Welcome to Northern Honshū
Stretching out above Tokyo is the fabled Tōhoku (東北; Northeast) – starring Miyagi, Yamagata, Iwate, Fukushima, Akita and Aomori prefectures – where ice monsters and river imps inhabit the imagination (but hopefully not the onsen). Hugging the west coast is Niigata Prefecture, a skiing and hiking wonderland that also includes the rugged and remote island of Sado-ga-shima.
Top experiences in Northern Honshū
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Northern Honshū activities
2-Day Matsushima Historical Tour with Homestay and Fishing
Day 1 [D]:10:00am - Meet your guide at Hon-Shiogama Station in Shiogama-city.10:10am - Visit a local green tea shop to learn about local green tea culture and experience green tea tasting.11am - Go to a famous sake brewery. Learn about the sake manufacturing process and enjoy sake tasting. (If you are traveling on Sunday, the sake brewery is closed and you will be taken on a short sightseeing boat ride in Matsushima Bay instead.)12:30pm - Lunch1:30pm - Tea ceremony and walking tour in Matsushima Tea ceremony will be held at this property, which is not open to the public. Enjoy VIP access to a private tea room with beautiful traditional Japanese wall paintings. Later, a walking tourtakes you to some of the most popular attractions in Matsushima, including the Zuiganji Temple (National Treasure and Important Cultural Property), Godaido Temple (Important Cultural Property), Entsuin Temple and, if time allows, the Pine Tree of Saigyo Modish.4:30pm - Transfer to the accommodation.5:30pm - Check in to the accommodation and relax. In the evening, enjoy a local style dinner with your host family. Learn the fascinating history as well as local lifestyle of Matsushima.Day 2 [B, L]:8am - Enjoy breakfast9am - Local fishery experience with English translation support. Be a local Japanese fisherman for three hours and learn some secret tips from your guide.12:30pm - Seafood BBQ lunch. Learn more about local fisherman's daily lives while enjoying the freshest seafood BBQ. After lunch, you will be transferred back to Nobiru Station for your onward journey.
Private Cherry Blossom Tour in Hirosaki with a Local Guide
After leaving the designated departure location, the tour will start by heading to the southern part of Hirosaki Park. Hirosaki was once famous for having the castle of the Tsugaru clan, but during the Meiji era, it became also known for its western-style buildings.Aside from the natural sites, you will also tour sites where, historically, foreign teachers had come and learn about their teachings. It is here that Christianity was originally promoted in Japan. Western culture can be further seen in the European building styles on display. This unique style was born from the cultural enlightenment that Japan experienced during this time.After exploring the mansions and other structures, you will enjoy the main event of the tour, the cherry blossoms in Hirosaki Park. The blossoms are scattered across various places in Hirosaki Park and visited by two million people each cherry blossom season. Your guide will take you through the trees, stopping at the breathtaking vantage points.After the cherry blossom viewing, you will visit the merchant and samurai houses from the Edo period that remain in the northern part of the Hirosaki park. The attractions in this area are said to have been built 250 years or more ago by a wealthy merchant. You can still go in this building, known as "Ishiba's Residence," and see a merchant's home and shop from a long, long time ago. The store has the appearance of a high-class establishment, but with a dirt floor and feelings of history of the time that has gone by.Towards the end of the tour, you will visit the Tsugaruhan Neputa village. Here, at the Hirosaki Neputa exhibition, you’ll see demonstrations and get to experience the Tsugaru people’s crafts, live music and more, such as the Tsugaru shamisen. An all-around enjoyable experience of traditional culture of the Tsugaru people.Finally, you’ll have a light snack and discuss all the things you’ve experienced during your charming day in Hirosaki.
Spirit of Japanese Sake in Shiogama
■ Schedule 10:00 Meet at Hon-Shiogama Station (JR Senseki Line) 10:10 Start of tour 10:30 Walking tour of town area around Shiogama Shrine. Visit/pray at shrine. 11:20 Sake appreciation lecture (40 minutes / 12:00) 1)The history and culture of Japanese sake (connections with shrine etc.) 2)How to best enjoy drinking sake 12:10 Sake tasting and shopping at Urakasumi Sake Brewery Saura Co. Ltd 12:50 Sake and sushi pairing 13:40 End of tour ■ What’s Included Sake tasting fee Sake appreciation lecture participation fee Walking tour fee Lunch (sushi & one drink) Insurance Fee Local Guide & English Interpreter ■ Not included Any additional meals and drinks
Private Kitakata Cultural Tour
At about 11:20am, meet your guide at the Kitakata Station and begin your tour to various religious sites in Kitakata, including Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Visit saka gura, founded during the Edo period. Here you will learn how sake is brewed, and are welcome to taste the different sake they brew (own expense).Have free time for lunch and enjoy ramen noodles, or local gourmet food cooked locally at a restaurant with a traditional atmosphere (own expense). Then, visit a Shinto shrine with a sacred gingko tree of over 600-years-old. This is one of Japan's sacred sites of Kumano Sanzan, Kumano's three major shrines. The shrine used to be worshiped by local samurai as a guardian god. It was also a place for Shugendo, for practitioners of austerity. The repository of the shrine is open for public.Next, stop by a historic Buddhist temple located on a cliffside. Explore one of the largest Buddharupa in Japan, measuring about 26 feet (8 meters) in length. It is carved out of a piece of wood. At there is a sacred pillar called Dakitsuki bashira. Hug the pillar and make a wish.Take a break and relax at a wagashi sweet shop. At the end of your tour, you will return to Kitakata Station at about 5:30pm.
