**TL;DR** – I’m looking for recommendations for the best places to visit in Tohoku.
Hi, I’m not sure whether to post this in questions or itineraries, so my apologies. I’m a teen who is returning to Japan with my dad in February. This is our second time visiting the country. We went at the same time last year and visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Takayama, and Hiroshima. We didn’t intend on returning so soon but got a decent deal on a flight from Atlanta. This year we only have 9 days, (2/17 to 2/25) and want to visit Hokkaido and Tohoku, while spending some more time in Tokyo. I’m mainly looking for ideas/things to do in the Tohoku Region. Right now we plan on staying in Sendai for 2 nights but we are still super early on in planning, and this is kind of just a rough draft, I don’t have much in terms of things to do yet. Here is the itinerary, followed by lots of questions.
**Itinerary:**
We picked Hokkaido and Tohoku because of its food, culture, nature, and history. I also love photography, and I really like snow. We also like the general lack of international visitors in the area. On our last trip, we decided to only spend 2 days in Tokyo because neither of us are really interested in anime/otaku-type stuff, but we ended up having a great in Tokyo, and now we want to have plenty of time to explore the greater Tokyo area.
2/17 – Sapporo – Arrive late in New Chitose – stay near Odori Park
2/18 – Sapporo/Otaru – take a day trip to Otaru and take it slow – miss the Light Path festival by one day 🙁 – stay near Odori park
2/19 – Sapporo/Jozankei – Beer museum, Susukino, Clock tower, Nijo market – stay at Jozankei onsen
2/20 – Sendai – Maybe stop in Hakodate, Aomori, or Morioka. – Spend the night in Sendai
2/21 – Sendai – maybe Matsushima, Zao, Yamadera, or Ginzan Onsen. – Spend the night in Sendai
2/22 – Nikko/Tokyo – Travel to Tokyo, while taking a detour in Nikko – Toshogu Shrine, Kegon Waterfall, maybe some nearby hiking – stay near Shinjuku Chuo Park.
2/23 – East Tokyo/Chiba – stay near Shinjuku Chuo Park.
2/24 – Kawasaki/Yokohama – stay near Shinjuku Chuo Park.
2/25 – Central/West Tokyo – Depart HND in the evening.
I’m sorry for how unfinished this is. I can’t decide on where to go in Tohoku and it’s keeping me from making progress in planning this trip.
**Notes/questions:**
\- With this outline, would it be a better idea to get the JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass (6 days, 35,000 yen), or the JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido Rail Pass (6 days, 30,000 yen)? What day should we activate it?
– Is it even worth visiting Otaru a day after the festival? How likely is it that some of it will still be going on?
– We also wanted to do a snowshoe tour near Nakayama Pass, maybe that instead of visiting Otaru because we would have more time in Sapporo, and it’s near Jozankei?
– I really need help figuring out what to do on the 20th and 21st. I’ve looked at all sorts of Tokoku sample itineraries and can’t make up my mind. I’d love some suggestions near the Hokkaido/Tohoku Shinkansen. (maybe Hokodate, Aomori, Morioka, Akita, or Fukushima). I’d probably like to visit Sendai and the surrounding area for maybe a day, but that’s all I’ve figured out. It sucks how little time we have.
– I didn’t include this in the itinerary because I felt it was a bad idea due to our lack of time, but do people actually visit Tashirojima Island? I think it would be a cool place to hike and take pictures (and cats obviously) but it’s really out of the way, even from Sendai, and I’d be too scared to miss the ferry.
-Would it be worth sacrificing a day in Tokyo, or Nikko for more time in Tohoku?
– Is this even a decent itinerary for a second-time traveler? Is there a better area to visit? maybe Gunma or Tochigi?
– I already have hotel reservations for every night, but they are all refundable or pay at property. (budget is about 20,000 Yen per night)
– I’ve taken 2.5 years of high school Japanese, so I know some basics for traveling
– This is a Reddit question, would it be acceptable to maybe post another itinerary check in a month or two once I have a fully completed itinerary?
– I intend on keeping everything pretty tightly scheduled (like restaurants, hikes, and specific places to visit, etc.) as last time I felt like we wasted way too much time.
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Thanks a lot for the help. I originally added my plans for Sendai in the itinerary section, but because I’m not very confident in my plans for those two days, I left it open.
I believe this post complies with all of the rules of this subreddit, but because of the whole rule against asking for people to “fill in the gaps” I’m not confident that it does. if it does not, please let me know so that I can edit or remove it quickly.
