**Background**
* Repeated solo visitor to Japan; first time to Tohoku after being inspired by Abroad In Japan. (Chris if you’ve any KPIs to meet in bringing visitors, I’m one of the statistics)
* First time dealing with snow and ice.
* Unable to drive.
* Able to read and hold a basic conversation in Japanese.
**General itinerary**
* 4th-7th: Tokyo
* 8th: Tokyo to Yamagata, night in Zao Onsen
* 9th: Zao Onsen, night in Sendai
* 10th: Sendai
* 11th: Day trip to Iwate (including Geibikei Gorge)
* 12th: Transit via Kakunodate (Akita) using Akita Nairiku Railway. Night in Aomori
* 13th: Aomori
* 14th: Detour to Lake Tazawa, night in Sendai.
* 15th: Tokyo and home.
**General comments:**
* Tokyo was intended to be more relaxing to balance the tighter pacing of Tohoku.
* Many locations in Tohoku are spaced from each other in the ‘5 mins by car, 30 mins by foot’ zone and hence taxis were used to support travel between some of these locations.
* In addition, the public transport in Tohoku is infrequent which necessitated close planning to allow for seamless transfers. I had to also mentally prepare to drop certain locations if necessary.
* 0 English support outside major locations.
* Food places were either found through Tabelog or last-minute Google mapping. Very pleasantly surprised to find out that most places accept cashless payment now even in Tohoku.
**Detailed Breakdown**
**4th – 7th:**
*Key objectives and locations.*
I did not have a solid plan for the Tokyo leg except for meeting with a friend and catching the Waggaki Band New Year concert. (Sigh hiatus post 2024 sigh)
Trip reports and itineraries on Tokyo have already been written to death on this subreddit; a brief summary of visited food places will suffice.
* *Asakusayakushuba, 寿美屋ビル 3F 1 Chome-7-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032* : small franchise bar selling herbs infused alcohol. The taste was a little of a letdown despite the unconventionality of it.
* *Kamo and Negi らーめん 鴨to葱* 6 Chome-4-15 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0005 : Ramen bar specialising in duck and spring onion ramen. On the lighter side to allow to shine through Decent for the price, although there wasn’t a lot of meat. **Recommended.**
* *北丸 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Shinjuku, 4 Chome−1−13 田園新宿ビル 10F*: a rather generic restaurant I found last minute to meet some peeps on this subreddit. One of the fellow travelers liked the steak.
* *創作麺工房 鳴龍 Nakiryu Japan*, 〒170-0005 Tokyo, Toshima City, Minamiotsuka, 2 Chome−34−4 ＳＫＹ南大塚 １F: Michelin 1 star. went there 30 mins after opening and the queue was already 1 hour long. Ramen was on the heavier side. Was it good enough to queue for 1 hour in the cold? Maybe not. Was it good enough that I did not regret queueing for that damn 1 hour in the cold? Yes. **Recommended.**
* *Abbot’s Choice Roppongi アボットチョイス 六本木店* 〒106-0032 Tokyo, Minato City, Roppongi, 5 Chome−1−5 加藤ビル 2階: This place tried to replicate the feels of an English pub. They have some Japanese and international IPAs but not too specialised in it. They also have some cheap cocktails and amusingly, haggis that were tailored to the Japanese palate. English menu is available.
* *鬼金棒 2 Chome-10-9 Kajicho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0044* : Lived up to its reputation I feel. Not just plain spicy (which I find many JP dishes are stuck at) but having some layering to it. Faster moving queues than Nakiryu helped too. **Recommended.**
* *屋台屋 博多劇場新橋 2号店 3 Chome-14-3 Shinbashi, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0004*：they had some promo of gyoza, but only available to 2 pax or more. They served karashi renkon cold and soft and insisted there was no mistake although an offer was made to fry it. I had no idea why it differed from the one I ate in Kumamoto where it originated from, but it sucked. **Not recommended.**
* *A.S.A.B.（as soon as beerable) 2 Chome-11-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032*: Bartender speaks decent English; a hangout spot for foreign visitors and locals. **Recommended** for first time travelers.
*Side note*: I was trying to book a cocktail omakase at Gen Yamamoto. The owner requires a local number and rejected a proxy booking from a local friend and public payphone. Attempted a walk in but it was full. Arghhhhh.
​
**8th:**
*Key objectives and locations.*
* *Yamadera:* Took the first train to Yamagata. The local train from Yamagata to Yamadera runs about once/hour.