Kitakata Ramen and Local Sake Tasting with a Local Guide
Kitakata is a small town located in the Tohoku region of northern Japan and is home to one of Japan's Three Greatest Ramen noodles, Kitakata ramen. With roughly 120 ramen shops in town, Kitakata has the highest ramen shop-per-person ratio in all of Japan and is known as a ramen town. You can eat ramen any time of the day. Some shops even open from 7am for "Asa-Ra," a unique custom of the region: "Morning ramen" or "Ramen for breakfast." Besides the ramen noodles, Kitakata is also well known for their kura, or traditional storehouse style buildings and is nicknamed as "Kura no Machi" or a town of the kura. Kitakata has long been known as the center of sake (rice wine) brewing and miso (soybean paste) production. Kura, able to maintain a stable temperature and humidity throughout the year, were built to store and preserve the products. At the present day in Kitakata, there are over 4,000 KURA built all over the town.Itinerary:11:20am - Meet your guide at Kitakata Station and then visit the first sake brewery (saka gura) with the tradition and elegance of the Edo-period. Founded over 200 years ago in Edo period, this is a saka gura with history. The key to their highly-valued sake is the water from the subterranean river. Then enjoy Kitakata ramen noodles or a lunch of a locally-sourced meal at a traditional restaurant.After lunch, visit a kura yashiki of successful merchants who have built their fortune by silk-reeling, soybean paste production and soy sauce brewing. Then, you will visit the modern-style saka gura with a beautiful Japanese garden. This is a large, relatively modern saka gura. Together with their award-winning sake the "Champion Sake of 2015" by world's finest wine competition of International Wine Challenge.Take a break at a wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop by enjoying the wagashi sweets such as yokan (jellied dessert made of azuki bean paste), manju (steamed bun) and many others at a shop built in the kura style with irori, or a sunken floor hearth.After your break, you will visit another sake brewery. This saka gura has history over 300 years and known for very distinctive way of brewing - brewing with Mozart's music. Then, visit a soysauce warehouse and factory (for those who selected the private option). This soysauce brewery, is made of persimmon trees and bricks. Then you will visit a lacquerware (shikki) store that showcases works that are handmade by a craftsman. Here, you can admire the beauty of Aizu shikki, lacquerware painted with region's original techniques. You can also create your own if you would like. Paint a furin (windchime), a hand mirror, chopsticks or uchiwa (fan) with one of the Aizu shikki technique called maki-e.*Please note: the tour schedule may change if you want to try maki-e.Your tour concludes at 5.30pm as your guide will take you back to Kitakata station or your accommodation.
Guided Walking Tour in the Historical Town of Kitakata
Kitakata is a small town located in northern Honshu (the main island) and is home to one of Japan's Three Greatest Ramen noodles, Kitakata ramen. Besides the ramen noodles, Kitakata is also well known for having many kura, or traditional storehouse style buildings and is nicknamed the "town of the kura" or Kura-no-machi. Kitakata has long been known as the center of sake and miso production. Since kura are able to maintain a stable temperature and humidity throughout the year, they were built to store and preserve the products. When the Great Fire of Kitakata broke out in 1880, only kura survived the fire, and therefore, many buildings afterward were built in the kura style afterwards. Nowadays, there are over 4,000 kura built all over the town.ItineraryMeet your guide at the Kitakata Station around 11:20am and head to lunch. You can try some Kitakata ramen or some locally-sourced food. After lunch, you will visit a kura yashiki (a kura that is used as a living quarter) of successful merchants.After visiting a kura yashiki, you will visit a sembei specialty store where you will try and experience rice cracker making. In Kitakata, you will find even kura-style temples. The main hall of the temple was re-constructed in the kura style after it was destroyed by the Great Fire of Kitakata. It is not easy to find such a temple in other parts of Japan.Take a break at a wagashi (sweets) shop. Relax and enjoy wagashi sweets such as yokan (jellied dessert made of adzuki bean paste), manju (steamed bun) and many others at a shop built in the kura way with irori, or sunken floor hearth. Visit saka gura from Edo-period where you can sip, taste and learn about the marvels of sake brewery at one of saka gura with over 200 years of history. Then you can visit a shoyu gura. This shoyu gura, soysauce brewery, is made of persimmon trees and bricks. Many of KURA in Kitakata are soil lacquered and only privileged merchants were able to build such kura with their fortune. If you are lucky, you may get to taste their soy source.Then you will visit a shikki store that has works handmade by craftsmen. Admire the beauty of Aizu shikki, lacquerware painted with region's original techniques. You can also create your own. Paint furin (windchimes), hand mirror, chop sticks or uchiwa (fan) with one of Aizu shikki technique called maki-e. Please note: if you wish to make your own maki-e, the schedule may change.At 5:30pm, your guide will take you back to Kitakata station.