Japan · Areas

Tohoku

Six prefectures in northern Honshu. In summer the Nebuta, Kanto and Tanabata festivals follow one another, while Yamadera, the Oirase Stream and Nyuto Onsen invite you to slow down.

Prefectures · Aomori · Iwate · Miyagi · Akita · Yamagata · Fukushima

MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0

City guides

Start with a city

Every city guide has a timeline, stories of local figures, must-see sights, festivals and local etiquette.

仙台 Sendai

Sendai

2 places

The 'City of Trees' built by the One-Eyed Dragon, Date Masamune

Places to explore

Tohoku

Hirosaki, Aomori PrefectureHirosaki ParkAbout 2,600 cherry trees of 52 varieties surround the surviving castle keep and moats; petals falling to cover the water form "flower rafts" (hanaikada) — regarded as one of Japan's most representative cherry-blossom sites.

Trending spotMishima, Fukushima

Tadami Line · First Tadami River Bridge

A railway poem of snow country: the postcard view of a train crossing the Tadami River

Hidden gemTowada, Aomori

Oirase Stream

Fourteen kilometres of moss and waterfalls: a poem walked upstream through virgin forest

Hidden gemSemboku, Akita

Nyūtō Onsen

A tour of seven hot springs: milky secret baths under thatched roofs

Hidden gemIchinoseki, Iwate

Geibikei Gorge

In the boatman's song: a river trip through one of Japan's 100 landscapes

Hidden gemWhere Gunma, Fukushima and Niigata meet

Oze

Wetlands of skunk cabbage: walking the boardwalks into the birthplace of Japanese nature conservation

Ōmagari Station on the day of the fireworks competition

Fireworks festivalDaisen, Akita Prefecture

Ōmagari National Fireworks Competition

August 29, 2026

First among Japan's three great fireworks competitions, where the country's top fireworks makers compete side by side — with Japan's only 'dayti…

Summer festivalAomori

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

August 2 – 7, 2026

Eastern Japan's greatest night festival: giant warrior lanterns about 5 m tall and 9 m wide parade through the city centre to cries of 'Rassērā!…

Summer festivalAkita

Akita Kantō Matsuri

August 3 – 6, 2026

A balancing feat at one of Tōhoku's three great festivals: 'kantō' poles about 12 m long, weighing 50 kg and hung with 46 lanterns, are balanced…

Bamboo decorations at the Sendai Tanabata

Summer festivalSendai

Sendai Tanabata Matsuri

August 6 – 8, 2026

Japan's largest Tanabata festival: giant washi Tanabata decorations hang in the arcaded shopping streets stretching for kilometres from Sendai S…

Summer festivalGoshogawara

Goshogawara Tachineputa

August 4 – 8, 2026

The 'tallest' of Aomori's three great Nebuta festivals: giant three-dimensional lanterns about 23 m tall and weighing about 19 tonnes (about sev…

Hidden gemFukushima Prefecture · Aizuwakamatsu City

Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle (Tsuruga-jo)

Otemachi area, Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, now Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle (commonly Tsuruga-jo) Park; a flatland castle and one of Jap…

Classic landmarkYamagata Prefecture · Yonezawa City

Yonezawa (Uesugi Shrine and Yonezawa Castle Site)

Matsugasaki Park, the former Yonezawa Castle site, in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, with Uesugi Shrine inside; reachable on foot or by bus…

Classic landmarkYamagata Prefecture · Yamagata City

Yamadera (Risshaku-ji Temple)

Risshaku-ji, commonly Yamadera, in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture; about 7 minutes on foot from JR Yamadera Station on the Senzan Line.

Classic landmarkSendai, Miyagi

Zuihōden

The mausoleum of Date Masamune, the 'One-Eyed Dragon': colourful Momoyama-style buildings deep in a cedar forest.