graves, suggesting they were places of burial and ceremony. Some researchers believe the circles were aligned with the setting sun at the summer solstice. Since 2021 they have formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Jōmon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan.
Read the complete Oyu Stone Circles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ōyu Stone Circles is where the day begins. Next is Isedotai Stone Circles.
2. 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 comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Shirakami-Sanchi.
3. 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
about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Shirakami-Sanchi. Next is Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle.
4. 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
Omori Katsuyama Stone Circle, about halfway. Next is back through Shirakami-Sanchi.
5. 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 sits at 194 km, about halfway. Next is back through Isedotai Stone Circles.
6. back through 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
back through Isedotai Stone Circles comes up about 406 km into the recorded legs. Next is Oyu Stone Circles.
7. Ōyu Stone Circles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Oyu Stone Circles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ōyu Stone Circles closes the day.
Leg by leg
Ōyu Stone Circles to Isedotai Stone Circles
Ōyu Stone Circles → Isedotai Stone Circles is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 back through Shirakami-Sanchi
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 back through Isedotai Stone Circles
back through Shirakami-Sanchi → back through Isedotai Stone Circles is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Isedotai Stone Circles to Oyu Stone Circles
back through Isedotai Stone Circles → Oyu Stone Circles is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.