Things to Do in Tohoku, Japan

The rugged, uncrowded northeast: samurai towns, festivals, mountain onsen and deep autumn colour.

84 destinations across 6 prefectures

Festivals in Tohoku

Namahage Sedo Festival

12 to 14 February 2027

Akita · Fire festival

Photo: Rarisan / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival

15 to 16 February 2027

Akita · Snow and ice festival

Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri

16 April 2027 to 5 May 2027

Aomori · Festival

Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri

1 to 7 August 2027

Aomori · Lantern festival

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

2 to 7 August 2027

Aomori · Lantern festival

Akita Kanto Matsuri

3 to 6 August 2027

Akita · Lantern festival

Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri

5 to 7 August 2027

Yamagata · Dance festival

Sendai Tanabata Matsuri

6 to 8 August 2027

Miyagi · Lantern festival

Omagari Fireworks

28 August 2027

Akita · Fireworks festival

Suggested Itineraries

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Hitō: Japan's Hidden Hot Springs at the End of the Road

Hitō: Japan's Hidden Hot Springs at the End of the Road Hitō (秘湯) means "hidden hot spring". It is the onsen you reach only after a long mountain road, a forest trail or a boat, and very often i...

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Hikyo: Japan's Secluded, Hard-to-Reach Places and How to Get There

Hikyo: Japan's Secluded, Hard-to-Reach Places and How to Get There Hikyo (秘境) is the Japanese word for a remote, secluded place. The two characters mean something like "hidden region", and in Ja...

When Do Japan's Beaches Open in 2026? Swimming Season Dates by Region

When Do Japan's Beaches Open in 2026? Swimming Season Dates by Region Most Japanese beaches are only open for swimming during a fixed season. A beach holds an "umibiraki" (海開き), the official ope...

Places to Visit in Tohoku

Michi-no-eki

Iwate

Michi-no-Eki Shizukuishi Anekko

A hot spring stop on the Route 46 drive to Akita

The last big stop on Route 46 before the mountains to Akita. It has a day-use hot spring with an ...

Shizukuishi, Iwate, Japan

Historic Site World Heritage

Akita

Oyu Stone Circles

Two Late Jomon Rings of River Stones on a Terrace in Kazuno, Akita

Two rings of river stones built between about 2000 and 1500 BCE on a terrace above the Oyu River ...

Kazuno, Akita, Japan

Historic Site World Heritage

Aomori

Korekawa Site

Lacquered Jomon Combs and the Gassho Dogu: Hachinohe's Korekawa Site and the Museum Beside It

A Jomon site in the southern hills of Hachinohe, Aomori, where a waterlogged ritual deposit prese...

Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan

Michi-no-eki

Iwate

Michi-no-Eki Tono Kaze-no-Oka

Wind turbines, a valley view and the gateway to Tono

A hilltop station on Route 283 just off the Tono exit of the Kamaishi Expressway, marked by wind ...

Tono, Iwate, Japan

Landmark Hikyo

Aomori

Hotokegaura

White-Green Tuff Cliffs You Reach by Boat or 100 Metres of Stairs

About two kilometres of white and pale green tuff spires on the far west coast of the Shimokita P...

Sai, Aomori, Japan

Michi-no-eki

Fukushima

Michi-no-Eki Aizu Yugawa Aizubange

Aizu rice and vegetables in the middle of the basin

A farm market on Route 49 beside the Aga River, run jointly by Yugawa village and Aizubange town....

Yugawa, Fukushima, Japan

Michi-no-eki

Akita

Michi-no-Eki Oga

Oga Peninsula seafood beside the end of the Oga Line

Known as Ogare, this harborside station opened in 2018 a few minutes' walk from JR Oga Station. T...

Oga, Akita, Japan

Michi-no-eki

Aomori

Michi-no-Eki Shichinohe

Nagaimo, tomatoes and votive art by the Shinkansen

A Route 4 station a five-minute walk from Shichinohe-Towada Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen. It ...

Shichinohe, Aomori, Japan

Michi-no-eki

Miyagi

Michi-no-Eki Jobon-no-Sato

A hot-spring bath on Route 45 outside Ishinomaki

A roadside station with its own hot-spring bath, a few minutes off the Sanriku Expressway at Kaho...

Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan

Prefectures in Tohoku

Akita Aomori Fukushima Iwate Miyagi Yamagata

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