Best of Hokkaido and Tohoku Tour

16 Days/14 Nights

Best of Hokkaido and Tohoku Tour Detailed Itinerary

Walking Level Distance
Light0-2 miles in flat areas or 0-1 miles in hilly areas or with many stairs
Medium2-4 miles in flat areas or 1-3 miles in hilly areas or with many stairs
Heavy4-6 miles in flat areas or 3-5 miles in hilly areas or with many stairs

Day 1: To Tokyo

Depart home for Tokyo's Narita Airport. No meals are included.

(Travel: 12 Hours; Walking: Light)

Day 2: Arrive Tokyo

You lose a day flying to Japan due to crossing the International Dateline, and gain the day back when you fly home. You will be met at Tokyo's Narita airport by a Samurai Tours guide, who will escort you to the hotel near the airport where we will be staying for the evening (Since there are no ryokans near the airport, we will be staying at a western-style hotel.) After checking into the hotel we will have our welcome/orientation dinner. Dinner at the hotel included.

(Travel:15 Minutes; Walking: Light)

Day 3: Fly to Sapporo

After breakfast we take the bus to Tokyo's Haneda Airport, fly to Sapporo's Chitose Airport, and then take an express train into Sapporo. After checking in, we visit the JR Sapporo Tower where you will be able to get a bird's eye view of Sapporo, the largest city on Hokkaido and the host of the 1972 Winter Olympics, while getting your bearings at the same time. In the evening, we will enjoy dinner at the Sapporo Beer Garden, located next to the original Sapporo Beer brewery, where you can try the local specialty of grilled lamb, cooked yourself at the table. Before leaving in the morning, you will need to prepare your luggage to be transferred to Noboribetsu, and you will be traveling to Sapporo with your overnight bag only. Breakfast at the hotel and dinner at a local restaurant included.

(Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Light)

Day 4: Sapporo

We start the day by taking a bus to the Hokkaido Historical Museum, where you can discover the rich history of Hokkaido, including Hokkaido's original inhabitants, the Ainu. Here you will discover how the taming of the wilds of Hokkaido was very similar to the settling of the American West. In the afternoon, we visit the Hokkaido Historical Village open air museum where many buildings from around Hokkaido, both modern and traditional, have been relocated. The evening is free to enjoy Sapporo. A local, English-speaking guide will be joining us for the day. The evening is free. Breakfast at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 1 1/2 Hours; Walking: Heavy)

Day 5: Travel to Noboribetsu, Poroto Kotan Ainu Village

In the morning, we travel by train to Noboribetsu Onsen, one of the most popular and famous hot spring resorts in Japan. On our way to Noboribetsu, we will stop at the city of Shiraoi, where the Poroto Kotan Ainu Village and Museum is located. Here you will see a traditional Ainu dance demonstration, as well as a demonstration of traditional Ainu musical instruments. In the museum, you will learn about Ainu history, who are considered to be the original inhabitants of Hokkaido, as well as their every-day life and how they lived. A local, English-speaking guide will be joining us at the Poroto Kotan Ainu Village and Museum. After checking into the ryokan, you are free to enjoy the many hot springs at the ryokan. Breakfast and buffet-style dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 2 Hours; Walking Medium)

Day 6: Noboribetsu Onsen

The entire day is free to explore the Noboribetsu area. You can walk around the Jigokudani (Hell Valley) where you will find many steam vents, thermally heated pools and small geysers as well as natural foot baths. Or visit the nearby Jidai Mura, a touristy, but fun village built to look like an Edo period village. Or, you can just enjoy the baths at the ryokan. Buffet-style breakfast and buffet-style dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: N/A; Walking: TBD)

Day 7: Travel to Toya-ko

After sending our luggage ahead to Hakodate, we travel by train to Toya-ko, one of the largest and deepest volcanic caldera lakes in Japan. After checking in, we will visit Usu-zan and Showa-shin-zan, both active volcanoes. We will take a cable car to the top of Usu-zan, which last erupted in 2000. Here you can walk around the rim of the volcano through the barren, moon-like landscape. Afterwards, we visit Showa-shin-zan. In 1944, a surprised wheat farmer found Showa-shin-zan growing out of his field instead of wheat, and it has been growing larger ever since then. We will also visit the nearby Toya-ko Volcanic Museum. Amazingly, when Usu-zan last erupted in 2000, no one was killed. But there was a lot of damage from the eruption, and much of it is preserved at the museum. The museum also illustrates the sheer power of geo-thermal activity and documents the volcano's turbulent history. Buffet style breakfast and dinner at the ryokan and lunch at a local restaurant included.

