Region guide

Tohoku

Six quiet northern prefectures of mountain onsen, big summer festivals, autumn colour and snowy villages, with far fewer crowds than Tokyo or Kyoto.

prefectures: 6
town guides: 7
places to see: 172

Map of Tohoku

Tap a prefecture for its guide.

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Prefectures in Tohoku

Pick a prefecture for its guide, or jump straight to a town.

Aomori青森県18 places to seeJapan's apple country at the northern tip of Honshu, home of the Nebuta festival, Lake Towada, the Oirase stream and Hirosaki's castle cherry trees.
Iwate岩手県27 places to see · 1 town guideA large, green prefecture of mountains and rugged coast, with the temples of Hiraizumi, the city of Morioka and wanko soba noodle feasts.
- Oshu
Miyagi宮城県27 places to see · 1 town guideHome of Sendai, Tohoku's biggest city, plus the pine islands of Matsushima Bay, Zao's snow monsters and plenty of grilled beef tongue.
- Aoba Ward, Sendai
Akita秋田県27 places to see · 1 town guideSnowy northern prefecture of samurai houses in Kakunodate, the remote Nyuto Onsen, Lake Tazawa and the original Akita dogs.
- Akita
Yamagata山形県23 places to see · 1 town guideMountain prefecture of Ginzan Onsen's lamp-lit street, Zao's frosted 'snow monster' trees, the cliff temple of Yamadera and sweet cherries in early summer.
- Tsuruoka
Fukushima福島県50 places to see · 3 town guidesTohoku's southern gateway, with the samurai town of Aizu-Wakamatsu, the thatched post town of Ouchi-juku and the lakes of Bandai.

Good to know

The Tohoku Shinkansen links Tokyo with Sendai, Morioka and Aomori, so a city base plus day trips works well.
Early August is festival season, with Aomori Nebuta, Akita Kanto and Sendai Tanabata. Book rooms early.
Autumn leaves start in the mountains in October, earlier than in Tokyo or Kyoto.

Other regions of Japan

Sources

We checked the facts on this page against these sources.

WikipediaTōhoku region (opens in a new tab)