Tohoku, NOrthern Japan
April 2025
Whenever people contact you and ask where do you recommend for their upcoming trip to Japan (or indeed Thailand), they end up totally ignoring all the tips and detailed travel plans that you laid out for them. This seems to be a universal given for as long as I can remember. Starting with the minor, ‘Did you go to/stay at that great restaurant/hotel that I told you about?’ ‘No, what happened was…’ Thus begins the explanation of the many incidental reasons why they went nowhere near the place. It’s okay though, it is nothing personal (better conceal your disappointment), as everyone’s travel is like that with its twists and turns. Whatever you say about Japan, people will still join the crowds in Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Tokyo, then tell you endlessly about how packed it was. For Thailand they will head to Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai or Pai (depending how old they are) regardless of your prized insider knowledge revealing a treasure trove of hidden places.
So, on this occasion, scanning the map-length of Japan’s four islands (quest: avoid the crowds) my gaze alighted on the northern part of Honshu and places that I knew very little about (nothing about, actually). The second factor for Japan is always the season – November and autumn leaves, spring and cherry blossoms, winter and snow and summer to be filed under ‘humidity overload - forget it’. Being April it was a case of studying the Sakura bud-to blossom charts every time they were published and laying out an itinerary that led to being in a winning location somewhere for five days straight, in order to increase the chances of snaring the full bloom. Tohoku here I come.
Tohoku advertises itself as ‘Unseen Japan’ and regales you with tales of the Japan you were looking for in the first place, but just the you-you, not the one that is but a dot amongst the horde of dots. Looking at the names, only two registered anything: Miyagi and Fukushima from the 2011 tsunami. The rest didn’t cause much of a light to go on, not even a flicker. Time for some proper research. As always, the great temples, shrines and places of interest are so widely spread out that it will be a case of picking a three-day base somewhere and then working out how to connect to your targets. Without a car it will be a matter of interrogating bus and train schedules online and patiently building a plan while ditching the overambitious or time-constrained trips. So, the favoured bases became Yamagata, Morioka and Aomori in that order. All three appeared to be the centre of gravity when it came to plotting places of interest in their relative locations.
Drive or get the train? These are big distances, so the train suddenly takes a lead in your thinking. For one, travel by train is such a pleasure in Japan: efficient, clean, dependable and fast. And for two: lots of hotels are within walking distance of the main stations so you are not likely to be dragging your cases along pavements for miles on end or adding to the general expenses with rounds of taxis. Imagine the shock then when JR announced price increases in 2023. Not just price increases, but a hefty 70% hike on most Rail Passes. The announcement translated to English was so apologetic and reasonable that you were obliged, when reading it, to lift a thumbs-up to your screen whilst wiping away a tear. Very clever! The upshot is that you need to calculate carefully the cost of multiple stand-alone train trips vs a Pass. It is always marginal, but the Pass will win if there are longer distances to cover. Of course, there is also the convenience of not having to make repeat purchases at each station. Just don’t lose your Pass – they don’t issue replacements!
There is something warming and welcoming about the Japanese cityscape once you have lived there. It might be the uniformity, which strikes first time visitors as dull and uninspiring, but offers returnees the quality of familiarity and the projection of ‘all is well’ as it wraps itself around you. This, by the way, is in contrast to the likely grumbles when you actually lived in the suburbs. The catalogue of oft repeated first-world grievances probably contained notes of: ‘Nothing ever happens here,’ ‘Everyone is in bed by 8,’ ‘Boring, boring, nowhere to go...’ Whatever, it doesn’t matter which town you end up in, as soon as you walk out of the station you are greeted with familiar sights – no mystery and definitely no threats – perhaps it is the latter which is so reassuring.
And so, to the towns and places of interest.
YAMAGATA – On the face of it, the city lags behind in the lovely-stakes, but it is well situated for some wonderful trips out. Here are a few, with the late-April Sakura providing a perfect backdrop:
https://www.photoriente.com/yamagata.html
MORIOKA – There’s a much more pleasant vibe to this city. You might even look in an estate agent’s window out of curiosity (although, it must be said that such windows in Japan don’t offer much of a clue to a foreigner, just floor plans and indecipherable notes - you really need to visit the property). So, here are some of the key visits near to Morioka:
https://www.photoriente.com/morioka.html
AOMORI – Another in the non-glamorous line-up but well placed for some marvellous visits at the top end of the island. I’d imagine that it’s a tough place to be in winter, but those visiting would probably be headed for the slopes anyway. Aomori in spring does offer some spectacular days (and nights) out:
https://www.photoriente.com/aomori.html
For a round-up of the various trips and visits from the three home-bases above, check out this gallery of photos and observations:
https://www.photoriente.com/gallery-14.html
Where to next? It really does depend on the season; once that is pencilled in, you can start scrutinizing the map in earnest.
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