Rock Climbing (cont)

One of the most frustrating things about Northern Japan is that it can be extremely hard finding things such as the rock climbing spot I've begun frequenting. On our last trip, a Japanese couple showed up with a rock climbing guide highlighting our spot complete with pics, driving directions, and route drawings. Unfortunately, the book is written in Kanji. This is nearly always the case when trying to plan an outdoor adventure in Northern Japan. There are plenty of books, topographic maps, etc, but its all written in Kanji! Some may think this is not the end of the world since a topo map is a topo map, Kanji or English. But, try finding the topo map you need in a book store containing thousands of books with Kanji covers and where the employees don't speak English. Most give up pretty quickly. However, thanks to the wonderful web, more and more travelers are posting very helpful information on subjects such as this. In fact, if it weren't for folks blogging about their travels in Northern Japan, I would have rarely left the house thus far. Anyway, in an effort to give back to those who have helped me, I will try to post more indepth information about the spots I come across.
Most folks who go rock climbing around Misawa talk about climbing near Kuji. Darren, who showed me this spot, said that he thinks they refer to another spot. But, this spot matches the descriptions I've read and is just north of Kuji. Above is a map showing where to park. You just take 45 south of Hachinohe and take a left onto 279. The second left on this map actually takes you all the way down to the coast. Just park on the side of the road at the above coordinates. Take the trail south of the road to a lookout platform. The climbing spot is directly below the platform.

Its hard to get a really good shot showing the entire rock face...

The real prize is the scene looking out. Days like this don't come often in Northern Japan. I'm glad we got to enjoy it.