Hi there, I’m looking for advice and recommendations for my visit to Central Japan and Tohoku this coming November. Originally, this trip was intended to be slightly earlier for me to catch the Fall foliage, but things happened so I had to settle for it to be at the tail end of autumn colours.
This will be my fourth trip to Japan but my first time to Central Japan and the Tohoku region, thus I’m looking for suggestions on places to go – especially for the Nagano and Niigata part of the itinerary, which I feel currently lacks some direction. I travel primarily for the following, and would be grateful for recommendations along those lines:
* Autumn colours (I don’t expect to see much in Tohoku, though)
* Food, especially regional eats
* Nature and places of cultural significance
This itinerary is made by combining two regional passes, [JR East Nagano](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_nagano_niigata.html) and [JR East Tohoku](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_tohoku.html). I have not pre-purchased these passes yet, though I would like to focus on the areas covered by this pass. That also means this will be an entirely car-less itinerary, which I heard might be an issue for these two regions. I’ll be starting and ending at Tokyo for flights.
I’ve formulated the routes but most of my ‘to go places’ are sparse for Nagano. For Tohoku, I picked up suggestions mainly from the Abroad in Japan Youtube channel.
# Central Japan
* Day 0 – **Tokyo** – Late morning arrival. It’ll be a redeye flight, so I’m taking it slow, checking in my hotel, then re-visiting restaurants that I enjoyed last time.
* Day 1 – **Nagano** – Early departure via Shinkansen to Nagano City, where I’ll look to leave my luggage before starting a daytrip to Matsumoto. I’ll probably spend most of the day in Matsumoto, but I’m open to any sightseeing places for the Fall foliage that doesn’t require driving.
* Day 2 – **Nagano, Niigata** – My accomodation is very close to Zenkoji, so I’ll take the chance to do an early visit to avoid the crowds. From here, it’s either a daytrip for the Snow Monkey Park or I’ll be moving straight to Niigata. I’m not sure if the Monkey Park will be viable for this time of the season, however. I’m also interested in the Hokusai Museum at Obuse.
* Day 3 – **Niigata** – Sights that I’m interested in would be the city aquarium, Imayotsukasa Sake Brewery and the city history museum. I’m also open to roaming the districts (such as Furumachi), since I heard the city is great for walking and cycling.
* Day 4 – **Nikko** – I’ll leave for Nikko, which will be my transition between Central Japan and Tohoku. Depending on how fun Niigata was, I might spend half the day in Niigata before moving on. I’m be staying at Nikko to have earlier access to sights the day after. I’m thinking of using the area around Lake Chuzenji as a base and work my way around using tourism information in the area.
# Tohoku
* Day 5 – **Nikko, Aomori** – Morning sightseeing at Nikko before taking trains all the way to Aomori City. With the hours spent on transit, I’m not looking to do too much and will be treating this as a ‘slow day’. Maybe I’ll eat gyozas at Utsunomiya before taking the Shinkansen.
* Day 6 – **Aomori, Hirosaki** – Furukawa fish market to start off the day eating nokkedon. Then, a daytrip to Hirosaki for the castle. I heard the place also has quite a lot of cafes with their own style of apple pie, so I want to try a few. I’m also looking for a spot to have a good view of Mt. Iwaki, weather permitting.
* Day 7 – **Aomori, Hachinohe** – If I didn’t do it in the previous day, I’ll probably check out the city parks and the Nebuta museum. I might also do a daytrip out to Odate for Jidori chicken, but that’s up in the air for now, given that it’s a bit out of the way.
* Day 8 – **Hachinohe, Morioka, Sendai** – This will be a Sunday, which I hope to capitalise by visiting the local morning market that only opens on Sundays, and then viewing coastal sights at Ashigezaki tenbōdai Observatory. There doesn’t seem to be a nearby bus or train station, but I’m willing to walk for it. Then, travelling southwards, I’m looking at a teppanyaki that serves Maesawa beef at Morioka before moving on to Sendai, where I’ll stay for the next 2 nights.
* Day 9 – **Sendai, Matsushima** – Morning visit to Matsushima Bay for the famous view, and perhaps Ishinomaki to take a ferry for Cat Island. I’m a bit hesitant due to the limited ferry schedule, however. In Sendai itself, I’m definitely going to be trying gyutan and Sendai beef, though I don’t have any particular places in mind.
* Day 10 – **Sendai, Tokyo** – Yuriage Morning market, sushi at Shiogama, along with city sights such as Sendai Castle ruins and Shiogama Shrine. Depending on how much more time I want to spend in Sendai, I might stay here until evening, where I’ll make my way back to Tokyo.
The 2 days will be spent in Tokyo, where I’ll revisit favourite restaurants, shop, and perhaps go for a TeamLabs visit (for a friend, booking later this month). I’m considering a (re)visit to Mt. Takao for the autumn colours, but I’m not sure if I will be able to catch it, given that this would be the last 1-2 days of November.
2 comments
You won’t have meaningful fall colors anywhere outside of Tokyo among your destinations in mid-late November (maybe bits in Matsumoto city, but the city center proper isn’t really known for foliage). In fact the trip is occurring at one of the less visually appealing times of the year since the leaves have all fallen but there is not good snow cover yet.
> Nikko
It takes several hours to get from Niigata to Nikko (Lake Chuzenji) and then to Aomori so most of these two days will be spent on trains. If you must break up the trip do it in Akita, at least the train from Niigata goes by the coastal route which is less sensitive to ugliness from barren trees.
> Shiogama
Do shiogama on the same day you go to Matsushima rather than spreading it out over two days and wasting time going back and forth.
tldr if fall colors are the priority then you need to visit different destinations.
“Hachinohe, Morioka, Sendai – This will be a Sunday, which I hope to capitalise by visiting the local morning market that only opens on Sundays, and then viewing coastal sights at Ashigezaki tenbōdai Observatory. There doesn’t seem to be a nearby bus or train station, but I’m willing to walk for it.”
FYI, I spent a Sat. night in Hachinohe and caught a very early bus to the market (which only runs until 9). The market is HUGE and the food variety is incredible. From there, I walked to Mutsu-Minato Station where I took the train two stops to Same Station. From there, I walked the 1 km to Kabushima Shrine (well worth it) and then on to the Observatory and along the coast to the Tanesashi Coast Natural Lawn. The walk is spectacular. From the lawn, I took the train from Tanesashikaigan Station back to Hachinohe. An incredible day!