(Travel: 2 Hours; Walking: Medium)

Day 8: Travel to Hakodate

After breakfast, we travel to Hakodate. Hakodate was one of the first cities in Japan open to foreigners after the Meiji Restoration. After arriving in Hakodate, we will visit the Goryo-Kaku, Japan's first western-style fort. Built in 1864 by the Tokugawa Shogunate in the shape of a five-pointed star, it was designed to trap attackers in a deadly crossfire. We will go to the top of the Goryo-kaku tower next door to the fort, providing a view of the fort and the surrounding city. We will then tour the Moto-machi historic area. Overlooking the western bay at the foot of Mount Hakodate, the Moto-machi area consists of numerous sloping streets lined with 19th century churches, consulates, shops and homes of the foreigners who first opened this area of Japan to commerce. In the evening, we take a cable car to the top of Mt. Hakodate, where we will enjoy a panoramic view of Hakodate's night lights. Breakfast at the ryokan and lunch and dinner at a local restaurant included.

(Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Medium)

Day 9: Hakodate, Travel to Towadako

Before leaving the ryokan in the morning, we will send our luggage ahead to Kakunodate. In the morning, we visit the Hakodate Morning Market, where the sellers can prepare the specialties of Hakodate (crab, sea urchin and squid) fresh from their stalls for breakfast. Later in the morning, we travel by train and bus to Towada-ko (Lake Towada). At 400 meters above sea level, Towada-ko is a large, caldera lake and one of Japan's least spoiled lakes. Surrounded by steep, wooded volcanic cliffs, mountains and deep forests, the area provides the perfect setting for outdoor activities. Breakfast and dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 4 1/2 Hours; Walking: Light)

Day 10: Towadako, Oirase River Walk

After breakfast, we will take a bus to the Oirase River Gorge, the only outlet of Towadako. The Oirase River flows though the gorge, with numerous White Cedar, Japanese Beech and Maples along its banks. Along the way, the river tumbles over numerous waterfalls, with even more waterfalls cascading down the rocky cliffs of the gorge into the river. We will walk along the easy-to-walk hiking trail following the river. Along the way we will see the 25 meter-high Kumoi-no-taki waterfall, the Choshi-ootaki waterfall with its large water flow, the Tamasudare-no-taki waterfall where the water rolls down in the shape of balls and the Shiraito-no-taki (white thread) waterfall. (The walk from end-to-end is about 9 kilometers (6 miles) and will take about 3 1/2 hours. However, for those who don't think they would be able to make the entire walk, there are numerous bus stops along the way that will take you to the end of the walk.) (A road also runs alongside the Oirase River. The road can be a distraction, although the traffic noise is overpowered by the sound of the rushing stream. And the buses that use this road provide convenient transportation and an escape from bad weather.) After completing the walk along the river, and stopping for a rest and lunch, we will take scenic cruise around Towadako back to where the ryokan is located. Breakfast and dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 1/2 Hour; Walking: Heavy)

Day 11: Travel to Kakunodate

Today, we will travel by bus and two bullet trains to the city of Kakunodate, a former castle town and samurai stronghold. Founded in 1620 by feudal lord Ashina Yoshikatsu, the site of Kakunodate was chosen for its three rivers and easily defended mountain. His samurai retainers settled just south of his hilltop castle, in modest thatched-roof homes behind wooden fences along wide streets which they lined with weeping cherry trees imported from Kyoto. Today, apart from the loss of its castle, sections of Kakunodate remain unchanged since then. Once home to 80 samurai families, Kakunodate has some of the best examples of samurai architecture in all of Japan, and most of the homes are still being used by descendants of the samurai. After checking in, the rest of the afternoon is free. Breakfast at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 4 Hours; Walking: Light)

