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This annual February festival features fireworks every evening, light displays, snow sculptures, food stalls and hot wine. You can drink in an igloo bar where drinks are served in glasses made of ice. Many local inns and hotels offer shuttle service to and from the festival site.
You can take a boat tour from Yasumiya (休屋) around Lake Towada (45 minutes) or to Nenokuchi (50 minutes). Both cruises have a recorded guide (in Japanese) and show the beautiful rugged coast around the lake. Between late April and late November only.
十和田湖
Lake Towada, or Towada-ko, is Honshu's largest volcanic caldera lake and also the country's third deepest lake. The area nearby is dotted with dense forests and waterfalls, and is the top tourist draw in all Tohoku.
奥入瀬川
The upper reaches, known as literally as the Oirase Stream (奥入瀬渓流 Oirase-keiryu) or as the Oirase Gorge, are famously scenic, featuring constant-flowing water since this is the drain of Lake Towada, and numerous waterfalls.