Japan can be roughly divided into eight regions -- Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu -- and I recently realized that, save Fukushima Prefecture, I had never fully explored the six-prefecture Tohoku region in the country's north on my motorcycle. So, I hit the road to the deep north for an eight-day journey, which turned out to be 2,400 kilometers long. That's coincidentally the same distance haiku master Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) walked for his travelogue "Oku no Hosomichi," whose first English translation was published in 1966 as "The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches."

Having wanted to ride on the left side of the road to be closer to the sea, I decided to go around the region clockwise, like I had done in the Shikoku island region. So I took the Kan-Etsu Expressway from Tokyo to Niigata Prefecture, then cruised through Yamagata, Akita, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures.

A roughly 60-kilomter section between Murakami, Niigata Prefecture, and Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, is on the Sea of Japan coast, and its sea-scented vistas were a sight to behold. Particularly impressive was the rugged shore of Sasagawa Nagare in Murakami.

Natural beauty of Yamagata Pref.

Specialties of Yamagata Prefecture include "Yamagata dashi" veggie relish and taro stew parties, but I sadly missed both of them. My visit was a little too late for the relish -- a summer signature. Taro stew parties are autumn events that are typically held on weekends, and I was there on Monday, only a day too late for Japan's largest taro stew festival! That said, I had a pleasant encounter with "mukisoba," a local dish of the city of Sakata that soothed with its boiled buckwheat seeds in the kelp-based broth. An employee at the Izugiku restaurant told me that buckwheat seeds -- an uncommon sight in most of Japan -- are available at local supermarkets.

A little north of Sakata are the Juroku Rakan Rocks in the town of Yuza. Seen from a distance, they are just oddly shaped rocks on the beach. Upon closer inspection, they have figures of 16 Buddhist saints carved into them. It is said that locals were suffering in the turbulent days of the late Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867), and fishermen had lost their lives to rough waters. A local Buddhist priest had a stonemason carve the figures to pray for the people and to ward off calamity.

Geologically, these molten rocks were made when nearby Mount Chokai erupted. On the mountain, which borders Yamagata and Akita prefectures, there is a scenic road called the Chokai Blue Line, which rises from almost zero to 1,100 meters above sea level.

The only vegetation on the higher slopes is ground-hugging shrubs, providing visitors with a clear view, with Yuza and Sakata to the south, the sea to the west, and Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, to the north. Added to that, serious motorcyclists will enjoy the mountainside's meandering road.

Foodie paradise Akita Pref.

This is how I entered Akita Prefecture, which is known for a hot pot dish with "kiritampo" rice cakes. They are made of half-mashed rice and formed into cylinders. Mitsuru Shibata, the chef at the "izakaya" pub Yorokobi in the city of Yuzawa, explained, "Originally, it was a preserved food in northern Akita Prefecture. People used to make rice cakes from the autumn harvest to eat in winter."

That makes sense. The hot pot dish with regional Hinai-jidori chicken soup stock and meat must be a warming antidote to the cold, snow-clogged winters the prefecture is famous for.

Another famous item in the prefecture is Inaniwa udon noodles, characterized by their slenderness and their soft, smooth texture. Founded in 1860, Sato Yosuke Shoten is probably the most established maker, and its flagship eatery is right there in Yuzawa's Inaniwa district, where the noodles were born. Its headquarters lets visitors see how its udon is manufactured and even offers a hands-on experience making it, with a reservation and fee.

I had both warm and cold noodles there. Since they are thin and light, I felt like I could eat them endlessly. A video about the history and process of making the udon is played on a TV in the lobby with English subtitles.

Farther north, I hit the Oga Peninsula, the home of Japan's most famous ogres called "namahage," which are part of a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. (Isn't it interesting that Oga is associated with ogre, with the "og" sound in common?) The ogres visit houses, yelling phrases like, "Are naughty kids around?" For local children, namahage are even scarier than a strict mother. Figures and illustrations of the ogres are everywhere in the area.

