Tohoku

Geography

Tohoku means "northeast" and the Tohoku region occupies the northeastern part of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). The area is also known as Michinoku (みちのく).Tohoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with the Ou Mountains running north-south.

The population estimated in 2008 is 9,438,621 , which is the same as Sweden, Beｌgium, Portugal. Tohoku is 66,889km² in area, which is 1.5 times larger than　Holland, Switzerland, Denmark. The population density is 144 persons per km², which is almost the same as Switzerland.

Climate

The climate differs in 4 big groups, which are The coast of the Sea of Japan, the foot of Nasu volcanic belt and the West side, the East side except for the foot of Nasu volcanic belt, and the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Also, among each group, there are slight difference between the North and the South parts. Leaving out the coast of the Pacific Ocean of Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture, all of the districts are the heavy snowfall area, there is also an extraordinary heavy snowfall area too.

The coast of the Sea of Japan and the foot of Nasu volcanic belt and the West side is called "the Sea of Japan side group", and in Summer because of the foehn phenomenon, there are many fine weathers and the temperature is generally very high; once the temperature rose up to 40.8 degrees in Yamagata Prefecture). Although the temperature is very high in the day time, the temperature would go down which is comfortable at nighttime. In Winter, there is not much daylight hours that most of the areas are heavy snowfall area, and the West side of the Ouu Mountain Basin's amount of snowfall is especially high.

The Pacific Ocean's East side except for the foot of Nasu volcanic belt area has both the Pacific Ocean climate and the continental climate. In the Summer, there are both days when the temperature rises very high because of the foehn phenomenon, and the temperature is low on cloudy days in the coast of the Sea of Japan area. Also in Winter, if the effects of the cold air mass, and the northerly wind are strong, it snows in the area like the coast of the Sea of Japan, on the other hand there are fine days such as the the coast of the Pacific Ocean area.

Prefectures

Major cities and towns

Aomori — the most northern city in Honshu. The capital of Aomori Prefecture.

[Hiraizumi]] — is a historical spot to visit with several large temples in Iwate Prefecture P

Hirosaki — was called the "Kyoto of the North", former capital of the Tsugaru clan (Now in the Aomori Prefecture)

Miyako — while the town itself is nothing spectacular, it's near the beautiful Jodogahama beach(Iwate Prefecture)

Morioka — capital of Iwate Prefecture with beautiful rivers

Sendai — capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in Tohoku. We can enjoy the epithet "Mori no Miyako" ; "The Forest City", for its dense trees lined in the street in public areas.

Yamagata — featuring the mountain temple of Yamadera (Yamagata Prefecture)

Other destinations

Dewa Sanzan — "Three Mountains of Dewa" and indeed comprises the three sacred mountains of Hagurosan (羽黒山), Gassan (月山) and Yudonosan (湯殿山), clustered together in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture)

Kinkazan — we could enjoy the shrine and hiking trails in a small mountainous island at the tip of the Oshika Peninsula, not far from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

Matsushima — famous for some 260 tiny islands (島 - shima) covered in pines (松 - matsu) which is ranked as one of Japan's Three Great Views (Miyagi Prefecture)

Mount Bandai — a volcanic peak in Fukushima Prefecture

Naruko — a small town famous for its hot springs and kokeshi dolls (Miyagi Prefecture)

Shimokita Peninsula — featuring the scenic Yagen Valley and the Mount Osore; the mythical entrance to Hell (Aomori Prefecture)

Towada-Hachimantai National Park — scenic Lake Towada, gorgeous Oirase River Valley and the hot springs of Hachimantai Plateau (spread out on Aomori Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, and Iwate Prefecture)

Things to do

Most of the visitors come to Tohoku for hiking, visiting historical spots, and hot springs.

【The 3 Great Festivals of Tohoku】

Nebuta Festival in Aomori Prefecture
Kanto Festival in Akita Prefecture
Tanabata Festival in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

When you include the Hanagasa Festival in Yamagata Prefecture, the 3 Great Festivals of Tohoku will become the $ Great Festivals in Tohoku.

【Matsushima Bay】－ in Miyagi Prefecture　is　one of the　”Three Views of Japan”

Others...

Aomori Hirosaki Castle　is very beautiful to visit in the Hanami season

Lake Towada （Aomori Prefecture ＆ Akita Prefecture） - is the largest volcanic caldera lake and also the deepest lake in Japan. The area nearby has dense forests and waterfalls, and is the top tourist pull up in the whole Tohoku.

Specialty

Tohoku has not made very many contributions to the Japanese culinary scene, although (as always in Japan) even the smallest village will boast something it claims to be famous for. But in mountain regions you will certainly have a chance to sample sansai-ryōri, prepared from herbs and plants harvested from the forests and hillsides. Rice from Tohoku is also famous, with Miyagi Prefecture's sasanishiki (ササニシキ) as the flagship variety.

For fruits, Aomori Prefecture's apples, Fukushima Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture's peaches, Yamagata Prefecture's grapes and cherry ranks first in producing among Japan.

As for drinks, unlike the shōchū-swilling south, Tohoku is a sake country and manufactures some fine rice wines.

Akabeko　- is a traditional toy from the Aizu region of Japan.