That’s it, I’m staying in Japan from now on
I live in Sendai, and I am starting to realize (after 25 years living here!) that Tohoku is a pretty wonderful place. We have mountains, sea, all sorts of nature, historical towns and culture, onsen, amazing food, and best of all it is neither crowded nor seeing tourist pricing -yet.
Last week I took a quick three day trip to Iwate and Akita with my wife and granddaughter.
It was easy, cheap, fun, and really opened my eyes to how much I might have been missing out on here in Japan.
With the weak yen recently going abroad feels expensive. On top of the hassle of international flights and jet lag, rising prices abroad combined with the dismal exchange rate just makes everything seem poor value for money.
Last summer in the UK we went to Pret a Manger (a chain sandwich shop) and paid 70 pounds for sandwiches and drinks for two adults and two children. Madness.
Partly due to that, partly due to getting older, partly due to wanting to get to know the country I live in a bit better, my wife and I have decided we’re going to be spending time in Japan from now on, not outside it.
And the nice thing about staying local is that you can do it on a whim.
Iwate
A trip to Iwate is an excuse to stay at one of our favourite hotels, the Intercontinental Appi.
In ski season this hotel is way out of our price range (200,000+ yen a night!) but out of season it can be pretty reasonable. They charge by the room, so for three of us it’s comparable to a normal ryokan.
The actual purpose of our trip this time was to see Iwate’s Dragon Eye pond. This is a genius piece of marketing on the part of Iwate, almost as good as Miyagi pitching Matsushima.
The Dragon Eye is a pond that freezes in winter then thaws out in April or May (although this year due to the heavy snow and cool weather so far it is still frozen today), forming the shape of an eye when it does so.
This has become more popular recently, being featured on the national news and drawing 3-hour tailbacks of cars trying to get to it on weekends. We went on a Wednesday morning so it wasn’t very crowded and we didn’t have to wait.
To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed by the Dragon Eye itself. I mean, it’s fine. But just over the hill is a beautiful landscape with even better looking ponds and no one there (everyone just comes to see the main attraction then leaves again).
We had a couple of spectacular hours just walking around in the snow (in late May!) admiring the forests, the water, and the sky.
Akita
The last day we drove across to Lake Tazawa in Akita. Apparently it’s the deepest lake in Japan, and incredibly beautiful.
Pulling up at Tazawako Camp and Tours (this is not a sponsored post, I just enjoyed the tour) I actually felt a bit disappointed we weren’t going to be going out on the lake. Instead, we headed to a nearby sunken forest.
The photos don’t really do it justice. Apparently it’s only flooded for a few weeks of the year with the snow melt. The final kayak tour round the forest was on June 1st this year.
We paid 7,000 yen each for a couple of hours on the water with a guide. We were the only people there on a weekday afternoon.
There were a few bugs, but other than that it was magic. A nice breeze, not much of a current, stunning views as we paddled through the trees.
I definitely think we’ll be back in that area to see what else they offer (rafting and canyoning too it seems).
Domestic travel
We’re getting a new car later this year so will be using that for a lot more domestic trips. Where should we go?
Right now my top three favourite destinations (in no particular order) are Miyakojima, Shikoku, and Tohoku. Where else should we be thinking about? We like reasonably priced hotels, beautiful uncrowded places, and outdoor activities.
Post your suggestions in the comments!
All the photos in this post other than the kayaks from above were taken by me on my Pixel 7a (and don’t do the landscape justice).
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When I first came to Japan I used to think it was way too expensive to travel. At the time, 10 years ago, it made a lot more sense for me to jump on a plane to Korea, Vietnam or other places in South East Asia. But now, especially with having a family, I really love travelling domestically!
Outside of the things you already mentioned, I just love the Ryokan experience. A nice big tatami room, which makes it easy for my family to all sleep together, usually dinner and breakfast included, as well as onsen or daiyokujo. Love it!
We also visited Lake Tazawa in 2022 and it was amazing! We used the JR EAST PASS(Tohoku area) at the time, and visited Aomori as well as Akita.
Each to their own, I guess. Show me a Chatsworth or equivalent in Japan.
Funny, I just to live down the road from Chatsworth ^-^
I recommend Hong Kong as a short-trip destination. Amazing food and surprisingly reasonable hotel prices (if you don’t stay at the Peninsula) are less than five hours away. It still has a few Marks and Sparx outlets for Brits who are missing a taste of home — wish we had them in Japan!