Aomori

Today we sailed into the port of Hachinohe on the north east Pacific coast of Honshu.  The mountainous scenery is stunning. We went to Lake Towada, a flooded caldera, then trekked up the Oirase Gorge along a rushing river (top 2 images) then visited some “swamps” which are good for birdwatching (but you have to look out for black bears - bottom 2 images). We had an amazing lunch that included noodles cooked in miso broth on the table, do-it-yourself beef and onion casserole cooked individually over a flame, sardines, pickles and more things I didn’t recognise. The restaurant sold more kokeshi dolls (extra).