Hi all! re. Tohoku region in the first 3 weeks of December, I have the following itinerary (still in the works). Would love some feedback/suggestions please, and thanks in advance!
Happy to include or leave out destinations if you think they are worth going to or not.
I have some questions:
Is this itinerary feasible and have we given enough days for each destination?
Should I skip Akita and Aomori altogether – I'm not really interested in temples/castles/Samurai districts as I have seen enough of them during my previous trips, and onsens are plenty. My main concern with Aomori is that it looks beautiful, although are those places difficult to get to by public transport and likely require a car and a hike in the snow?
Should I keep or swap out Appi Kogen for somewhere closer to Tokyo? Was thinking Nozawa onsen, or if there's anywhere else you guys could suggest that's en route for a few days of snowboarding.
Is there any way to rent a car in and for Fukushima continue driving it to Yamagata, and return the car before heading to our next destination? – Ideally if we have the car in Yamagata we will go to Ginzan onsen but if we can't get accommodation there or if it's too out of the way we'll leave out Ginzan onsen. Or should we just not bother with Ginzan since we're already going to Zao?
Is there anywhere more convenient to stay and base ourself in in Fukushima, as we are looking at staying in the city.
Will there be enough snowfall 2-3rd week of Dec to even see snow monsters in Zao?
Itinerary:
Tokyo
Sendai 2 days
– Shinkansen, 1.5hr $110
– D1: Zuihoden mausoleum, Sendai castle
– D2: Matsushima bay
Geibikei Gorge 1 day
– Local train from Sendai > Ichinoseki Stn 1hr $15, then local bus to Geibikei 30min $3
– Boat ride
Fukushima 3 days
– Local train from Ichinoseki – Fukushima 2hr $30
– Stay in Fukushima city ?vs somewhere else
- D1: Hanamiyama park, lizaka Onsen
- Local bus from Fukushima stn -> Hanamiya park (20mins, $2.60)
Return bus to Fukushima stn -> Izaka onsen (25min, $3.70)
D2: Lake Inawashiro, Goshiki-numa ponds
Car for convenience
1hr drive to Lake Inawashiro
1hr drive from there to Goshiki-numa ponds
1.5hr drive back to Fukushima
D3: Tsuchiyu onsen, Aizu-Miyashita
Car for convenience
30min drive to Tsuchiyu Onsen
1.5hr drive to Aizu-Miyashita
2hr drive back to Fukushima
Yamagata 2/3 days???
– Local train 1.5hr $15
– Stay in Yamagata city
D1: ? Yamadera temple
D2: Zao onsen, Zao fox village, ?Snow monsters and snowshoeing
Car for convenience
30min drive to Zao Onsen
45min drive to Zao Fox Village
1hr drive back to Yamagata city, or stay the night at Zao onsen
(D3: Ginzan onsen)
Car for convenience
1.5hr drive to Ginzan onsen
Stay in Ginzan onsen if possible
Akita 2 days
– Local train 3.5hr, $30
– D1: Kakunodate Samurai district, Senshu park
– D2: Nyuto onsen, Lake Tazawa
Aomori 2 days
– Local train 3.5hr, $30
– D1: Nebuta museum, Hakkoda mountains
– D2: Oirase Gorge
Appi Kogen – snowboarding
– Local train from Aomori – Morioka 2hr $30, then bus to Appi Kogen 1hr $15
Tokyo
– Day trips to Hakone / Nikko / Kamakura / Yokohama if time permits
by sugakick