In 1689, the haiku poet Matsuo Basho left his home on the banks of the Sumida River in Edo (present-day Tokyo) and set off northward. In the opening of Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), he wrote, ‘I have been tempted for a long time by the cloud‐moving wind – filled with a strong desire to wander.’
More than three centuries later, the vast lands of the Tohoku region continue to inspire the imaginations of travellers. Rugged coastlines, ancient forests and enduring traditions await, along with delicious local cuisine shaped by the rich bounty of land and sea.
Your journey begins among Tokyo’s glittering high-rise hotels and sophisticated restaurants, before venturing north to the gleaming apples, mossy forests and twangling shamisen of Aomori. While it took Basho several months to explore Tohoku on foot – and he never quite made it to Aomori – you can hop on a shinkansen in Tokyo and arrive at Shin-Aomori Station in around 3 hours.
To make the most of your time in Tokyo, the area around Shimbashi Station is an excellent place to stay. The stylish, spacious guest rooms and suites of The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Tokyo Shiodome make it a popular choice, offering sweeping views that are particularly impressive when the city’s lights sparkle after dark.
From the hotel, a short stroll takes you to the upscale shopping district of Ginza, with its luxury boutiques, historic department stores and gourmet restaurants. At Zen Punk Matcha, top-grade matcha is whisked by hand right before your eyes. The café’s speciality is its matcha latte, the perfect way to start your morning or while away a relaxing afternoon. To learn more about the history of tea, head to the nearby Ocha Culture Creation Museum, which includes dried tea blocks, early harvesting machinery, disposable ceramic tea bottles and much more.
For lunch with a view (and a glass of champagne), head to Mizuiro on the 46th floor of Caretta Shiodome. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide spectacular vistas out over Tokyo Bay and the menu features such Japanese specialities as sashimi, chawanmushi and sukiyaki – all served with an international twist. For dinner, the chic counter of Ginza Toriya Kou beckons, with chefs grilling prime cuts of chicken on skewers over high-grade Kishu Binchotan charcoal.
After dinner, take a taxi or ride the Yurikamome Line across the Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba, where you can watch the dancing waters of the Tokyo Aqua Symphony to a glittering background of city lights.
Another advantage of staying in Shimbashi is how close it is to Tokyo Station. There, you can board the Tohoku Shinkansen for a relaxing journey past rice fields, small cities and towering mountain ranges. If you arrive a bit peckish when you arrive 3 hours later in Aomori City, head straight for the Furukawa Fish Market for a bowl of Nokke-don. First, you purchase a strip of tickets and exchange one of them for rice, then peruse the aisles of enticing fresh seafood to select your preferred toppings. Aomori is best known for its prime cuts of tuna, as well as scallops, sea urchin and salmon.
The main highlight of the city is Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse, which showcases the annual Nebuta Festival. As well as exhibits explaining the festival’s history and traditions, the museum contains a large exhibition hall that houses the award-winning floats from that year. Often based on myths and folklore, these huge, dynamic, colourful constructions made mainly from washi paper and wire are propelled through the streets during the August festival, with winning entries floated around the bay on barges on the final day.
The name Wa Rasse is derived from ‘Rassera! Rassera!’ – a festival chant once used to request festival sake and candles, which were used to illuminate the floats from within. Sensibly, these have now been replaced by LED lights. Through its similarities to the Japanese word for laughter (warau) and the concept of wa (harmony), Wa Rasse also represents the festival’s ability to bring different people together.
Beyond the city limits, Aomori transforms into a landscape of rolling hills covered in orchards that grow the region’s famous apples, which ripen from late September to mid-November. One of the best ways to explore the apple orchards is a guided cycling tour with the local tour company BBB Outdoor Guides. This leisurely ride takes you into the heart of Aomori’s apple country, past the orchards of friendly local farmers and up to a secluded shrine with expansive views of the surrounding countryside and volcanic peak of Mt Iwaki.
For a picnic among the apple trees, head to Hirosaki City Apple Park. Served outdoors within the orchard, this delicious, healthy meal consists of dishes derived from local family recipes, including a broad range of fresh and fermented vegetables. Apple juice is available, as is cider from the on-site Kimori Cider Brewery. Kimori is the local tradition of leaving a single apple on each tree after the harvest as an offering to the deities of the orchard.
