Not a Japan first timer but will be my first time in Tokyo and Tohoku. I’m leaving in a few days and here is what I’ve got so far in my itinerary. I’ll be traveling with both a friend and family so it’ll be a mix of activities:
**Day 01 April 10**
– Arrival at Narita airport
**Day 02 April 11**
– Whole Day at Disney Sea
**Day 03 April 12**
– Fujiyoshida tour
– Shibazakura Festival
– Tenku No Torii
**Day 04 April 13**
Will be using the 5-day JR East Tohoku pass
– Sendai
– Zuihoden
– Aoba Castle
– Ginzan Onsen
**Day 05 April 14**
– Jodogahama beach via the Sanriku Railway from Senda
**Day 06 April 15**
– Morioka City
– Kakunodate
**Day 07 April 16**
– Lake Towada
– Hirosaki cherry blossoms
– Aomori City
**Day 08 April 17**
– Nikko otw back to Tokyo
– Tokyo
Days 9 and 10 will be free days for me and my fam and no specific itinerary except for Teamlab for my nieces.
**Questions:**
1. I’d really like to see Cherry Blossoms since it’s already done in Tokyo by the time we get there. I’m looking at the forecast for Tohoku and hoping to catch them in Aomori. What do you guys think of the schedule?
2. Is stopping over Nikko before heading to Tokyo a good idea given that it’s 4 hours long train ride from Aomori?
3. Same question for the Sanriku railway. I’ve researched the trains and it takes hours to get from one point to the other. What would be the best way to do this?
4. How is Mt Fuji’s visibility during these dates,
Please tell me if my iti is crazy. I’m very much open to suggestions. It’s last minute planning but hoping I could get the itinerary ironed down this weekend.
![[Itinerary Check] - Kyoto / Osaka / Nagano / Tokyo](https://www.lonelyjapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AXh_dNTwgq-LtfwkV-_QI-CDuG_mO-D9TPCKT0OC_Kw-380x220.jpg)
2 comments
Hi!
This is not meant to be rude and is probably not what you want to hear.
On Day 4 are you planning to stay in Sendai or stay in Ginzan onsen? I think Ginzan onsen is going to take you a lot longer to reach from Sendai especially since you also want to see things in Sendai. Assuming you finish everything you want to do in Sendai by noon, you are not going to get to Oishida Station until closer to 3ish and then you have to take a bus 35 minutes to Ginzan onsen. I think you should scrap Ginzan and look for an onsen closer to Sendai.
on Day 5 if you are going from Ginzan onsen to Jodogahama beach it will take forever. From Sendai it takes forever as well because it’s a lot of infrequent local lines and transfers. Jodogahama is one of those areas that it is really best to visit by car. The fastest way to get there by public transport is going up to Morioka and transferring there for a non covered bus to Miyako, 90 minutes, where you then have to transfer to another bus to the beach. No matter what you need to transfer at Miyako, since it is the station closest to the beach. But this is just a really really long trip.
Day 7, if you are coming from Sendai is going to be really tough. If you’re going from Morioka it might be still a little challenging. I believe all buses to Towadako go out of Hachinohoe or Aomori. They take some time and they only run so often. They are fully covered. I did Oirase in 09 and took the bus from Aomori to the start of Oirase and then took the bus to Hachinohoe where I caught a train.
Day 8. Assuming you end in Aomori I think spending time in Nikko is going to be rough. Most trains from Shin-Aomori don’t stop at Utsunomiya so you will need to transfer in Sendai for a Yamabiko. You then need to go from Utsunomiya to Nikko. It just sounds like another long and exhausting day after several very long and exhausting days of a lot of travel. You don’t say how old your nieces are, but if they are under 13, I can’t imagine them enjoying days of just sitting on the train and traveling long distances to spend an hour someplace before turning around.
For your questions:
Here is the sakura Guide going by Japan Guide:
[https://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/](https://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/)
There are also late blooming varieties of sakura you should be able to see in Tokyo at Shinjuku Gyoen. It looks like you should hit Hirosaki and Kakunodate for peak or close to peak.
No, I don’t think going to Nikko is a good and I suspect it is a more than 4 hours train ride. If you get absolutely lucky you can get it down to 4 hours 20 minutes, but it is more likely to be 5 hours. I was just putting in some morning times, and you have to leave at 8:37 am to get to Nikko at 1:17. If you miss that train you are not leaving until 9:53 and getting in closer to 3:00 pm!
No one can predict Mt. Fuji’s visibility during these dates, just keep watching the weather forecasts.
Good luck!
You’re underestimating how big and spread out Tohoku is and trying to do too much in too short of a time. For example, here’s what I did using the 5 day pass.
– [Aomori/Akita: Cherry Blossoms and Samurai History using the 5-day JR East Tohoku Pass](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/nahtfk/chasing_cherry_blossoms_in_aomori_and_samurai/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
In your case I’d suggest:
– Day 1: Early Am train to [Sendai.](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5150.html)Explore Sendai city and perhaps Matsushima. Stay Sendai, 2 nights.
– Day 2: Day trip to [Yamadera.](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7940.html)
– Day 3: Train to Morioka, eat [Three Great Noodles.](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5050.html) *Maybe add in Hiraizumi* but truthfully I’d go straight to Aomori. Spend afternoon at Nebuta Museum. If overlapping with the illumination dates,go to Hirosaki to see it lit up at night. Spend night in Aomori city.
– Day 4: Morning Hirosaki to see cherry blossoms by day and train to Akita. Spend night Akita city.
– Day 5: Morning to Kakunodate, spend day enjoying cherry blossoms, samurai houses and at end of afternoon Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
To see all the things on your list in Tohoku you’d need a minimum of 7-10 days.