Visit Tohoku
The natural paradise
Tohoku (東北地方), a region of Japan’s Honshu Island, is known for its volcanoes, mountainous terrain and skiing.
Traditionally a poor rural backwater with a harsh climate, today’s Tohoku offers the traveler some of the best scenery in Japan.
With Japan’s longest Ou Mountain Range as the border, the Tohoku region is divided into the Pacific coast area, the Japan Sea coast area, and the Sanriku area.
In winter, the Snow Country (Yukiguni) of the western Japan Sea coast racks up some of the highest snowfall figures in the world, which also means great skiing and lots of hot springs to warm up in.
Tohoku also has many castles and samurai residences, making it a good place to take in some history.
With some of the best nature and scenery in all of Japan, it also serves as a good backup plan for cherry blossom viewing, since the trees blossom a few weeks later here than they do in Tokyo/Kyoto.
The Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, one of Japan’s most colorful and spectacular summer festival.