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Why Go?‘The rough sea, stretching out towards Sado, the Milky Way.’Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1689)
In the days of Matsuo Bashō, the famous travelling poet, a trip to Northern Honshū was synonymous with walking to the ends of the earth. Tōhoku (東北; literally ‘northeast’) is still very much the rugged north, a land of hulking volcanic massifs and remote hot springs, of ancient folk beliefs and unique customs born of centuries of isolation.
In a sense, nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed. In 2011, an enormous earthquake and tsunami destroyed a long stretch of coastline. The recovery effort, happening at both government and grassroots levels, faces huge challenges, but this shouldn’t stop you from visiting. The vast majority of Northern Honshū was spared sig-nificant damage and remains as attractive as ever to those seeking, as Bashō was, an off-the-beaten-track adventure.
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
When to Go
Dec–Feb Siberian cold, but great skiing and yukimiburo (snow viewing from an onsen).
Jun–Aug Mild summers come to life with spirited festivals and magnificent greenery.
Sep–Oct A brief but intense autumn is marked by spectacular displays of foliage.
F DNOSAJJMAMJ
Aomori°C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm
0
16/400
8/200
12/300
4/100
10/50
0/32
-10/14
30/86
40/104
20/68
Best Onsen¨¨ Tsuru-no-yu Onsen (p515)
¨¨ Aoni Onsen (p511)
¨¨ Sukayu Onsen (p506)
¨¨ Zaō Onsen (p527)
¨¨ Naruko Onsen (p492)
Best Hikes¨¨ Dewa Sanzan (p522)
¨¨ Hakkōda-san (p505)
¨¨ Akita Komaga-take (p513)
¨¨ Iwaki-san (p512)
¨¨ Oirase-gawa (p506)
Fukushima Prefecture ..477Sendai .......................483Matsushima ..............489Hiraizumi ..................494Tōno ..........................496Morioka .....................500Aomori ......................502Hakkōda-san ............505Towada-ko ................506Hirosaki .....................509Tazawa-ko ..................512Kakunodate ...............516Akita ...........................518Sado-ga-shima .........530
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
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0 50 km0 25 miles
Northern Honshū (Tōhoku) Highlights1 Following the footsteps of the yamabushi (mountain priests) through the sacred peaks of Dewa Sanzan (p522)
2 Soaking your worries away at rustic Nyūtō Onsen (p515), in the mountains above Tazawa-ko
3 Cycling through the Tōno Valley (p496), the land that time forgot
4 getting away from the mainland crush on Sado-ga-shima (p530), a former island of exile
5 experiencing one of Tōhoku’s legendary festivals, like the Tanabata Matsuri in Sendai (p483)
6 dodging ice-covered trees known as ‘ice monsters’ at Zaō Onsen (p527)
7 Making a pilgrimage to the mountaintop temples of Yamadera (p526), just as the poet Matsuo Bashō did
8 exploring the apocalyptic landscape of Ozore-san on the Shimokita Peninsula (p508)
9 reliving the glory of Hiraizumi (p494), the 11th-century Buddhist paradise on earth
a Traipsing around the verdant shores of Towada-ko (p506), Honshū’s largest crater lake
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