Day 12: Kakunodate

We will start the day at the day at the Denshokan Museum which exhibits regional crafts, including demonstrations of kabazaiku (cherry bark art). To subsidize their salaries, many of the samurai would practice this art in which boxes, tea implements, pieces of furniture, lamps, etc. are coated with a veneer of cherry bark. The museum will also have craftsman demonstrating their mastery of this ancient art. Next, we will visit the Aoyagi Samurai Manor. Hidden behind an impressive entry gate that serves as a testimony to the Aoyagi family's high status, the manor is actually a compound of several traditional buildings each filled with a wealth of eclectic treasures from the 17th to the 20th centuries collected over the years by the Aoyagi family. As we wander through the buildings, we will find samurai armor, rifles, swords, dolls, kimono, sake cups, wood block prints, scrolls and screens, Meiji-era uniforms, medals, farm tools, antique phonographs and records, and cameras. In contrast to the Aoyagi Samurai Manor, we will next visit the Ishiguro Samurai House located next door. This thatched-roof home remains almost exactly as it might have looked when it was constructed 200 years ago by the Ishiguro samurai family. Today, the 12th-generation descendant has opened five simple but elegant rooms to the public. Family heirlooms, including samurai gear, winter geta, scales for weighing rice and old maps of Kakunodate are on display in a former warehouse. The medical illustrations are copies from Japan's first book of anatomy, copied from a Dutch book in 1774 by Kakunodate samurai Odano Naotake. The remainder of the day is free. Breakfast at the ryokan is included.

(Travel: 1/2 Hour; Walking Heavy)

Day 13: Chusonji, Travel to Matsushima

Before leaving, we will send our luggage ahead to Tokyo. We will travel to the city of Hiraizumi by bullet train and local train. Hiraizumi's most famous attraction, Chusonji was established in 850 as a temple of the Tendai Sect of Buddhism. The temple came to prominence in the late 11th century when the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan who ruled Japan through cloistered emperors moved their base to Hiraizumi. The Fujiwara clan ruled this part of Japan for three generations until 1189 when they were overthrown by the Kamakura Shogunate. In 1124, the Fujiwaras built the Konjikido, or Golden Hall. It is made of wood entirely covered with gold leaf and decorated with mother-of-pearl, silver and jewels, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful and elaborately decorated buildings in Japan. Measuring just 5 meters square, the interior of the building contains three altars, each one containing one of the mummified remains of the three Fujiwara lords. Originally there were 33 sculptures inside the temple, eleven on each altar. Each altar had a seated Amida Buddha surrounded by a standing Kannon and Seishi, six Jizo and two Niten statues, but one Niten figure is missing today. In the 13th century, by the order of the Kamakura Shogunate and because the Golden Hall was considered so beautiful and important, a wooden building was built over and around the Golden Hall to protect it. Because of the importance of the Golden Hall, the wooden protective building was replaced by a modern concrete building in the 20th century and sealed behind a glass enclosure. The Konjikido was the first building in Japan designated as a National Treasure. After touring the Chusonji temple complex, we will continue on to Matsushima by two local trains and bullet train. Matsushima, near Sendai, is known as one of Japan's three most scenic areas, and has been visited by numerous dignitaries over the years including the famous Haiku poet Basho who wrote a very famous poem about Matsuhsima published in the late 17th century. Breakfast and dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: 4 Hours; Walking: Light)

Day 14: Matsushima

After breakfast, we will take sightseeing boat that will navigate between the 260 small islands sculpted by the waves and covered with pine trees in Matsushima Bay. During the cruise, you will see how Matsushima got its name (Matsu means pine and shima means island). After the cruise, we will visit the Kanran-tei Pavilion given to the Date lords of Sendai by Toyotomi Hideyoshi which was used for moon viewing and tea ceremonies. We will also visit Zuigan-ji Temple considered to be Tohoku's best Zen temple. Originally founded by the Tendai Buddhism sect in 828, the current buildings were built by the Date feudal lord family in 1606. Here, along the entrance to the temple, we will find the numerous Buddha statues carved by hand into the rocky-cliff face by Buddhist monks to show their dedication. The rest of the day is free to enjoy the beauty of Matsushima. Breakfast and dinner at the ryokan included.

(Travel: N/A; Walking: Light)

Day 15: Nikko, Travel to Tokyo

We board a Shinkansen (bullet train) and two local trains to Nikko, where the Tosho-gu Shrine is located. This shrine - built by Tokugawa Iemitsu - is a dedication to his grandfather, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. (James Clavell's fictional Shogun in his novel Shogun was based on this person.) One of the most elaborate monuments in Japan, no expense was spared in this shrine's construction. A local, licensed English-speaking, Japanese guide will be joining us for the day. After touring Nikko, we will travel by local train, Shinkansen and express train to the hotel next to the airport. In the evening, we will enjoy our "Sayonara" dinner. Breakfast at the ryokan and lunch at a local Japanese restaurant in Nikko and dinner at the hotel are included.

(Travel: 6 Hours; Walking: Heavy)

Day 16: Home

It's time to say Sayonara (Goodbye). Breakfast at the hotel included.

(Travel: N/A; Walking: Light)