Northern Tohoku itinerary (December-January)

We’d like some advice on whether our itinerary (as shown below) would be too rushed or not. In particular we’ve read that some roads can be closed in winter due to heavy snow, so how much more travelling time should we allocate compared to, say, the estimated time shown on google maps or navitime?

We have a pretty wide range of interests, so everything from temples/historical stuff, nature, onsen and food would be on our list of stuff to do & see. I think our itinerary pretty much covers the main sights/places, but if there’s any other must-see or must-do stuff that we’ve missed out, it’d be great to hear any opinions.

|Day 1|Arrive at Sendai around 5pm|
|:-|:-|
|Day 2|Get rental car, Sendai – Chusonji – Oosawa Onsen|
|Day 3|Oosawa Onsen – Morioka – Jodogahama |
|Day 4|Jodogahama – Ryusendo – Hachinohe|
|Day 5|Hachinohe – Aomori|
|Day 6|Aomori – Oirase|
|Day 7|Oirase – Lake Tazawa – Nyuto Onsen|
|Day 8|Nyuto Onsen – Kakunodate – Akita|
|Day 9|Akita – Tsuruoka (Yunohama Onsen)|
|Day 10|Day trip to Dewa Sanzan|
|Day 11|Tsuruoka – Yamadera Temple – Zao Onsen|
|Day 12|Zao full day skiing|
|Day 13|Zao to Sendai, Return rental car|

1 comment
  1. I’ve been to most of these locations and honestly think that’s too much driving. I would recommend either dropping Aomori or one of the coasts. You can find more hidden gems in each of these prefectures.

    Thse regions are well equipped for blizzards, so I wouldn’t worry too much about road conditions.

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