Miss Veedol・ミス・ビードル号

Miss Veedol. The first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. The airplane was flown by Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon on October 5, 1931. The duo started at Sabishiro Beach (Aomori prefecture) and landed at Wenatchee in Washington State, US after the 41h non-stop flight.

This wooden replica commemorates the place where the original plane took off in 1931 to arrive in North America after a 2-day flight. Apparently, this is the second wooden replica. The first one was destroyed during the 2011 tsunami. An actual replica of the plane can be found at the Misawa Aviation and Science Museum, only 10 minutes by car, right next to Misawa Airport. That replica was flown in the area multiple times shortly after the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake. The presence of Miss Vedool is very strong in the Misawa region, and the pioneer flight also contributed to Misawa City and Wenatchee City to become sister cities in 1981, exactly 50 years after the historic transpacific flight.

The Sabishiro Beach replica is reachable as a 15 minutes walk from the parking place near the main street, or alternatively can be reached directly by car. The wooden replica is situated behind the sand dune and right next to the Pacific Ocean. A tower has been built right next to it to get a view of the surroundings. From the top, one can see as far as Fukkoshi-eboshi 吹越烏帽子, a prominent mountain in the north, as well as Hashikami-dake 階上岳, the mountain watching over Hachinohe City 八戸市 in the south. There is also a larger area of concrete next to the sea, which is used by people to fly drones and other types of miniature planes.