Comments on: What's worth seeing on Honshu, between Tokyo and Sendai?

Question: What's worth seeing on Honshu, between Tokyo and Sendai?

graytona — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 23:39:56 -0800

JapanFilter: What's worth seeing on Honshu, between Tokyo and Sendai? Can you recommend any destinations in this area for a 25 year old male non-Japanese speaking tourist without a car? I'm already aware of Nikko and Matsushima bay outside Sendai. I have the Let's Go guide to Japan, but its coverage of this area is dotty, and a personal recommendation always trumps the book!

Non-interests include monasteries, hikes, and places where a shrine/temple is the only attraction. The time target is late February. I do like Onsens!

Thanks!

By: cwhitfcd

cwhitfcd — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 04:13:54 -0800

Not between Sendai and Tokyo, but if you are going up to Sendai you might enjoy a side trip to Naruko. It's an onsen town but there is also a gorge you can walk through as well as a volcanic lake.

By: armage

armage — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 05:59:42 -0800

You could try hiking up Mt. Bandai, but it'll be freezing in February, I'm afraid. The nearby Aizu-Wakamatsu has some interesting features.

One of Japan's three most beautiful gardens, Kairaku-en, is in Mito.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 08:39:14 -0800

The best, best, best place I ever went in Japan (and I lived there for ten years) was a place called Hiraizumi, in Iwate, less than an hour north of Sendai by Shinkansen. It's got good walking, and is close to several hot springs. Some really interesting architecture and landscape gardens are left over from nearly 1000 years ago. There are a number of resorts at the base of Kurikoma National Park.

Second the Aizu-Wakamatsu recommendation, by the way.

Basically, if you're in Miyagi, you can never go wrong by taking a local trainline west into the mountains, where there will usually be small hot springs (if you're into nude bathing).

The Boso Peninsula in Chiba (that's where the airport is) is also pretty nice. Kamogawa is a nice town.

By: drstein

drstein — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:13:23 -0800

It's Japan. Get on a train and pick a direction. You'll find shrines and other really interesting things anywhere you go.

Ditch the tourist book. Nikko is nice, but it's really tourist-y..