Progress

Japan Rail (JR) has opened the Tohoku Shinkansen all the way to Aomori. We were very excited when we heard this news. Only one more step--under the channel between Honshu and Hokaido--and we will be able to take the Shinkansen all the way to Sapporo! And to top that news, there are new, faster trains coming in 2011.

Then we discovered that since the Shinkansen now goes all the way to Aomori, Misawa is off the railroad map as far as JR is concerned. There used to be a limited express train through Misawa Station from Hachinohe, formerly the end of the Tohoku Shinkansen line. That train schedule coordinated with the arrival of the Shinkansen so that passengers only waited 6-11 minutes in Hachinohe to make a connection.

Now, however, Misawa Station is served only by the Aomori Railway, which has scheduled fewer trains throughout the day. This means that the minimum wait in Hachinohe for the Misawa train is 40 minutes. You can drive up here in 30 minutes.

So it looks like we will now be driving 30 minutes to Hachinohe Station to meet visitors (and Patrick on Monday night :D) instead of 5 minutes to Misawa Station. The inconvenience is annoying.

The fact that we are annoyed may be an indication of just how long we have lived in Misawa. When we first arrived here, we would never have had the expectation that train travel should be more convenient than driving. And a 30-minute drive to pick someone up from commercial transportation wouldn't have bothered us in the least. Now it seems a major inconvenience. We think the train should bring visitors much closer to us on a much more convenient schedule. We have become very spoiled by Japan's super-convenient, (formerly) highly-connected transportation system.

Thus, we are not as excited about the completion of the Aomori leg of the Tohoku Shinkansen line as we used to be.


“Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity.” Thor-Heyerdahl



Driving directions from Misawa to Hachinohe Station:

Take the POL Road (becomes Route 10)
to the Momoishi Toll Road. (The entrance is on your left before the overpass.)

The first toll gate, at 4.5km, will cost 200yen.

Travel 8.5 km. Exit at Hachinohe-kita. There is no toll here.

Turn right onto Route 45.

After 3.0km, exit to the left, following signs to "Hachinohe Sta." Turn right at the bottom of the ramp. *

Follow this road for 2.9km, and turn right at the stop light (you will pass Harley Davidson on your right, and the Fish Market on your left).

After 1.7km, this road comes to a T-intersection at Route 454. Turn right on Route 454, and you will see the station in front of you.

Long-term parking: turn right after 1.0km, following signs to the West Exit.

Short-term parking is available in a small parking lot in front of the station. Get in the left hand lane as you drive toward the station. Instead of turning left, cross the street to the parking lot ticket booth.

*If you miss the Fish Market turn, keep going on Route 45 for about 1 km, and make a right onto Route 104. After a little more than 1 km, turn right onto Route 454 and drive approximately 3 km to Hachinohe Station.