I think I got lucky as the snow completely melted in the past week and only started falling again in the past 24 hours. The result was that the area was beautifully coated in white without the stairs being excessively slippery or hidden by snow. My cheapass ice cleats died even before the climb but thankfully the snow boots alone had sufficed. There are also rubber boots available for free rental at the ticket booth.
In addition, Yamadera is part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage where a special Goshuuin can be bought and stamped. **Recommended.**
* *Nikko Whisky Distillery Tour*: I got lucky again as the day was a public holiday: special shuttle buses ran between Sakunami Station and the Distillery. While it was not a long ride between Yamadera and Sakunami, It would be 20 mins+ by foot otherwise, and I could never fit this in as the local buses are in 30 mins that do not match the local train I.e. there would be a lot of time spent waiting which I could not afford. It
The tour was ok-ish and conducted in Japanese. There are English audio recorders for Key areas but the amount of content significantly differed from the sharing by the Japanese guide. If catching the shuttle bus, the time allocated for tasting (you know, why everyone is there for) was rather short at only 20 mins. I wished I had more time for the paid tasting as well.
* *Zao Onsen*: arrived too late and spent too long at the public baths. Most dinner places were closed by then.
*Food*
* *瀧不動生蕎麦* 4359 Yamadera, Yamagata, 999-3301: a little tad off the station but well within a couple of minutes walk. The texture of the soba was fantastic. **Recommended**
**9th:**
*Key objectives and locations*
* *Zao Snow Monsters*: got lucky with having clear skies in the morning and rushed to see the snow monsters. There was already a queue at the gondola station for the first ride up at 8.30 am.
Note that some hotels can help to get the day pass at a discounted rate when booked early (by Nov). There are also free shuttle buses between key locations around the ropeway points.
The wind was terrifyingly biting at the summit; I thought my fingers were going to become the snow monsters. So beautiful though. **Strongly recommended**. (2 days of good weather for high-key locations, I was thinking then that I had used up my luck for the entire trip.)
* *Ski School:* one of my regrets of the trip, but not because of the quality of the school but because it was a tiring and expensive experience in learning that I have zero/negative aptitude in skiing.
There are no dedicated English lessons for any schools in Zao and some basic command of Japanese is a near must. The schools may have partnered with rental shops that offer a slight discount for equipment rental.
Spent the night at Sendai with a Couchsurfing host. Note that there is a special winter bus from Zao directly to Sendai that one can pre-booked. I took the Zao-Yamagata-Sendai route instead for flexibility.
10th:
*Key objectives and locations*
* *Arahama Elementary School Tsunami Museum*: my host drove me there. The museum by itself is nothing much as a sightseeing spot, but **strongly recommended** for the human stories it holds during the 311 Tsunami (esp poignant given the recent Noto Peninsula Earthquake). The beach is also a peaceful spot to just chill.
* *Matsushima Bay*: spent a tad too long with the host in the morning and decided to drop the boat tour. Took the longer way there via Matsushima station rather than Matsushima-Kaigan Station by mistake.
Basho was speechless when he saw Matsushima, and while I feel all the resorts around the bay had spoilt the scenery somewhat, it was certainly still beautiful, especially with the golden hue of the setting sun. **Recommended.**
* *Zuiganji:* part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage and only a couple of minutes walk from the Bay. The temple also has a museum attached. **Recommended**
​
*Food*
* *松島牡蠣小屋 MATSU* Fugendo-13-13 Matsushima, Miyagi District, Miyagi 981-0213, Japan. Passed by this place by chance. It offers oyster buffet and has oyster set meals at a decent price.
* 牛たん料理 閣 電力ビル店 〒980-0811 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Ichibancho, 3 Chome−7−1, D-Biru, 本館 B1F. Beef tongue is a Sendai specialty with a couple of competing names. I chose 阁 after looking through a few reviews. Good service; the beef tongue has a smokey flavour without the stink of beef. **Recommended.**
* *CRAFTSMAN Sendai* 〒980-0021 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Central, 2 Chome−2−38 フォーシーズン １階 Found it last minute via Google Maps. It has some locally made craft beers which I really enjoyed. **Recommended.**
**11th:**
*Key objectives and locations*
Activated the 5 Days JR Tohoku Rail Pass.
Today was jam-packed and a fair bit of research went in on making sure the transport timing fits. Ended up oversleeping a bit anyway. As a side note, the 711 beside my capsule hotel rejected my request to forward luggage via Yamato on the basis I don’t have a JP address. Since when it is a thing?
My planning considerations were that the train from Ichinoseki to Chusonji and Motsuji was a lot more frequent. Along with the fact that I could adjust my time spent at these 2 places more easily than the boat tour (can’t jump off the boat midway and swim to catch the train can I), I slotted the temple visits in the morning with a hard cut off time to head back to Ichinoseki.
