Things to do in Tohoku cities at night

Hi there, will be travelling in Tohoku region for around 3 weeks in the coming days. More or less planned out itinerary already. Will mostly be doing day trips of out major cities like aomori/ hirosaki/ akita/ morioka/ sendai/ yamagata and be back in the city area by evening. Any recommendations on what we can do at night in those cities? Most places seem to close by 5/6pm. Thank you

I went to a Tsugaru Shamisen Izakaya in Hirosaki.
https://www.hirosaki-kanko.or.jp/edit.html?id=cat03_food06
Aomori also has a Tsugaru Shamisen Izakaya.
https://nebutanokunitakakyu.jp/
https://tabelog.com/aomori/A0201/A020101/2000517/
https://marutomisusan.jpn.com/isariya-tugaru/
https://r.gnavi.co.jp/3wp6g26f0000/
I drank sake at that time, but some shops have menus other than alcohol.
Since Sendai is a city, there are places where you can shop until around 21:00. The underground restaurant of S-PAL in front of the station was easy to enter even by myself.
https://www.sendai-aer.jp/
https://www.s-pal.jp/sendai/
https://www.loft.co.jp/shop_list/detail.php?shop_id=285
It might be nice to see the night view from Aeru, SS30, or Sendai Castle.
https://www.sendai-aer.com/about#terrace
https://yakei.jp/japan/spot.php?i=aobajyo
https://yakei.jp/japan/spot.php?i=ss30
I thought the Belgian beer shop in Sendai Mediatheque was good. This place is open until 19:00.
https://www.brussels.co.jp/posts/37897772
The place is different, but when I went to Kyoto, I watched movies at night, went to cafes where I could drink alcohol, and went to public baths. I think Japanese movies are difficult, but you can also watch English movies.
It may be difficult to get a ticket, but there is also a way to go to a live performance.
Depending on the season (before Christmas, etc.), some places are lit up, so it might be nice to take a walk.
https://illumi.walkerplus.com/ranking/ar0200/

In Akita, there is an izakaya where you can see Namahage.
https://marutomisuisan.jpn.com/nagaya-akita/
https://tabelog.com/akita/A0501/A050101/5000248/
Selion's observatory is open until 21:00.
http://www.selion-akita.com/
http://www.selion-akita.com/facility/
Akita station building
https://www.caoca.net/
The restaurant floor is open until 22:00.
(Excluding year-end and New Year holidays)
https://www.caoca.net/qa/
Morioka station building
https://fesan-jp.com/
https://fesan-jp.com/floor/
Yamagata station building (short business hours)
https://www.s-pal.jp/yamagata/
https://www.s-pal.jp/yamagata/floormap/
Yamagata Night Sightseeing Spots
https://play-life.jp/plans/16460
http://gotenzeki.co.jp/shop.html
https://www.kajocentral.com/

Jon, I wonder what your source of information is, because as far as I know, most dinner places don't even open until 5/6pm.

Typically in Japan, restaurants do tend to focus on lunch and close early in resort areas. Meanwhile in the cities, restaurants would open for lunch time, then close, and then re-open for dinner time. Due to the pandemic, a lot of places tend to close by 10pm (last order would be taken around 9:30pm), but you should be able to have plenty of options at 8pm. "Cafes" that serve only light meals would typically run straight from around 11am until they close at around 6pm.

I think he was more referring to locations or places to visit.

To be honest - it's normal for most places to close early (tourist wise) in cities that do not get thousands of tourists a day - such as Tokyo or Kyoto. I'm sure there are places - but I have gone to the movies in Tohoku at night during winter a long time ago.

If by "do" you mean sightseeing at night, in Yamagata the castle grounds are lit at night, as well as the Bunshokan for night photos.

In Sendai, the "Sendai Royal Park Hotel Garden Illuminations" have begun:
https://illumi.walkerplus.com/detail/ar0204e330666/

Most other illuminations don't seem to start until the end of the month (or beyond).