Your Ultimate Guide to Winter in Tohoku: Snow Adventures, Crafting Experiences, and Local Delicacies

The Winter Wonderland For Amazing Travel Experiences

Tohoku is the area in northern Honshu island that covers 7 prefectures; Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, and Niigata. The area is blessed with a variety of winter attractions, thanks to its cold climate, amazing crafting experiences, and delicious foods!

Beautiful mountain view covered with snow

The scenic view of the winter kingdom

How To Get To Tohoku

Before we move to what to do in Tohoku, let’s take a look at how to access the area. Thanks to the great technology of Japan, you just need to ride a shinkansen from Tokyo Station or Ueno station, and voila! You will be there in Tohoku in about an hour!

There is a variety of Tohoku shinkansen. If you are going to Niigata Prefecture, you will need to ride Joetsu Shinkansen, while it will be Hayabusa Shinkansen to Aomori Prefecture and Yamabiko, Hayabusa, Komachi to Miyagi Prefecture. So please be careful to choose which shinkansen you should ride on.

Outdoor Activities

Snowshoeing in Echigo Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture

Visiting Tohoku in winter will not be complete without enjoying the snow! If skiing and snowboarding are two major winter sports that most travelers know, how if challenge yourself to adventurous snowshoeing?

Snowshoeing is an excellent low-impact aerobic exercise for walking over the snow. You will need to wear special shoes with a large footprint that spreads your weight and allows you to walk over the snow.

Wear special shoes for snowshoeing

With this activity, those who are not good at strenuous activities such as skiing and snowboarding can enjoy the snow!

Enjoying snowshoeing!

We rent the equipment needed at the Snow Country Tourist Office Echigo Yuzawa Onsen and experience snowshoeing at 8,800 yen/person.

About Snow Country Tourist Office Echigo Yuzawa Onsen

Travel back in time to the Edo era in Ouchijuku Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Ouchijuku town was an important post-town in the Edo period and still stands just like when it still prospered. The traditional thatched-roof houses (which is protected now) with no wires above the ground, allow visitors to enjoy the original of its marvelous scenery. The main street is lined with souvenir shops and restaurants.

Fly back to the Edo era

A souvenir shop at Ouchijuku

The town looks amazing with snow that covers the whole village white, but it also looks great in beautiful green during summer!

About Ouchijuku

Get Closer to Japan’s Foxes at Miyagi Zao Fox Village, Miyagi Prefecture

Foxes are popular creatures in Japanese folktales. Miyagi Zao Fox Village is a well-known fox-themed zoo that takes care of hundreds of foxes, allowing visitors to get closer to these cute animals as they can walk around the entire area freely.

You will need to pay an admission fee of 1,000 yen (over the junior high school) and have a chance to feed the foxes! However, be sure to instructions from the staff on how to feed foxes.

See Also

Zao Fox Village: A Paradise of Furry Creatures

About Zao Fox Village

Strawberry Picking at La Fraise, Miyagi Prefecture

The cold climate in Tohoku forced vegetables and fruits to produce more sweetness, which makes Tohoku’s strawberry is extremely sweet and delicious. That’s why strawberry picking is one of the recommended activities when traveling to the Tohoku area.

Imagine how sweet this strawberry is!

La Fraise is a spacious strawberry farm in Natori city in Miyagi Prefecture that offers all-you-can-eat strawberries you picked for 30 minutes with a price of 2,000 yen/person. Have them in Japanese way by dipping it into condensed milk!

Have them with condensed milk!

See Also

Visit Tohoku! Discover The Hidden Gems of Muslim-Friendly In Northern Japan

About La Fraise

Spring Valley Izumi Kogen Ski Resort, Miyagi Prefecture

Spring Valley Izumi Kogen is one of the popular ski resorts that offer a lot of snow activities besides the major winter sports; skiing and snowboarding. The resort is located at the northern slopes of Mt. Izumigatake in the northern Miyagi Prefecture, has easy access from Sendai city with approximately 40 mins ride by car.

Snow Adventure Kingdom area is a popular spot in the resort as it is family-friendly where kids and adults can play together with the snow. It features thrilling snow tubing, fun sledding, a snow escalator, and more.

This time we tried sledding! Sledding is very interesting and highly recommended not only for those with kids but also for those who are a beginner in winter sports as well as those who want to challenge different snow activities. There are 3 kinds of sleds you can choose from with the admission fee of 1,200 yen for both adults and kids (no limit of round trips).

Take the board and enjoy the sleds!

About Spring Valley Izumi Kogen Ski Resort

Indoor Activities

Sasa Dango and Soba Making Experience at Daigenta Kobo

Sasa Dango is a popular Niigata Prefecture’s signature confectionary. It appears in dark green glutinous rice cake that is filled with sweet red bean paste, wrapped with bamboo leaves and has a fragrant mugwort aroma. We experience the Sasa Dango and soba at Daigenta Kobo, allowing visitors to experience various Niigata specialties. The sasa dango experience is available at a price of 4,400 yen/pot (4 people) and can make for approximately 20 pcs (the same price applies for less than 4 people).

