Driving from Aomori to Towadako in late April

We are travelling to Aomori on 23 April 2016 or the cherry blossom at Hirosaki. We plan to rent a car and drive to Towadako (Lake Towada) on 26 April, stay 2 nights at a hotel by the lake and back to Aomori on 28 April. We hope to drive around Oirase Stream and go to Mount Hakkoda while there. Will there be a problem driving? Will the road from Aomori to Lake Towada be covered in snow at that time of the year? What about the road around Oirase Stream?

Last year weather pattern around Sukayu Onsen and Hakkoda-san didn’t indicate any snowfall in April, but there was still accumulated snow on the ground. Drive carefully and it should be OK. With luck you can see a snow corridor enroute as we did when we drove up Hakkoda-san late April to early May in 2013.

http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/daily_a1.php?prec_no=31&...

Thank you very much. Will ordinary car tyres suffice or do we need snow tyres?

We managed without using snow tyres.

thanks

Three questions: 1) Which route do you take? Is it HYW 103 then 102? 2) How long does it take? 3) If you use a GPS what map code or postal code do you enter?
I tried to find directions on the web from Aomori to Lake Towada and they use HYW 102 that does not pass by MT Hakkoda or Oirase Stream. When I looked for directions to drive from Aomori to Towada Prince Hotel where we will be staying, the route recommended is totally different.
Would appreciate if you could answer my questions. Thank you.

Yes, from Aomori take Rte 103 followed by Rte 102 will let you pass through Hakkoda-san and Oirase Stream. As you can see from the following google map a straight drive is just about 2 hrs. But when we did it last Oct it took much longer as we made multiple stops enroute for the beautiful autumn foliage. We didn’t take the exact route when we drove up Hakkoda-san in spring of 2013 but do allow more time as there might still be snow on the road during the latter half of April around the Hakkioda-san area. Mapcode for the 休屋 car park next to Towada-ko boat pier is 612 302 741.

https://goo.gl/maps/uyXYA4PiVWL2

Thank you. You have been most helpful. By the way is 018-5501 the postal code of Lake Towada? What about o34-0301? I thought it is the postal code of Oirase Stream but on the google map it seems to indicate somewhere else. Appreciate if you could clarify this.

018-5501 is the postal code of the general area around Yasumiya in Towada-ko 十和田湖畔休屋.

Haven’t been there before but the postal code 034-0301 seems to indicate a large road-side rest stop (michi-no-eki) halfway between the town of Towada and the northern end of the Oirase Stream trail near Yakeyama 燒山. It is not enroute from Aomori to Oirase Stream/Towada-ko.
http://www.oirase.or.jp/roman/roman.htm

Note that postal code can cover a wide area related to the destination whereas mapcode is more precise pin-pointing specific location. We always go for mapcodes and only use phone nos and postal codes as back-up for the GPS.

If I enter the map code 612302741 on the GPS when I start the journey from Aomori, will it take me on the route (103 then 102) to Tawakado passing by Mt Hakkoda and Oirase Stream where we can make stops?

One way to ensure the GPS will guide you through Hakkoda-san and Oirase Stream on your way from Aomori to Towada-ko is to first enter the mapcode 704 522 612 of Sukayu Onsen which is located on Rte 103. From there if you key in the Towada-ko mapcode the guided route will pass through Oirase Stream.

Thank you very much. We will do that.