Suggest a destination in Tohoku?

Hi,

I'm planning a short trip to Tohoku in early November. We like train travel and won't be renting a car. We like the outdoors, food and Japanese culture. So far my itinerary is:
Tokyo -2 days
Nikko - 2 days
Sendai - 6 days (planning to use this as a base for day trips to Yamadera, Hiraizumi, Geibeiki, Matsushima, Naruko Gorge and perhaps Kakunodate)
???? (3 days)
Tokyo and fly home.
I'm looking for another destination where we could base ourselves for 2-3 days. I had thought of Aomori (interested in the Jomon site and Hirosaki).
What do you think? Would have any other suggestion? Any comments on my plan would be much appreciated.

The Nebuta Museum in Aomori is also really cool, and quite lively with the performances in the main hall. And there�fs a great food market next to it. There�fs also a giant Buddha in town.

Rather than making a day trip to Kakunodate, why no spend the rest of the four days in that area? You can make Lake Tazawa as your base and visit Nyuto Onsen, Dakigaerigorge and Kakunodate nearby. On the last day, you can go to Akita, ride the Resort Shirakami along the scenic Gono Line to Aomori and then the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

I just remembered that there's a onsen facing the ocean called Furofushi Onsen along the Resort Shirakami line. You can get off at Wespa Tsubakiyama station and if I'm not mistaken there'll be buses to Furofushi Onsen coinciding with the arrival of the Resort Shirakami trains.

I second the idea of Aomori, and also suggest Aizu Wakamatsu - two areas I really enjoyed in Tohoku.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7700.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3750.html

Thanks for those suggestions! I'll definitely look into them. I've just seen a video about the Gono Line. It looks amazing. Aizu looks interesting as well.

I like Sendai a lot (just had a brief holiday there this week), but six days is quite a stretch. You could visit Kakunodate on the way to Akita for an over-night and then take the Gono Line trhough to Aomori for 2 or three nights. Aomori is a nice base for the Nebuta Museum, Jomon site and for getting to Hirosaki. There are some other attractions in town too.

If going north to Aomori or Hachinohe worth a side trip is Towada-ko. It�fs best to spend a night there to fully enjoy the lake scenery and an onsen experience plus trekking beautiful Oirase Stream. It would even be better if the trip can be brought forward a bit as late Oct is general the right time for autumn foliage in that region.

If staying a couple of days in Aizu Wakamatsu day trips can be made to Kitakata for its ramen and historic kura storehouses. Nearby Inawashiro-ko also has beautiful lake scenery and is a good base for a visit to Bandai Kogen and Goshiki-numa. Another highly worthwhile side trip from Aizu Wakamatsu is Ouchijuku.

Thanks everyone for your excellent suggestions. Your help is much appreciated.

If you love hiking, I would recommend the Dewa sanzan, especially the Haguron san, the underrated 2446 stairs leading up Haguro-san is not to be missed.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7900.html
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7902.html

Hi!

Haguro-san is pretty fun.

I think.. if it were me, I might end my trip in Tokyo and start it by going North. That way you get to take advantage of the weather being slightly better at the start of your trip.

You could probably get away with doing a 5 day JR East Flex Pass and paying out of pocket for days you're not spending as much on trains or use buses. I took the bus between Yamagata and Tsuruoka because it was faster and timed better than the trains. The trip is quite lovely through the mountains as well.

One idea is:

Start in Sendai then from Yamadera continue onto Yamagata. Bus it to Tsuruoka and see Haguro-san, take the train up to Akita. From Akita you can either take the train all the way to Aomori and then work your way south, or cut over to Kakunodate and Tazawako via shinkansen. You could also just start in Aomori and work your way South. If you have the time, you can take the train from Koriyama to Aizu-Wakamatsu and from Aizu use one of the Tobu Passes to get down to Nikko and then use Tobu to get back to Tokyo.

There is a lot you can do, but I would definitely put Tohoku at the start of your trip and end in Nikko and Tokyo, or if you're hoping to catch some leaves in Nikko start there. Depending on where you are from, you can also take advantage of your jet lag since overall I would say early morning trains tend to have better times than mid-morning or early afternoon trains in Tohoku.

Enjoy!

That sounds like a great plan. I've costed the JR East pass + additional travel and that would definitely be more economical. Thanks!

Hi!

Some of your day trips/plans involve relatively cheap local trains. It's only 840 yen from Sendai to Yamadera and 240 more yen if you want to go to Yamagata from there. Matsushima is only about 410 yen each way from Sendai. It seems silly to use a rail pass day on either of those and if you don't mind the slightly slower Tobu trains from Nikko back to Tokyo you will save money there as well. There are a limited number of direct trains between Aizu Wakamatsu and the Nikko area, but if you plan it out, it is possible and again can be done for cheaper than Koriyama to Tokyo or Koriyama to Utsunomiya.

I love how the JR Tohoku Pass is flexible so it doesn't need to be used every day in a row. If you're taking the shinkansen in Tohoku it's a great value.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips on the passes!

I'm working through all your suggestions (so many great ideas!)

I'm having to make a few hard decisions between destinations - could I ask which of the following you would prefer if you had to choose?

I can choose two among the following: Kakunodate, Hirosaki, Hiraizumi, Geibeiki Gorge or Naruko Gorge.
Kakunodate looks lovely but would be harder to fit into my itinerary. I also wondered whether it would be possible to visit Hiraizumi and Geibeiki in the one day by public transport.