Gonō Line (Resort Shirakami)

The Resort Shirakami from Akita to Aomori, following the Gonō Line along the Sea of Japan below the Shirakami beech forests, then crossing the Tsugaru apple country.

The route

The Gonō Line is a 147.2 km single-track, non-electrified railway in northern Tōhoku, running from Higashi-Noshiro in Akita Prefecture to Kawabe in Aomori Prefecture. Its name joins the first characters of Goshogawara and Noshiro, two towns on the line. The Resort Shirakami runs over it as part of a longer trip from Akita to Aomori, using the Ōu Main Line at both ends, about 247.6 km in all.

The line was built from both ends at once. The state railway pushed north from Higashi-Noshiro from 1908 as the Noshiro Line, while the private Mutsu Railway built south-west from Kawabe from 1918. Section by section they edged along a coast with few flat places to lay track, and on 30 July 1936 the two met and the whole route took the name Gonō Line.

Local trains on the coast are sparse, and much of the line's traffic today is visitors. JR East began the Resort Shirakami in 1997 as an all-reserved rapid train with large windows, and now runs three trainsets named Aoike, Buna and Kumagera after a blue pond, the beech tree and the black woodpecker of the Shirakami forests. This video was filmed from the Buna set, a hybrid HB-E300 series train.

What you will see

From Akita the train heads north on the Ōu Main Line through rice country to Higashi-Noshiro, where it turns onto the Gonō Line. After a short pause at Noshiro the line runs out towards the coast, and from here the Sea of Japan is almost always on the left. Look for the low cliffs, rocky inlets and small fishing harbours that the track threads between, often just a few metres above the water.

Inland rise the mountains of Shirakami-Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its old-growth beech forest. Jūniko is the station for the Twelve Lakes, a cluster of ponds in the woods that includes the deep blue Aoike. Past WeSPa-Tsubakiyama and the harbour town of Fukaura the coast turns wilder, and at Senjōjiki look for the wide, flat rock terrace at the water's edge, where some trains stop so passengers can step out.

After Ajigasawa the railway leaves the sea and crosses the broad Tsugaru Plain to Goshogawara. Apple orchards close in around the track, and on a clear day the lone cone of Mount Iwaki stands over the plain. The Gonō Line ends at Kawabe, and the train runs on to Hirosaki, reverses, and finishes the trip on the Ōu Main Line to Aomori.

Riding it for real

The Resort Shirakami is run by JR East, with a few return trips a day between Akita and Aomori or Hirosaki. Every seat is reserved, so book ahead, especially in summer and the autumn leaf season. Rail passes such as the Japan Rail Pass and the JR East passes cover the train, but you still need a seat reservation, which can be made at JR ticket offices.

Ordinary local trains also run on the Gonō Line, though some stretches see only a handful a day, so it is worth planning stopovers at Jūniko or Fukaura with care. Check JR East for current timetables and fares before you travel.

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