* *Chusonji*: took a taxi there from Hiraizumi (810 yen) since I missed the local bus.
*Note:* the special Run Run Bus from Hiraizumi has been suspended.
The temple is part of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage and is on a steep hill. There are straw shoes from free rental under snow conditions (there weren’t any snow). The temple compound itself was free and ok-ish. The real stuff was in the paid section of the museum and Golden Hall exhibit. It is one of the few exhibitions I have seen in JP that made me go ‘woah’ as my first instinct. **Strongly recommended.**
* *Motsuji*: Took a taxi from Chusonji (810 yen) to save another 30 mins walk. There is a small booth by the foot of Chusonji that rents audio guides and can help to call a taxi. Lady doesn’t speak English, but there are signboards to facilitate body language communication.
The last of the 4 Temples Pilgrimage, Motsuji was considerably less impressive in the woah factor compared to its cousins. The central pond made for a nice walk though.
Nonetheless, I should have allocated more time at Chusonji and reduced the time for Motsuji. Walked back to Hiraizumi (700m, about 10-15 mins) for the next leg. *Note* also that food options are scarce around the area.
* *Geibikei Gorge boat ride*: in the past years, the area ought to be covered in snow but thanks to global warming/El Nino, the area was like my balding head. Still, relaxing in the boat with a warm sake in my hand was quite a mood.
The guide spoke in Japanese but could manage some English and even Chinese.
*Note* also the toilet at the turning spot is closed during winter.
*Food.*
* *小判寿司* 〒980-0811 Miyagi, Sendai, Aoba Ward, Ichibancho, 2 Chome−3−41 とりっこ文店. Sushi omakase and my first omakase experience. One of the top rankers on Tabelog. I made a booking via a freelance proxy. The shop has 0 English support. 10 courses with additional maki rolls, a local sake, and a beer for about 10k yen. **Strongly recommended.**
* まんげつ 2 Chome-3-30-59 Ichibancho, Aoba Ward, 980-0811. Stumbled upon it while looking for a drinking spot. Purely my personal opinion, but I will only **recommend** coming **if one can hold some basic Japanese conversations**. It is a small and quaint shop The owner operates on a loosely omakase home-cooked meal system, a bit similar to what is described in a Paolo video. If viewed strictly from the food/cost perspective, there are better options out there. The selling point is more of the cozy vibes and the chit-chats/interactions with the owner and fellow patrons, hence the need to be able to converse loosely.
**12th:**
*Key objectives and locations:*
The plan was to go Kakunodate, and transit to Odate via the scenic train of Akita Nairiku Line while taking a short detour to Utto Onsen Matagi-no-Yu for onsen and bear meat.
* *Kakunodate*: someone warned me about it being a dead town in winter and he’s right. I was attempting to reach a homestay inn that allows interaction with Akita dogs but after trudging for 20 mins in the snow, only to realised the place was closed till Spring. The only saving grace was the steeping sakura trees still looked pretty in the snow.
* *Akita Nairiku rail*: I would **recommend** this for people **only if** they have time to burn. The train cuts through snowy mountains and forests which make for good photo-ops.
*Note* also that JR pass holders can buy a day pass to allow getting on and off stations for free. In addition, there were formerly shared taxi services from Matsuba station to Lake Tazawa but had since been canceled. A single cab ride there will cost approx 6000 yen (I wrote in to ask after reading conflicting info), making the Tazawako station the remaining feasible entry point in winter for the budget-conscious.
The less-than-appealing thing about this line was that the snowy mountains do get boring after a while given it was a 2 hours + long journey.
* *Utto Onsen Matagi-no-Yu*. The staff at Kakunodate station can help to call the ryokan when buying the ticket for pick up vehicle at the Ani Matagi station based on the arrival times. The objective was to have a soak in their onsen (600 yen, 200 for towels, and 100 for lockers) and try their bear meat restaurant. 0 English support.
The onsen bit was nice, with an outdoor one overlooking the snowy fields. The disappointing bit was that the restaurant was not open for any orders; I had to resort to cup noodles from the souvenir shops. It was a mood-killer to spend 1.5 hours eating cup noodles (without a table) and scrolling on the phone because there was nothing else to do. I could have gone to the attached museum but was feeling too weary for it.
