Hi! I’m planning a trip to Aomori, Miyagi, Yamadera and Tokyo early November of this year and would appreciate your feedback, advice and any restaurant suggestions:
Day 1
Arrive in Aomori Airport at 9am – taxi to hotel near Aomori Station
1030am-1:30pm Fixed price taxi to/from Hakkoda Ropeway (lunch if theres a restaurant on top) – hoping to see fall colors
1:30pm-4pm A-factory, Nebuta museum
4:30pm Hirosaki – see the castle, autumn illumination and try the apple pies
Back to hotel in Aomori
Day 2 (taking public transportation)
8am – bus to Lake Towada hotel
12-1pm – bus to Ishigendo to start the 2.5hr walk of Oirase Gorge
4pm – cruise on lake towada
Back to hotel on Lake towada
Day 3
8am – bus from Lake Towada to Hachinohe Station (2.5hrs)
Activate JR East Tohoku Pass – shinkansen to Sendai
1:30pm arrive in Sendai
2:30pm – Matsushima bay, with autumn illumination in the temples and a cruise
Stay in Sendai for 3 nights
Try gyutan
Day 4
Chusonji temple in Hiraizumi
Geibikei Gorge in Ichinoseki
Anything i can add?
Try Morioka specialty noodles
Day 5
Yamadera temple
Zao ropeway / onsen (is this too much?)
Have dinner in Yamagata to try Yonezawa beef
Back to Sendai
Day 6
Free morning (anything i can add? Is it possible to take a sidetrip to Fukushima for on the way to Tokyo or see something nearby? We can leave Sendai early if taking a side trip to Fukushima or at 4pm or so if taking another half day trip in Miyagi)
Shinkansen to tokyo
Sleep in Tokyo for 2 nights