The Kampuzan Panorama Line on this peninsula is another scenic road. Mount Kampuzan is only 335 meters high, but the 360-degree panoramic view from the top is wonderful, with the sea, other mountains and a plain including the huge Hachirogata lagoon to be enjoyed.

Not for everyone, but Horumon Kouraku is one of Akita Prefecture residents' favorite restaurant chains. It is dedicated to the offal of pigs and cows -- called "horumon" in Japanese, derived from the English word "hormone." The eatery's biggest feature is that customers cook on convex skillets.

An employee at Kouraku's main store in the city of Kazuno explained that hog farming has long prospered in the region and the restaurant's founder had sought cheap ingredients to offer to local coal miners. She opened the first eatery in 1951 serving the guts which would otherwise have been thrown away, using the unique skillets -- traditional Nambu Ironware made in neighboring Iwate Prefecture. I love the guts but wrote "not for everyone" because of their extreme -- some might say rubbery -- chewiness.

I went on to nearby Lake Towada, located on the border of Akita and Aomori prefectures. I enjoyed riding the roughly 14-kilomter section of National Route 102 along the beautiful Oirase Gorge, which starts from the lake. The road is only meters from the stream, making me feel as if I was soaking up refreshing natural energy.

'Peculinary' Aomori Pref.

I then traveled 170 kilometers through the Shimokita Peninsula to the Aomori Prefecture town of Oma, the northernmost municipality of Japan's Honshu main island. Oma is famous for bluefin tuna caught in the strait off the town. With no hesitation I hit Honshu's northernmost restaurant, which serves fabulous fresh tuna.

On the Shimokita Peninsula, shaped like a hook surrounding Mutsu Bay on its east and north sides, I found a "peculinary" -- peculiar plus culinary -- thing called "misokayaki." Scallops, oysters, vegetables and an egg are cooked with miso soybean paste on an incredibly large scallop shell -- mine was about 15 centimeters across -- and I fell in love again.

Taisuke Nakagawa, the chef at the Nakagawa restaurant, said that misokayaki was originally a dish eaten by fishermen in the Edo period. They cooked locally caught seafood, eggs and other ingredients with miso on scallop shells instead of pans.

On the peninsula is a place called "Osorezan." I first became curious about the spot when I found it on a map in my late teens because its kanji characters literally mean "horror mountain." After about a quarter of a century, I finally made a visit.

Osorezan is actually the name of one of Japan's three major Buddhist pilgrimage destinations, with a history of over 1,100 years. However, Osorezan Bodaiji temple is open to everyone. Located in a volcanic area, the huge temple grounds are filled with the smell of hydrogen sulfide and even have a hole spewing volcanic gasses. Probably due to the harsh environment, some areas of the grounds are rocky deserts, while there is a white sandy beach by a caldera lake. Ancient priests likened them to hell and heaven, respectively.

After leaving Osorezan, I was joined by a biker friend in the prefectural city of Hachinohe on the Pacific Ocean side. We hit a local izakaya and encountered another peculinary thing, namely "sembei-jiru," a soup with local "Nambu sembei" crackers made from wheat. Sembei are typically rice crackers, but wheat ones were apparently a precious preserved food in this region, where cold weather often harms rice production.

While sembei-jiru has a history of more than two centuries, it had not been well known to outsiders. The situation changed when the soup won the grand prix in the 2012 national "B-class gourmet" -- or unpretentious but tasty food -- contest, and it is said that in Hachinohe alone, more than 200 eateries now offer sembei-jiru.

Ainobu Oniyanagi, an employee at the Ra Puraza-tei restaurant, explained that the soup varies among households and eateries, saying, "Our soup is soy sauce-based, and the broth is from chicken and 'akauo' fish. When the pot comes to a boil, break the cracker into pieces and drop them in."

Sentimental revisit to Iwate Pref.

The roughly 250-kilometer shoreline from Aomori Prefecture's Hachinohe through Iwate Prefecture to northeastern Miyagi Prefecture is called the Sanriku coast, which is known for scenic rias. Due to that geography, however, the area was struck especially hard by the tsunami caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, during which about 16,000 people died and 3,400 went missing in Iwate Prefecture alone. I visited in 2012 to report on the situation about a year after the disaster.

