Day 23 - The Ancient Oyu Stone Circles, From Oyu To Yuze Onsen - Hot Springs Walking Tour Of Northern Japan
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Day 23 - The Ancient Oyu Stone Circles, From Oyu To Yuze Onsen - Hot Springs Walking Tour Of Northern Japan
We had an early breakfast at 7:30am in our Ryokan, and then walked about 5 km south to visit the Oyu Stone Circles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with an explanatory museum.
We were warmly welcomed and shown a movie about these mystical stone circles, before we toured the museum and learned more about the stone circles.
The museum has an excellent display of ancient tools, jewelry, and ceramic shards reconstructed into pots made by the ancient Jomun people, who inhabited this area beginning around 10,000 years ago.
The Jumon created a settlement here, and erected two large stone circles.
The actual stone circles are located right outside the museum building, so after we toured the museum, we walked around both stone circles.
Here is the description of the stone circles and their purpose:
Approximately 15,000 years ago, the whole planet was becoming warmer, the polar icecaps were melting, and sea levels were rising. This cut the Japanese islands off from the mainland and made them the s-shape they are today.
The warmer climate caused the sea levels to rise, peaking in the early Jomon period (approx. 7,000-5,000 years ago), so that the sea cut deep inland and created inlets rich with fish and shellfish.
The land also saw the formation of zones with conifer forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests, and evergreen forests, and the deciduous broad-leaved forests that cover much of eastern Japan were filled with not only a variety of animals but also vegetative foods like acorns, sweet chestnuts, and horse chestnuts.
Moreover, the invention of the bow and arrow and earthenware improved the technologies for acquiring food as well as for cooking and storing it.
As a result, the population grew in this area and the nomadic people who moved in search of seasonal foods settled down in this place.
They constructed these large-scale stone circles in the late Jomon period (approx. 4000 years ago).
The two main stone circles of the Oyu Stone Circles are made up of approximately 8,500 riverbed stones, of which around 65% are comprised of quartz diorite porphyrite.
It is thought that these stones were transported from the Oyu river located about 3 km from the site.
The quartz diorite porphyrite comes from Mt. Morosuke in the upper reaches of Akuya River, a tributary of the Oyu River.
The mountain is a columnar jointing, characterized by the same beautiful green as jade, and it is thought that the rock flaked away and the pieces became rounded as they traveled downstream, where those of appropriate size were selected.
Within the historic site, surveys thus far have found 17 circular stone arrangements, 14 stone-row arrangements, 12 standing-stone arrangements, 111 stone arrangements, 100 pillar-supported buildings, 16 pit dwellings, 298 flask shaped pits (storage holes), 487 pits, 66 pitfalls and many other arrangements.
Each type of arrangement was built in its own ideal location, in terms of wind direction, sun exposure, and drainage.
Sometimes the land was developed for this purpose.
These arrangements were built in the early and middle parts of the late Jomon period (approx. 4,000-3,500 years ago).
Massive labor was needed to build on a scale as large as the Oyu Stone Circles, but only sixteen pit dwellings have been found at the site.
This suggests that the Nonakado and Manza stone circles were built by people from a few (or a dozen) villages some distance away.
It is possible that the pit dwellings in the marginal areas to the north of the Manza stone circle were for people who were responsible for organizing festivals, or those who protected the circles.
The Jumon culture was one of the world’s earliest sedentary, pottery-making societies.
The spiritual purpose of the stone circles was not written down (the Jōmon had no writing system), but the evidence gives clear clues.
Here’s what’s known and believed:
The stone circles were built for rituals and as a communal gathering place.
Archaeologists agree that the stone circles were not graves or ordinary dwellings.
Instead, they seem to have been ceremonial grounds for the community — places where people gathered for seasonal rituals, feasts, or spiritual observances.
Excavations found clay figurines (dogū), stone tools, fire pits, and offering remains, all suggesting ritual use rather than daily life.
The Jōmon people likely held communal rites related to fertility, harvest, and the cycles of nature.
A unique Solar and cosmic alignment:
One of the most intriguing features of the Ōyu site is that the line between the two stone circles aligns with the sunset on the summer solstice.
This points strongly to a sun-worship or seasonal calendar function.
