Hello JapanTravel,
now that borders are opening up again, we are planning to go on our 3 times postponed trip to Tohoku in mid to late April 2023. This would be my 5th trip, my parents’ 3rd trip, so we are trying to go to the less touristy spots as we covered them before. I really would like to see Hachinohe (with its Saturday morning market) and the area around Aomori. \
Plan is about 16 days from 15th of April until 2nd of May and included should be 3 nights at Zao Onsen, 5 nights in Sendai, 3 nights in Aomori: \
Arrive in Tokyo on 15th, stay the night if flight arrives past 7 or 8pm \
Tokyo -> Sendai on last train or early on 16th \
16-18: Sendai, activate JR Pass \
19: Matsushima day trip \
20: Morioka day trip \
21: Sendai -> Aomori, check into Hotel \
22: Hachinohe day trip: Saturday market with first train from Aomori\
23: Hakodate day trip \
24: Aomori -> Zao onsen, JR Pass ends \
24-27: Zao Onsen, Okama Crater \
27: Zao -> Tokyo \
27-02: Tokyo \
Now to our problem:
1. Will we be able to see the cherry blossoms in Tohoku during that time? Are there good/known spots?
2. I guess we should fit the Yamadera visit after Zao when we take the train to Tokyo, or we could take the Yamagata Shinkansen directly. In both cases we’d need to leave all our luggage at Yamadera station if possible.
3. How early should we arrive at the morning market in Hachinohe and is it still going on as lively?
4. Since the morning market fixes Hachinohe on a Saturday and we only get 1 week of JR Pass, how would we plan if we arrive on a different day? e.g. arrive on 17th, go to Zao, then Aomori?
