東 北 地 方 (T Ō H O K U)
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[Deutsche Version]
The region of Tohoku is the northern part of the Hoshu island and consists of the prefectures Fukushima, Yamagata, Miyagi, Iwate, Akita and Aomori. The border to Kanto is a east-west-line half way between Nikko and Koriyama. The prefecture of Niigate lies on the west coast and elongates up to Tsuruoka. Niigata is not part of Tohoku but of Chubu.
[I’m fan of japan-guide.com. This pic is a URL-link to the webpage]
The region is accessable by three Shinkansen lines that all start in Tokyo: The Tohoku Shinkansen is going up to Aomori in the North and there becomes the Hokkaido Shinkansen. In Fukushima the Yamagata Shinkansen seperates from the main line. In Morioka the Akita Shinkansen seperates.
- Tokyo – Shin-Aromori : 190-205 minutes (Hayabusa)
- Tokyo – Shinjo : 210-220 minutes
- Tokyo – Akita : 225-235 minutes
In Tohoku are several places that are worth a limit; e.g. Matsushima, Hiraizumi, Kakunodate. But many places are unknown to me. (Looks like I have a plan for 2018). For a first trip I recommend Kanto, Chubu and Kansai because there are big numbern. Tohoku is something for the second trip. Sum up (Rule: SHOULD is MUST if CAN):
- MUST VISIT: Matsushima, Kakunodate
- SHOULD: Sendai, Hiraizumi, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Yamadera
- can: Morioka, Kitakami
- skip it: Naruko (solange Schlucht geschlossen)
盛岡 : Morioka, Iwateken — can, 1 Tag
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Morioka has a few sightseeing spots: the castle ruins, a tree (Ishiwarikazura) that split a rock and is now a national treasure. The highlight is Hoon-ji, a temple that displays 500 small Buddha statues (and also Marco Polo and Kublai Khan). Nothing justifies a longer stay. Make Morioka a stop between to hotels. Exception: Cherry blossom.
仙台 : Sendai, Miyagiken — SHOULD, 1 Tag
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Sendai is a place to visit. With a good plan, discipline and the help of the Loopli-bus a visit of all important attractions is possible in one day: Zuihoden Mausoleum, Osaki Hachimangu und Rinno-ji. The castle ruins are optional. With Sendai as a base camp daytrips are possible to Hiraizumi, Kitakami and also Yamadera. Wakamatsu is a little bit to far away (I tried). Naruko is not worth a visit at the moment. The famous gorge is still closed (situation in 2016).
松島 : Matsushima, Miyagiken — MUST VISIT, 1 Tag
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The landscape is an eyecatcher. It is one of the three famous sceneries. Visit also the temples Zuigan-ji and Entsu-in. If you stay in Matsushima you can visit Sendai as a daytrip. But I recommend Sendai as a base camp because of its location at the Shinkansen line.
北上 : Kitakami, Iwateken — can, 1/2 Tag
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This place is interesting for its open-air museum that features old japanese houses from different eras. The Tenchichi-Park is a cherry blossom spot. Kitakami is a good stop-over because is it located at the shinkansen tracks. But if you don’t stop here you will not miss that much. THerefore is is a „can visit“.
平泉 : Hiraizumi, Iwateken — SHOULD, 1 Tag
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In Hiraizumi kann man fast einen ganzen Tag verbringen. Nahe am Bahnhof gibt es den Tempel Motsuji. Von hier aus gibt es einen netten Wanderweg den Berg hinauf und durch einen kleinen Wald zum weitläufigen Areal des Chusonji. Weitere Attraktionen sind etwas entfernt, aber machbar. Alternativ kann man versuchen, Kitakami zu besuchen. Für Hiraizumi muss man in Ichinoseki (2 Stationen) oder Kitakami (6 Stationen) vom Shinkansen in einen Local der Tohoku Main Line wechseln.
会津若松 : Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushimaken — SHOULD, 1 Tag
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Aizu-Wakamatsu can be reached by travelling over Koriyama (or Niigata, but this takes even more time). The local are travelling quite a time. If you are on a tight schedule, you have to takes this into consideration. Beside the castle — that is a beautiful cherry blossom spot by the way — the city offers an old samurai residence, a pagoda with a helix staircase inside. There is a bus between the sightseeing sports, so it is possible to cover all the major spots within a day.
角館 : Kakunodate, Akitaken — MUST VISIT, 1 Tag
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The old city center provides many old samurai houses along a street. Many of the places were converted into a museum or a craftsman shop or are open for visitors. You can easily spend a whole day here. You don’t need to hurry. The city is located between Morioka and Akita at the Akita Shinkansen Line. Note: Kakunodate is part of Semboku. Maybe this helps to google more information.
鳴子温泉 : Naruko Onsen, Miyagiken — skip it, 1 Tag
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Naruka is far away from every major travelling route and doesn’t offer that much: a gorge, a geyser and the „cold hell“. The 2,km long gorge is closed since a taifun in 2014. Naruko lost its main attraction. The cold hell is a short walking trail in a valley surrounded by trees. Boiling (!) Water is gushing from tiny springs left and right from the river.
The name Naruko is derived from naru koe no sato (鳴る声の郷) that translates to „place of the trembling sound“. The city is on the northern slope of a lava dome in the center of the caldera of the Naruko vulcano. The vulcano is labeled as „active“. The last eruption in 837 resulted in the name of the place and hot, boiling water running down the slopes for days.
山寺 : Yamadera, Yamagataken — SHOULD, 1/2 Tag
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Yamadera is a famous temple located in a town with the same name, that was founded 1100 years ago. The temple at the side and at the top of a steep mountain. 1000 steps leads up to the main hall. The temple is the only place that is interesting to visit in this town, beside a small museum. Considering the travel time the temple is only worth to be a day trip from Sendai or Yamagata.
My idea for Tohoku in 6 Days:
- (Day 0: Travel to Sendai)
- Day 1: Sendai
- Day 2: Matsushima (day trip)
- Day 3: Hiraizumi (daytrip)
- Day 4: Wechsel nach Morioka (and visit of Morioka)
- Day 5: Kakunodate (day trip)
- Day 6: Travel to the next hotel with stop-over in Kitakami
Not in the plan: Yamadera, Naruko und Aizu-Wakamatsu, and all places that I haven’t visited yet.
| am Shinkansen | an Hauptlinien | an Nebenstrecke | abseits (Bus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kakunodate * | Yamadera ** | Lake Towada * | Nyuto Onsen *** |
| Sendai | Aizu-Wakamatsu * | Bandai * | Dewa Sanzan ** |
| Kitakami | Matsushima * | Ochijuku * | Hachimantai * |
| Morioka | Hiraizumi * | Appi Kogen * | Shirikami Sanchi |
| Aomori | Hirosaki * | "Sanriku-Küste" * | Zao Onsen * |
| Fukushima | Naruko | Tono | Ginzan Onsen * |
| Akita | Ishinomaki | Shimokita Peninsula * | |
| Kaminoyama Onsen | Yokote | ||
| Yamagata | Tsuruoka | ||
| Iwaki |
There are also city mentioned in the map that are no sightseeing spots. These are transfer points between train lines.
- Koriyama (change here for Aizu-Wakamatsu)
- Ichinoseki (change here for Hiraizumi)
- Hachinohe
- Yamagata (change here for Yamadera)
- Shinjo (terminal of the Yamagata-Shinkansen)