Hi everyone! On the second half of March I plan to travel from Sendai to Tokyo. I will wake up on one city, very close to the train station, I and will check in on the other at noon. Both cities are quite covered already, but I was wondering what do to with that particular day.
My initial idea was to stop at Fukushima, as it is a well known spot after the incident and I felt it would be cool to be there, but I know the actual nuclear power plant is really far away from the city itself and that I can not be visited. I have also been told that the city itself has not a lot to do, so I eventually discarted it.
My second alternative was to stop at Koriyama and to visit Aizuwakamatsu and Lake Inawashiro, but connections are not that good and the area looks beautiful but not that touristic. Do you consider it is worth it to all that extra push (considering train tickets too) to visit it for half a day?
Third option is based on moving one day of the Tokyo initerary to here. I planned to visit Nikko, but as it means going back on the same direction I came from, I though of taking the train to Utsunomiya, visiting Nikko during the day and pushing to Tokyo by the night. That way I save some money and I get one extra day on the capital.
This is what I can think of right now, but I am more than happy to welcome any other idea for nice stops. Thank you so much as always!
9 comments
If you haven’t been to Nikko I recommend that first so the third option.
I liked Aizuwakamatsu and would like to get out there again sometime and check out the surrounding area, but not sure it’s worth all that extra travel and faff for half a day. Though, there is a (slow) train to Nikko from there, so if you’re going on to Nikko it might make sense.
An alternative idea might be Yamagata – it doesn’t actually get you any closer to Tokyo, but lots of nice hiking/temples in the surrounding mountains and it has a shinkansen for getting on to Tokyo.
Aizuwakamatsu is nice, but you have to count the extra time required to go. Things are also a bit spread out in the city, so even excluding the lake, you easily can spend a full day in the city. If you want to add anything in nature or a bit further away from the main station, you can easily spend 2-3 days in the area.
I once did the reversed, went to Nikko from Tokyo then onwards to Sendai. It worked out fine.
Another vote for Nikko!
Yamadera temple, about an hour from Sendai, you can get a direct train from Sendai train station. We were there 2 weeks ago, absolute highlight of our whole trip.
Not really between Tokyo and Sendai but I stayed one night in Matsushima and enjoyed it. It gets pretty packed during daytime with local tourists so it was quite nice to have the town in the morning and afternoons to ourselves. Also there are a few onsen hotels overlooking the bay.
I spent a day in the Fukushima area taking an organized tour of the areas affected by the tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster. I found it both informative and quite moving. Although I was unsure how I would feel, I ended up believing that I was honoring those who struggled and continue to struggle today from the events while injecting some needed funds into the local economy. The visit included a tour of an elementary school severely damaged by the tsunami (all children saved), abandoned areas from the nuclear contamination, and interaction with survivors who have returned to reclaim their communities.
like you planned : *taking the train to Utsunomiya, visiting Nikko during the day and pushing to Tokyo by the night. That way I save some money and I get one extra day on the capital.*