Therefore, this was a revisit. In the cities of Miyako and Kamaishi, the downtown areas now look totally normal. Settlements had already been relocated to higher ground. There has been a movement to preserve relics of the disaster, and the six-story Taro Kanko Hotel in Miyako, whose lower three floors were destroyed, is one such building.

Though massive tide walls at ports to protect coastal areas from possible future tsunami disrupt views, there are still many spots that offer good views of the rias. Among places I found especially beautiful was the rocky Goishi Beach in the city of Ofunato.

The roughly 360-kilometer-long Sanriku Expressway, which connects Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, along the Pacific Ocean is convenient for travelers. The entire route opened in 2021 to support regional efforts to recover from the disaster damage of 10 years earlier, and it is mostly toll-free. While the Tohoku Expressway also runs north-south through the region, it is inland and so deprived of any attractive views. Therefore, I would suggest my fellow two-wheelers take the Sanriku Expressway, stopping by anywhere along the coast to take in the scenery.

1 of Japan's 3 most scenic spots in Miyagi Pref.

Miyagi Prefecture's Matsushima Bay with its many islets has been hailed as one of the three most scenic sights in Japan since ancient times, and Basho highly praised it in "Oku no Hosomichi."

The area is also famous for seafood, but don't forget beef tongue. The Tohoku region's biggest city Sendai, near the bay, is the birthplace of beef tongue grilled with salt. It is said that a local chef began to serve it after World War II, and through Japan's era of rapid economic growth, it took root as a local delicacy. There are even eateries in the city that list only three items on the menu: beef tongue, rice and beer.

Rainy but delish Fukushima Pref.

My travel through Fukushima Prefecture, south of Miyagi, was unfortunately marred by heavy rain, but I stopped by two places worth noting. One is To-Fu Cafe Oohataya in the town of Miharu, just a 15-minute ride away from central Koriyama, the biggest city in the prefecture. As its name implies, Oohataya is a tofu maker, and in 2004 opened the cafe all about tofu, and that has now become popular among health-conscious women. I was wowed by the creative items in the showcase and on the menu. A bowl of rice topped with fried tofu soaked in tasty broth was so good! Then I moved on to "tofu tiramisu," in which the cheese is replaced with soybean curd.

Manager Izumi Hirano commented, "People think it's just tofu, but we try to create dishes in which tofu can be the star, not just supporting cast. We want to bring out the appeal of soybeans by replacing various ingredients."

Since the cafe is just a few hundred meters from Miharu Dam, Hirano recommended motorcyclists visit this scenic spot. Beyond the dam lake is the famous huge weeping cherry tree. If you are in the area in spring, see the spectacular view of Miharu Takizakura.

And the final stop on my eight-day journey was the Hama-no-aji Domburiya (lit. bowls of rice with the taste of the beach) restaurant in the city of Iwaki. I wrote about it in the 13th installment of this series last year. So, I wanted to say thanks to the manager for her cooperation, albeit long overdue, and to try her recommended fried "mehikari" greeneye fish, a locally caught specialty. It was my first time to eat mehikari, and I thought it was somewhat like a meatier version of "shishamo" smelt -- a common fish on Japanese dining tables. Both fish taste great, but I prefer the meaty greeneye.

Not only traveling on my beloved machine, but also discovering new stuff, meeting a past interviewee, revisiting the Sanriku coast for the first time in a while felt glorious. These are some of the reasons I keep traveling. I cannot wait for my next motorcycle journey and hope you will stay tuned for my upcoming adventures.

(By Tatsuma Kasama, The Mainichi Staff Writer)

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Tatsuma Kasama is a Japan-born motorbikaholic. A high school encounter with the 1969 American road movie "Easy Rider" changed his life, as he fell madly in love with the motorcycles ridden by the hippie protagonists played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. His own past rides were a Yamaha Jog-Z, Yamaha DragStar Classic 400, Kawasaki Zephyr 400, and Harley-Davidson Street Bob. He is now the proud single dad to a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 114.

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