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
Photo: Rarisan / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival
15 to 16 February 2027
Akita · Snow and ice festival
© Rosino / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Hirosaki Neputa Matsuri
1 to 7 August 2027
Aomori · Lantern festival
Aomori Nebuta Matsuri
2 to 7 August 2027
Aomori · Lantern festival
© 秋田市 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Akita Kanto Matsuri
3 to 6 August 2027
Akita · Lantern festival
© 掬茶 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri
6 to 8 August 2027
Miyagi · Lantern festival
© KANSEI / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Omagari Fireworks
28 August 2027
Akita · Fireworks festival
Suggested Itineraries
Places to Visit in Tohoku
Michi-no-Eki Kisakata Nemu-no-Oka
A sea-view bath and sunset on the Akita coast
A roadside station on Route 7 right on the Sea of Japan in Kisakata. A fourth-floor hot-spring ba...
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...
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 ...
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....
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 ...
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 ...
Yagiyama Benyland
Sendai's hilltop amusement park, a subway ride from downtown
Tohoku's long-running city amusement park, open since 1968 on Yagiyama hill next to the zoo. Arou...
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 ...
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...