Hi!
I’m here with my wife, on an urgent trip, will become free to travel on the 8th and want to come back on the 18th to Tokyo.
We can’t drive here, so public transport. Not a fan of flying, only when necessary. We have bigger luggage, not our usual backpacks, so we don’t want to move cities every day.
We love nature, tradition and food. Not into modern architecture, western food and tourist traps. Oh, and rock/metal, if anybody happens to know some underground happening in the dates/places.
So far the plan is something like this:
oct 8: travel to Yamagata, Zao onsen dairotenburo should have an evening bath on the 8th.
oct 9 and 10: Yamadera and Ginzan onsen, depending on how we feel each day.
oct 11: travel to Sendai, look around and chill.
oct 12 and 13: Matsushima bay, Geibikei gorge, Genbikei gorge, depending on how we feel
oct 14: travel further north. This is where i am stuck, we want to come back on the 18th, and go as far north as reasonable. currently thinking Aomori, with a daytrip to Hakodate, Hirosaki, maybe Hachinohe? Would love to see some autumn foliage, in nature or in old traditional looking places. Add an onsen in there somewhere, preferably outdoors and mixed gender.
Dont want to rush, taking it slow, and stroll around in places.
Please, give advice, never went further north than Nikko. Thank you.
7 comments
I‘ll also travel in Tohoku in late October.
First we base ourself in Sendai to see Sendai, Yamagata, Matsushima and Yamagata
Afterwards we‘ll going to Morioka via Hiraizumi/ Osawa Onsen
Morioka as a base to see Kakunodate and either Sanriku coast or Akita-Komagatake or Hachimantei depending on the weather.
Would have loved going to Lake Towada and Oirase stream but decided against it because it takes quite a time to get there by bus + they are infrequent.
Nyutu onsen was ofc completely booked 🙁
We just spent a night at Taenoyu Onsen (Nyuto), a couple days ago and had a great experience. Train then bus were easy (coming from Sendai). Mixed onsen meant we could hang out together. 30 min in the private onsen overlooking the water was also included.
Hey, I will be visiting Tohoku one week earlier, so I have some suggestions.
Consider visiting or staying in Kakunodate on your way north. The city is known for its preserved samurai district and seems to be quite pretty to walk around in as well.
You might also want to visit Lake Towada, there is hiking routes around the lake and the surrounding national park that should give you a perfect view of the fall foliage.
On your way down maybe take a route along the eastern coast, then you can visit Ofunato Bay and maybe stay in one of the coastal cities (like Kessennuma) for a night.
I’m pretty sure koyo is going to be very late this year so I’m not really sure if there is any where in Tohoku or southern Hokkaido which will have already started turning.
[This is the official forecast as of 9/4/23.](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/heres-the-official-2023-forecast-for-autumn-leaves-in-japan-090423)
I think you are just not going to see that much color, it’s so much warmer this year. While weather predictions made 10 days out are rarely super accurate, I’m still seeing lots of temperatures in the low 70s (22.7 to 23) for the next week in Iwate-ken, you need it cooler than that to get color.
I think to get to Osawa onsen without a car you need to be a guest to use their free shuttle. Dai and Matsukura might also offered mixed bathing, but again you will need to stay overnight to take the shuttle.
[https://www.kanko-hanamaki.ne.jp/en/spa/](https://www.kanko-hanamaki.ne.jp/en/spa/)
The Hanamaki group onsen are known for having standing onsens.
As mentioned Kakunodate is great for traditional looking places, but I don’t think there will be any koyo there during your dates.
Good luck!
Based in Sendai for a few days, I visited Matsushima Bay (they’ve got a JR train station right by it, Matsushima Kaigan). Since I didn’t take a boat, perhaps I missed the logic behind it being designated one of the top three views in Japan. Anyway, I’ve read that to truly enjoy that area, you need a car … since you aren’t renting one, perhaps either skip it, or take a boat?
OTOH, since you mentioned Japanese food as a priority, try out the seafood market in Shiogame. Never had a more delicious slice of maguro than at that place (it’s a bit of a walk from the JR train station, but totally worth it).
Also, highly recommend Yamadera. Infrequent trains, sure, but the local hearty food, plus short hike up to the Yamadera scenic area was tops. IIRC, the train was around 80+ minutes from Sendai station to Yamadera station.
If you’re in Aomori:
– Lake Towada and Oirase Gorge. Very easy to reach by bus and you can walk through oirase gorge to the lake and take the bus back.
– Sannai Maruyama if you’re into history
– the Nebuta museum next to Aomori station is a MUST VISIT imo
You won’t have meaningful fall foliage anywhere on your itinerary unless you go up to high altitudes (Hakkoda Ropeway etc.) or into Hokkaido – the places you are going to will not peak until late October / early November.
Here is the [JMA forecast](https://s.n-kishou.co.jp/w/sp/koyo/koyo_top.html) and here is the [Tenki forecast](https://tenki.jp/kouyou/expectation.html).
> Ginzan onsen
Public transportation is a pain and IMO not worth it without snow as that really adds to the atmosphere.