Day trip to Kanazawa or Morioka in August

Hi everyone,

thank you for the information that has been provided on this website. It has already been very helpful.

I have a question regarding my trip to Japan from August 11th to August 18th. I know that it will be in middle of OBON. Nevertheless I am planing to make a couple of day trips from Tokyo via Shinkansen.

The ride on the Shinkansen itself is part of the reason for the trips. But I would like to explore some nice landscapes or cities as well. Would you recommend Kanazawa or Morioka as a destination? The route to Kanazawa might offer a very nice countryside with the mountains and the Japanese Sea. Morioka might be of interest because I asume that the north of the country differs more from the Tokyo area than Kanazawa does?

Having OBON in mind, should this effect my choice because one city/ route is more crowded than the other? The availability of restaurants and shops at the destination during OBON would be also interesting.

The exact date for the trip is also something that I have to decide. I think there will be 2 options: 16th (Sunday) or 17th (Monday). I have to mention though that I will travel to Kyoto the other day. Could you please make some suggestions on which day I should use for each trip?

Thank you for all tips
Cheers Dennis

Not sure why you're even considering Morioka, there's nothing really interesting there. Or do you have something specific in mind?

Yea, it's pretty much a no brainer to pick Kanazawa. Morioka is really just an entry point to other places. There's not much there of interest otherwise.

Perhaps its too late in the evening, But Morioka has its Funekko-Nagashi Festival on August 16. Id do that.
http://moriokafunekkonagashi.com/

I would go from Tokyo to Kanazawa (about 2-1/2 hrs.) by Shinkansen, then Limited Express to Kyoto (about 2 hrs), then back to Tokyo.