Tohoku stopover, before going to Sapporo

Hi all,

I am planning to use the Shinkansen to travel to Aomori and from there take other trains to Sapporo. Now I know the trip is long and would like to make a good stopover in Tohoku, however it seems hard to find something interesting. Sendai looks like an option but would prefer to cover a bit more distance on my first day of travel.

Any ideas / recommendations are welcome!

How much time do you want to spend/how much are you willing to travel from the shinkansen station?

An easy stop is Aomori, although the city center isn't all that close to the shinkansen station.

Where travel date?

Sendai is a nice Stop over - especially if you plan to visit Matsushima.

Another option is to stop at Ichinoseki and visit the nearby Hiraizumi.

Near Aomori is Hirosaki which is one of my favourite places in Tohoku.

Tohoku is one of my favourite places in Japan - so to me saying there does not seem much to do is like saying there is not much to do in Paris, London or New York :-)

Thank you for all the input!

I guess an our extra hour or so from a Shinkansen station would be fine - it's already a long trip so I am trying to minimize extra travel.

I'll be traveling at the end of April.

@mfedley, I just got that idea from the map but I would be more than happy to be proven otherwise. I would like more recommendations.

If the end of April, is recommended Hirosaki is.
In time of cherry tree, about 10 years from the year of August, Hirosaki Castle would enter the stone wall construction.
So, I recommend to watch this year.
I also recommend listening to Tsugaru shamisen.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3701.html