The Jōmon may have used the circles to mark solstices, equinoxes, or agricultural timing — watching the sun’s position to understand the changing seasons, essential for hunting, gathering, and plant cycles.
In spiritual terms, it would symbolize life, renewal, and the eternal rhythm of nature.
Fertility and life-cycle symbolism:
The circular form itself was sacred to many prehistoric cultures.
In Jōmon symbolism, circles and spirals often represent:
Continuity of life and death,
Female fertility and birth,
The cyclical nature of existence.
Some scholars interpret the paired circles at Ōyu as representing male and female, or heaven and earth, balancing energies that sustain life.
Ancestor veneration:
Some evidence suggests that ancestors were honored here.
Although few human remains have been found, ritual items and postholes suggest temporary structures or altars were set up.
The Jōmon may have believed their ancestors’ spirits remained in nature — in stones, trees, and rivers, and came together here to commune with those spirits through ceremony, dance, or fire rituals.
Spiritual landscape and harmony with nature:
The Ōyu circles were built on a terrace overlooking a river, surrounded by mountains — locations believed to hold spiritual power in Jōmon cosmology.
Stones were gathered from the nearby riverbed — symbolically linking the earth (stone) and water (river), uniting natural forces.
The setting itself would have been part of the ritual experience: a sacred open-air shrine, harmonizing people with the natural world.
This sacred place was not a temple in the modern sense, but an open-air sacred landscape where people connected with the cosmos, the sun, and the spirits of the land.
It was truly a powerful experience to be here.
We did have to continue walking to get to our destination, so we reluctantly left the stone circles, said our goodbyes to the lovely museum staff and walked away.
We passed by gardens filled with beautiful, brightly colored blooming flowers.
Ancient volcanic eruptions have resulted in a dark, rich soil that produces great fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Just a little farther down the road were apple orchards, and we could see several varieties of apples growing.
The number of apples growing on the trees, and the size of each apple, was almost hard to believe!
We stopped at a shop by one of the orchards to buy two big red apples, one with a sweet flavor and one with a more sour flavor.
We stopped about an hour later at another apple orchard to drink some delicious apple juice.
The apples at both orchards were of a size and quality that we just don’t see at home, even though Colorado is known for its apples.
The road after the apple orchards, as we approached the town of Kazuno, became less interesting.
It was lined with auto dealerships, car repair shops, big box retailers, and chain restaurants.
For the first time in many days, we saw convenience stores, but by now we were so used to not needing them, that we just walked by.
In Kazuno, we stopped for lunch at a casual Indian restaurant. They advertised online that they offered a soup curry dish, made with dal, which was really appealing to us, because soup curry is one of our favorite Japanese dishes, especially since it is almost always available as a vegetarian or vegan dish.
When we arrived at the empty restaurant, it turns out that the restaurant had recently changed owners, and the new owners didn’t offer soup curry.
But it had started to rain and we were hungry, so we sat to eat the usual Indian/Japanese lunch, a hot bowl of curry or Dal, with a freshly baked Nan Bread.
It was quite good, freshly made, well-seasoned, and the Nan was delicious.
From Kazuno near Hachimantai, we took a local train to Yuze Onsen, where our hot springs hotel is located.
Tomorrow morning we will return to Kazuno and continue walking south.
We got off the train in Yuze Onsen, and walked over to our hotel.
The town looked like an old Hollywood movie actor or actress who is not aging well.
Many buildings were falling apart, with overgrown vines covering the entrances to hotels that once were vibrant.
Yuze Onsen still has big, busy hot springs hotels, and our hotel is one of them.
We were given a spacious, comfortable Japanese style room.
Yuze onsen springs are known for being alkaline (around pH 9.0), making them gentle on sensitive skin, and are considered “beauty-enhancing" baths due to their high mineral content.
The water is very soft and gentle on the skin, even for those with sensitive skin.
The name "Yuze" comes from the springs gushing out from the river, and the area is a popular base for both relaxing and trekking in the scenic Yuze Gorge, located between Lake Towada and Hachimantai.
We were served a delicious dinner that had much less fish and many more vegetables than the usual- which was really a treat for us.
With love and kindness,
Tali
Walked today - 16 km.
Total walked to date - 350 km.
