Need-to-Know Principal

Oirase Night Tour

Oirase Snow Walk Tour

Wild Grape Tree in Winter

I visited Hong Hong for the New Year’s holiday. Because it was the dry season, the weather was perfect. I had a really wonderful time enjoying dim sum and bars. That said, I do believe winter is a time to enjoy the cold, so I would like to visit a snowy region.

Last year, I skipped the snowshoe trekking at Goshougake Onsen and went to Mt. Moriyoshi to see the snow monster instead. I figured I should definitely go to Goshougake this year, but when I asked my wife where she wished to go, she said she wanted to visit Oirase Gorge.

There are many things in life that are better left unknown. So, I intentionally not asked her why, but I suspected there was a high possibility that she was not interested in snowshoe trekking.

When I visited Oirase a few years ago, I stayed at Hoshino Resorts. Maybe because I handle cost management at work, I am actually not a fan of the Hoshino Resorts where I feel everything is well managed in terms of cost and efficiency, but I wanted to see the fireplace designed by Taro Okamoto.

I am strict with the company’s finances but pretty lax with my own. Even someone like me was able to know staying at the Hoshino Resorts right after returning from Hong Kong would cause a cost management issue to myself. Since I have been to Oirase several times, I have a sense of the area. This time, I decided to stay at a local hot spring inn and join a public bus tour.

Last time, I booked an airline award ticket to Misawa Airport and headed to Oirase via Towada City by buses, but I could not find benefits other than getting a free flight. While it certainly helped my cash flow, the travel time was fragmented by too many bus and flight sectors which left me exhausted. In fact, I found the itinerary had more downsides than upsides.

Cost management is not simply about reducing expenses; it is about ensuring that spending yields the most efficient results. I keep lax on my own finances, so I tend to be lenient when it comes to weighing the pros and cons. Despite I was able to find award ticket this year too, taking the Shinkansen would be financially acceptable even right after returning from Hong Kong. On the Shinkansen, I can sleep for two or three hours after boarding, making the trip a lot easier. This is to say that I would have more efficient trip.

If I stay at the Hoshino Resorts, they will arrange all activities. However, I had to check and book the activities by myself for this trip. After looking into it, I found that in addition to a famous bus tour to see the winter scenery illuminated at night, there were various other activities available.

I had assumed I would have to take some local buses to get to Oirase, but there was a daytime bus tour. By taking this tour, I could see the winter scenery of Oirase Gorge and then head to a hot spring inn. Even more, there were snowshoe trekking tours available in Oirase. Since there were two snowshoe trekking courses, I decided to sign up for both.

Since I did not intentionally ask my wife, I did not know why we did not go to Goshougake Onsen at the first place. Therefore, I did not foresee any issues if I scheduled the snowshoe trekking. I suppose.

I simply did not know the fact. Ignorance is knowledge and power. Importance of information management is in here.

While I have different finance management standards for work and personal life, when it comes to information management, I adopt the “need-to-know principle” in my personal life just like at work.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Oirase

Times listed are at the time of visit.

Day 1

Ueno 07:38 (Hayabusa 3) > Shichinohe-Towada 10:37

Shichinohe-Towada Station 12:30 (Tour Bus) > Oirase Gorge Onsen 16:23

・Oirase Gorge Night Tour

Accommodation: Nonohana Yakeyama-so

Day 1 Tips
・At Yakeyama-so, if you are participating the Night Tour, they will serve dinner at 17:30 instead of their regular 18:00 or after.

Day 2

・Snowshoe Walk Frozen Waterfall

・Winter Oirase Snowshoe Walk

・Oirase Gorge Night Tour