4 comments
Here are some suggestions for your Tohoku portion of the trip:
**Sendai (2 nights)**:
– Zao Fox Village – See Japan’s adorable foxes up close. This could combine with a trip to see the snow monsters on Mount Zao.
– Matsushima Bay – Considered one of the three most scenic views in Japan. Take a boat tour to see the pine tree-covered islands.
– Beef tongue restaurants – Sendai is famous for its melt-in-your-mouth gyutan (beef tongue).
– Night views of Aoba Castle ruins – Lit up beautifully at night.
– Sendai Mediatheque building – Very cool modern architecture.
**Day Trips from Sendai**:
– Yamadera Temple – Historic temple complex set on a forested mountainside. Great views.
– Akiu Onsen – Historic hot spring town with nice ryokan and public baths you can visit. Beautiful in the winter.
– Ginzan Onsen – Picturesque hot spring village that looks like an old Japanese painting.
**Other Tohoku Towns** (if you have time en route to Sendai or Tokyo):
– Kakunodate – Preserved samurai district with weeping cherry trees (will be bare in Feb though).
– Lake Tazawa – Deepest lake in Japan with nice hiking. Stop at Tamagawa Brewery.
– Nyuto Onsen – Secluded hot spring village tucked away in the mountains. Very atmospheric with nice hiking between baths.
I think focusing on Sendai and the surrounding area could make for a nice compact Tohoku portion. The key is not trying to cover too much ground given the limited time.
**JR Passes**: I’d recommend getting the JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass and activating it on 2/17 when you arrive. That covers your journey from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo. It also gives you flexibility to take the shinkansen if you do any day trips from Sendai.
**Otaru**: Even if the festival is over, Otaru can still be worth visiting for half a day just to wander along the canal, visit Otaru Music Box Museum, and eat some fresh sushi. But the snowshoe tour could be a great alternative option if you’d rather have more time in Sapporo.
**Tohoku Day Trips**: Places like Yamadera, Akiu Onsen, and Ginzan Onsen could all make for nice day trips from Sendai. Nyuto Onsen is further away but could work if you really want to visit an atmospheric onsen town.
**Tashirojima**: As beautiful as it looks, I would probably skip the cat island given the very limited time. It’s quite out of the way and you’d lose most of a day traveling there and back.
**Extra Day**: I might use an extra day in Tohoku if possible, either to visit another town like Kakunodate or Lake Tazawa, or just to slow the pace down. But Nikko and Tokyo also have a lot to offer.
**Itinerary Feedback**: Overall I think you have a good balance of destinations picked out. My main suggestion would be not packing the schedule too tightly on those Tohoku days. Leave room for flexibility and some wandering.
Let me know if any other questions come up!
i’m starting my 2019 vacation to japan, and i have to go to japan to catch a planeload of japanese drivers on a plane that’s entirely load – bearing. i’ve been trying my best, but i just can’t seem to get enough seamen.
I think you need to decide if you are going north or to Tokyo. 9 days isn’t a lot of time, and distances are quite long by train.
For example, if you are going to Sendai by train from Sapporo, that’s 6:30 right there. Flying makes a heck of a lot more sense. Unless you want to stop in Hakodate or other stops along the Tohoku Shinkansen I don’t think a rail pass makes much sense – just fly to Sendai from Chitose, get a normal Shinkansen ticket to Tokyo at the end. You can do that for well under 20k combined.
Re: Otaru – always worth a visit. The seaside is nice, the train to get there is nice, and it’s not far at all from Sapporo. Seafood there is superb.
As far as Tohoku cities go, Morioka > Sendai, though there’s more to see in the Sendai areas than Morioka if you are looking for scheduled experiences. Matsushima is great, Yamadera is also great but I would not want to climb those steps in winter. Yes, people do visit Tashirojima, and it’s visitable in the same day as Matsushima from Sendai.
If you are day tripping to Nikko, East Tokyo, and Yokohama from Tokyo, why stay in Shinjuku? Makes much more sense to stay around Ueno or Asakusa – you are directly connected to the trains to Nikko (Tobu is much better than JR for that), it’s one train to Yokohama, and you are already in East Tokyo.
You have a good plan. Recall that it’s going to be cold so you’ll want to mix in some indoor activities. Yamadera may be treacherous to climb on your dates. I’d also be concerned that a boat ride in Matsushima could be chilly. Aomori has a great indoor festival museum. I’d vote for Sendai over Morioka for more things to do and see. There are also more indoor areas for eating and shopping. Overall, you have good hub ideas in Sendai and Sapporo.