Sasa Dango

We made a lot!

Niigata is also known for its delicious soba! There in Daigenta Kobo, you can experience soba-making using the local buckwheat flour. The soba-making experience is available at a price of 4,400 yen/pot for 4 people (the same price applies for less than 4 people).

Enjoy soba noodles with shrimp and vegetable tempura

About Daigenta Kobo

 Copperware Craft at Tsubame City Industrial Material Museum, Niigata Prefecture

Tsubame City Industrial Material Museum exhibits works from craftsmen in the Edo era and Western-style metal tableware with an admission fee of 400 yen per adult.

Visitors also can experience metalworking such as making a spoon (400 yen), titanium coloring (700 yen), or experience cup tsuchime hammering 2,200 yen) and bringing it home!

*Tsuchime means “hammered”

This time we had a chance to do the cup tsuchime hammering! We used a hammer to add the tsuchime pattern to the surface of a copper cup.

The largest spoon and fork in the world!

About Tsubame City Industrial Material Museum

Aizu Lacquerware Craft, Fukushima Prefecture

Aizu Lacquerware is an origin of the Aizu region in Fukushima Prefecture. Suzuzen in Fukushima Prefecture allows visitors not only to see the process of making the lacquerware in the gallery but also has a workshop where visitors can design their own lacquered products, such as bowls or trays, and bring it home!

The workshop is available starts from 2 people (1,900 yen/person) with the time required about 1 hour.

About Suzuzen

Washi (Japanese Paper Craft) at Adachigahara Furusato Village, Fukushima Prefecture

Adachigahara Furusato Village is an open-air theme park with reconstructed samurai and farmhouses, a washi house to experience washi craft, an indoor playground “Genki Kids Park Nihonmatsu”, and a gift shop.

At the Adachigahara Furusato Village, you can make a Japanese paper craft with your original patterns and colors, also make various washi products for souvenirs.

About Adachigahara Furusato Village

Kokeshi Painting at Zao Kokeshi Museum, Miyagi Prefecture

Kokeshi is a traditional Japanese wooden doll that appears without arms and legs. Zao Kokeshi Museum that is established in 1984, is a home for more than 5,500 collections of kokeshi (which is the largest in Japan!) that exhibit traditional kokeshi, the process of making the dolls, and kokeshi painting workshop!

Each region in Japan has its unique characteristics of kokeshi in shapes or facial features. You can see kokeshi from the entire Tohoku region displayed in the Zao Kokeshi Museum. Additionally, you may be able to see the kokeshi artisan at work!

The admission fee to the museum is 300 yen/adults with 850 yen/person to join the painting experience. Please check the website for further information about the admission fee price and painting reservation.

About Zao Kokeshi Museum

Muslim Friendly Restaurants in Tohoku

Tohoku is working hard to provide diversified foods, from halal/Muslim-friendly to vegan meals to welcome people from domestic and international visitors to enjoy Tohoku at ease.

Dashirou -NIBO- Ramen (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Dashirou -NIBO- Ramen is a famous ramen shop in Sendai city that offers ramen with delicious dashi. They offer halal ramen in three flavors; soy sauce, salt, miso, halal chicken bowl, and halal chicken spring roll. If you come from a Southeast Asian country, you will notice that they offer sambal (chili paste) too!

About Dashirou -NIBO- Ramen

Route 227’s Cafe (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Route 227’s Cafe is a restaurant inside Kotodai Park, a park in the city center near national government offices and shopping streets that use abundant local foods to make unique delicious meals.

About Route 227’s Cafe

Yuzusawanochaya (Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture)

Yuzusawanochaya is a homey Japanese restaurant that brings customers to Japan in the old days with the atmosphere of wooden floor, irori (traditional Japanese sunken hearth that is used as a home heater and for cooking foods), and more! The set meals come from 770 yen to 1,650 yen, while course meals are available for 1,980 yen to 2,750 yen.

About Yuzusawanochaya

Symphony Restaurant at The Westin Sendai (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)

The Westin Sendai is a popular hotel that represents Tohoku, where the Symphony Restaurant on the 26th floor of the hotel offers splendid vegan meals using abundant local foods!

The restaurant was holding an event recently that presented “SENDAI TRADITIONAL Vegan Lunch with Traditional Sendai’s Vegetables”.

See Also

Vegan Meals Tasting at The Westin Sendai’s “Symphony Restaurant”
The Finest Vegan Lunch from Hotel Westin Sendai Using The World’s Three Famous Mushrooms

About Symphony Restaurant

Serenity Restaurant and Cafe, Hotel Metropolitan Sendai (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Serenity Restaurant is a halal-certified restaurant that offers halal lunch and dinner in two kinds of halal course meal; 3,600 yen course and 6,000 yen course which comes in 5 delicious dishes. Besides lunch and dinner, you can enjoy halal breakfast for only 2,400 yen, which comes in 4 dishes and 1 drink.

You will need to place a reservation at least two days in advance for both lunch-dinner and breakfast meals.

About Serenity Restaurant and Cafe

See Also

Tohoku’s Local Foods Transformed Into Vegan Meals!