AomoriTravel

Tsugaru-Goshogawara Station (津軽五所川原駅)

Flow of the course

Previous stop: View a giant Tachineputa float about 23 meters tall from all angles along a spiral ramp

About 15 min from the previous stop

About 40 min here

About 80 min to the next stop

Next stop: Dazai Osamu's birthplace, a grand mansion built of Aomori hiba cypress and a nationally designated Important Cultural Property

About this spot

The starting station of the Tsugaru Railway, this retro station building, with its wooden ticket gate and hand-written signboards still intact, is a pilgrimage site for railway fans in its own right. The Tsugaru Railway is Honshu's northernmost privately owned railway, connecting Tsugaru-Goshogawara and Tsugaru-Nakazato over 20.7 km, and is known nationwide for its seasonal signature trains: the Stove Train in winter, the Wind Chime Train in summer, and the Bell Cricket Train in autumn. The old-fashioned hard cardboard tickets sold at the window also add to the sense of travel. Board the diesel railcar nicknamed Hashire Merosu (Run, Melos), and it's about a 20-minute ride to Kanagi. The rural scenery of the Tsugaru Plain stretches endlessly outside the window, and on a clear day you can also see the elegant form of Mount Iwaki. Sitting together as three generations, rattling along for that stretch of time, is the highlight of this course.

Tips

Located right next to JR Goshogawara Station on the Gono Line. The Tsugaru Railway doesn't accept transit IC cards, so bring cash. Trains run only about once every 1 to 2 hours, so check the departure time in advance and plan your schedule around it. The seasonal signature trains run only during limited periods, so check with the Tsugaru Railway for details.