Just a short drive from Apple Park, the small community of Kuroishi is home to one of the best-preserved historic townscapes in the region. Walkways alongside Nakamachi Komise Street are covered with wooden eaves that date back to the 1600s. These were constructed by local shopkeepers to protect their customers from sun, rain and the heavy snowfalls of Tohoku’s long winters.
Along the street are several historic buildings, including the Takahashi residence, once home to a prosperous family of merchants, and the Narumi Sake Brewery, which has produced fine sake since 1806. Every August during the Kuroishi Neputa Festival, large festival floats are paraded through the town. At the Irodori workshop, you can craft an original lantern using washi paper recycled from the festival floats.
For accommodation, few things compare to a night at Hoshino Resorts Kai Tsugaru. From the water garden at its centre to the elegant simplicity of its beautifully appointed Japanese-style rooms to the sweet scent of apples bobbing in its outdoor onsen baths, staying there is an unforgettable experience. Dinner is a multicourse kaiseki meal featuring the best of the region, with an added option available that includes premium Oma tuna.
Every evening, a free Tsugaru shamisen performance is held in the lobby, with the instrument’s twangling strings accompanied by the rhythmic snap of the plectrum on its drum-like body. Guests can book special private sessions with performers to learn how to play.
Large forests of beech trees once covered much of Japan, particularly in the north. As the country industrialised through the 19th and 20th centuries, vast swathes of these forests were cut down and replaced with faster-growing coniferous trees like cedar and cypress. But in Shirakami Sanchi, a remote mountainous region that straddles the border of Akita and Aomori prefectures, a primeval beech forest survives to this day, the largest of its kind in East Asia.
Driving west from Hirosaki, the easiest access to this Unesco World Natural Heritage Site is via the Anmon Valley. Well-maintained hiking trails traverse the steep sides of a river gorge, en route to a series of dramatic waterfalls. High over the trails, the beech trees form a leafy canopy that intercepts and slows falling raindrops. On the ground, fallen beech leaves take years to fully decompose, creating a thick, soft layer underfoot. Beech roots grow laterally, intertwining with roots from neighbouring trees, which counteracts soil erosion.
Hiring a local guide is the best way to truly appreciate the natural wonders of Shirakami Sanchi. Along with in-depth explanations of the forest itself, guides can offer insights into local wildlife including black woodpeckers, golden eagles, Japanese serows and Asian black bears. You can also learn about the matagi, traditional hunters who once pursued deer and bear through these remote forests, armed with bows and spears. Very few matagi remain today, but those who continue to hunt still follow the rituals of their forefathers to honour the animals as divine gifts from the mountain goddess.
To relax after your hike, head back along the road to Bunaco in the village of Nishimeya. Housed in a repurposed former school, this handicrafts centre produces beautiful tableware and household items from beech wood. Rather than carving solid wood, the artisans trim thin slices of beech and coil these before pressing them into the desired shape using a ceramic tea cup. After watching the pros do it, try your hand at the craft yourself, shaping the supple wood into a memorable souvenir.
While you can return to Tokyo via Shin-Aomori Station, traversing the interior of Aomori prefecture makes for a scenic drive. When you reach the Pacific coast, be sure to head out to Kabushima Island for majestic ocean views from its hilltop shrine. Between March to August, thousands of black-tailed gulls make their nests in the area. Their calls sound like a feline meow, which is why they are known as umineko (‘sea cats’) in Japanese. If you visit during these months, be sure to take advantage of the free loaner umbrellas (you’ll thank us later).
From there, it’s a short drive to Hachinohe Station to board a shinkansen back to Tokyo. As your journey through the deep north of Japan draws to a close, remember the wise words of the great traveller Basho himself: ‘No sooner had the spring mist begun to rise over the field, than I yearned to be on the road again.’
For more information about visiting Tokyo, see Go Tokyo, the official Tokyo travel guide. For details on travelling in Aomori, visit Amazing Aomori. And if you’d like to book a tour of the Tohoku region, check out HIS Discover Tohoku Tours.