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Towada-Hachimantai NP, Aomori
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Much of Oirase’s cliff rock began as ash and pumice from Hakkoda, welded together about 760,000 years ago. Around 15,000 years ago, a huge Lake Towada outburst flood carved through it to form the gorge.
Chōshi Ōtaki blocked fish from reaching Lake Towada, long considered fishless. In 1903, Wainai Sadayuki stocked fry hatched from Hokkaido eggs; the introduced himemasu is now a local specialty.
Oirase has more than 300 moss species and was named Japan’s 19th “Precious Moss Forest” in 2013. Some grow not just on trees and banks but on rocks amid the flowing stream itself.
In June, beekeepers gather Oirase tochi honey from horse-chestnut blossoms along the gorge. This local honey is slightly reddish and pleasantly tangy—a forest food tied to the stream’s own trees.
Oirase’s steady-looking current has an engineered side: a 1937 water-control plan balanced hydropower and irrigation with scenic protection, while a sluice at Lake Towada’s outlet manages the flow into the gorge.
Oirase’s fame began with a local leader, not a highway: village chief Koichi Ogasawara urged a forest track along the stream in 1903. In 1908, writer Ōmachi Keigetsu’s magazine travelogue introduced the area nationwide.
Many Oirase waterfalls are side streams left high above the main river as it cut down into bedrock. Three-tiered, 20-meter-high Kumoi Falls is a striking example; such falls gradually retreat upstream as water erodes their edges.
Ishigedo means “stone hut” in local dialect, fitting its shelter-like boulder. Local legend says it was a hideout of Onigami no Omatsu, a bandit who preyed on travelers.
Oirase’s rushing water was named one of Japan’s “100 Soundscapes” in 1996. The list honors sounds communities wanted preserved, so the gorge is celebrated for what visitors hear as well as see.
Oirase’s kawagarasu, literally “river crow,” is actually a plump brown dipper. It gives sharp “bit, bit” calls, then plunges into the stream and hunts for food underwater.
