Planing a trip to Tohoku district

I am arriving in Tokyo on 16th -24 April 2010 ( 8 days)
soley to see the beautiful Sakura.
I guess this would be too late for Sakura viewing in Tokyo,
so I am going up north to the Tohoku district.
I am renting a car from Narita and drive.
Can anyone suggest a nice route for 8 days?
I am also stopping by Matsushima.
I don't know which town should I stay along the way?

Thanks,
Parry

I would suggest trying Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/

Click on "Get Directions" on the upper left side of the page. Enter "Narita, Japan" as "A", "Matsushima, Japan" as "B". Make sure the drop-down menu below the cities is "By car". Click on "Get Directions". This will show you several turn by turn routes using toll roads with the estimated driving times. (sometimes it defaults to Public Transit, which is by train, just click on the drop-down menu and select By Car again.)

If you do not want to drive toll roads, click on "Show Options" below the cities and check the "Avoid Tolls" box. Click on "Get Directions" again and it should show you several routes with times.

I would use this method for several cities. You may want to go to Yamadera and Zao Onsen from Matsushima. It's about a 2 1/2 to 4 hour drive. You can stay in Yamagata City if you wish.

Yamadera to akita is a little over 4 hours. Akita to Niigata is a 5 to 6 hour drive along the coast.

Niigata to Nikko is about a 5-6 hour drive over the mountains.

Of course these are all estimates. Looking at a Japanese language map site, traveling at 80 km/h it would take approximately 11 hours to get to Matsushima from Narita. It all depends on how fast you drive, what you stop to see, and whether or not you want to use the toll roads.

Have fun!!

Kitakami in Iwate might be in bloom towards the end of your trip, but the other famous cherry blossom spots of northern Tohoku will not be in bloom yet. However, most cities further south should have some nice cherry blossoms spots.

Dear geogeek1,
Thank you for your guidance of how to use google maps.
It is very exciting to know how to get directions within seconds
Dear Uji,
Thank you also for letting me know that during the middle of April Tohoku's blossoms will not be in bloom yet.

I am now working on the guidelines of the Cherry Blossoms forecast from Japan-guide.com during my visit and there are three places,
Kanazawa, Matsumoto and Sendai.

So I think maybe I am heading towards Kanazawa and I can also visit the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine route as well.
What do you think?

Thanks for your help
Parry

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

According to the above forecast, it seems to be good for cherry blossom in Kagazawa and Matsumoto during early to mid April.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is spectacular esp. if you can walk out to the mighty snow corridor. Note that once the access is opened in mid April, people will flock in and it can be pretty crowded.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7550.html

It should be a nice route going to Matsumoto from Kagazawa with an en-route visit to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. But the Alpine Route may take up a good part of a whole day. To be able to start early, ideally spend the night before in Toyama instead of Kagazawa. Bedding down in Matsumoto should not be a problem though.

You can check this page out. It has 6 routes about where you can visit in Tohoku.

http://tohokukanko.jp/english/model_trip/index.html