Highland golf at the foot of the Hakkoda mountains

Towadako Kogen Golf Club lies about 600 metres up on natural terrain below the Hakkoda range, ten minutes from the hot-spring area at the edge of Lake Towada. Opened in July 1980 to a design by Akira Hotchi, it offers 27 holes across three nines, Minami Hakkoda, Oirase and Towadako, totalling 10,393 yards. Wide fairways and gentle undulations are narrowed by side bunkers, and large bent greens are the course's signature.

Cool summer fairways and blazing autumn colour, finished with a soak in milky-white spring water.

Spring brings lingering snow on the peaks, summer stays refreshingly cool, and autumn turns the hills to fire, with views toward Lake Towada, the Oirase Gorge and Mt. Hakkoda. After the round, the clubhouse baths are fed with cloudy-white natural hot-spring water from Saru-kura Onsen, a rarity for a Japanese golf club, and the men's bath looks out over a green. The club has its own lodge, and the season runs from spring to early November. Allow time to walk the Oirase Gorge, cruise Lake Towada or stay at nearby Sukayu Onsen; the course is about an hour from the Tohoku Expressway's Kuroishi IC and 70 minutes from Misawa Airport.