Furthermore, my next train leaving the station was delayed for 1 hour (due to the snow I think) despite my arriving 15 mins early as recommended by the ryokan staff. Ani Matagi station was an unmanned one with a small waiting room; I only caught some mumbling from the PA without ascertaining if the train was delayed or worse, canceled. By 1 hour’s wait I grew concerned enough to text a local contact to call the railway for info. Coincidentally, the train came right after he made the call.
The delay did mess up the next leg of the journey as the next train from Takanosu (ending station) to Odate only came in 1.5 hours (there was nothing around Takanosu). The hard cut-off would be the 9.03 pm train to Aomori and there was a restaurant I wanted to try at Odate that was 30 mins by footway. My stomach did the thinking and decided to risk it; I took a cab from Odate to the restaurant and walked back. I made the mistake of not asking the driver to wait for me at the shop at a designated time because 30 mins march with snow pelting my face was not fun. (Tropical kid, not much experience with snow remember).
*Food*
* *Akita Hinai Ya* 21 Omachi, Odate, Akita 017-0841: Recommended by a Redditor and risked being stranded in Odate for it. Thankfully, it was worth it. Good kiritanpo paired with local sakes. Most importantly, the turnaround was fast enough that I could return with time to spare.
**13th**
*Key objectives and locations*
The morning was still snowing heavily and hence I reduced my activities to rest and do laundry. Most places were within walking distance with a short day trip made to Hirosaki just to see the park.
* *Furukawa Fish Market*: Felt a tad touristy with their points for don system and repetitive stores. I suppose it satisfies any seafood cravings, however.
* *A-Factory*: a specialised retail shop in apple products. I am here only for the cider vending machine featured in Abroad In Japan. Picked up a couple of items to bribe colleagues for work coverage too.
* *Nebuta Museum WA RASSE*: **Recommended** for the detailed exhibits. There was a good bit of coverage on the history and past floats (the workmanship is amazing).
* *Hirosaki Castle:* the park was sorta dead due to the winter, but in exchange, it was peaceful and quiet which made for a nice stroll around. The keep was shifted to allow for renovation work.
*Food*
* *鳥ふじ* 1-9 Oyakatamachi, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8191: Thought it was a mom-and-pop shop and turned out to be a franchise. Went in right after opening and got a one-seater despite no reservations. Didn’t understand the handwritten signs (the writings were just too cursive) and omakase-d my way through. The chicken wings (tebasaki) were awesome. **Recommended.**
* *Aomori Brew Pub* 〒030-0803 Aomori, Yasukata, 1 Chome−5−11 ギャレスビル 2F: local craft beer which tasted good but not so awesome prices (245ml for about 800+yen I think). I left after one drink as I didn’t feel the vibes of being the sole customer. I suppose it could be a nice hang-out spot in a group.
* *Bar flat* 〒030-0803 Aomori, Yasukata, 1 Chome−11−10 大王プラザ 1F: Grandpa and Grandma bar. There was a group of ojisans chatting so I left after 1 quick drink.
* *灯* 1 Chome-11-23 Shinmachi, Aomori, 030-0801: Stumbled upon it as the menu outside showed they have a local sake I wanted to try. 0 English support. The food was a tad ex and small, but the quality made up for it. Tried to specialty of shellfish hotpot (heating a shellfish over an open flame with shellfish meat and egg in it). **Recommended.**
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14th
*Key objectives and locations*
* *Lake Tazawa*: I took a detour via shinkansen for the short bus tour around the lake, as I had ample time to kill since the Dontosai Festival in Sendai was all I wanted to see anyway. The sightseeing bus cost 1210 yen and only stopped for photo-ops for 20 and 10 mins respectively, which was pretty short considering the whole train took 1.5 hours, and longer if counting the train rides (I departed Aomori station on 7.30 am train and reached Sendai at 2.45 pm). I guess without driving, this would be the only way I get to see the lake. Splendid nonetheless.
* *Dontosai:* Held on the 14th of Jan every year, the shrine festival allows people to throw in past year decorations and any symbolic non-plastic items they want to get rid of. The crowds were stifling, the food expensive, but the shrine festival was nice to soak in. Helpful also that there were shuttle buses for 200 yen that returned directly to Sendai station. Disappointingly, I was strongly dissuaded from throwing people with burnt bridges with me inside. (I JEST)
​
*Food*
* *桃屋* 〒014-1201 Akita, Semboku, Tazawako Obonai, Mizushiri−７9: Found it via Google Maps while looking for lunch options around Tazawako station. The don was good and reasonably priced. **Recommended.**
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**Closing remarks**
By and large, I am glad that I could see the major stuff I wanted given the lack of private transport. I do wish that I had more time for something more leisurely rather than watching the clock.
by tryingmydarnest
