Condé Nast TravelerOct 23, 2025
Hiking Through the Misty Forests and Seaside Vistas of Tohoku, Japan
Writer Adam H. Graham tries out a new coastal trail that is helping reinvigorate the communities devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
23 things in this story
- Towada-Hachimantai National ParkSightknown for autumn colors, moss, and Oirase Gorge
- Oirase GorgeSightriver valley with abundant waterfalls
- Lake TowadaSightvolcanic double caldera, primary source of biodiversity
- Oirase Gorge pathTrailwalked to waterfalls
- Michinoku Coastal TrailTrail600-mile route along Honshū coast
- Hoshino Resorts KAI AkiuHotelsleek new property opened April 2024
- Azuma Farm KoiwaiHotelset to open spring 2026
- Hoshino Resorts Oirase Keiryu HotelHotellodge built on banks of Oirase Stream
- Towada-Hachimantai visitor centerSightvisitor center
- Hoshino Resorts AomoriyaHotelcavernous ground floor with shops and izakaya
- KabushimaNeighborhoodhilly, windswept island with shrine
- Sanriku Fukkō National ParkSightpark containing Kabushima island
- Tanesashi CoastSightnicknamed Shore of Flowers
- Kumano KodoTrailThe Kumano Kodō (熊野古道) is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Peninsula, the largest…
- Shikoku Henro trailTrailtrail with 88 temples
- Hotel RagasoHotelhiker favorite with harbor sunrise view
- Ōfunato OnsenHotelonsen with pale full moon view
- Kitayamazaki CliffsSightblustery grassy lookout
- Takada Matsubara Tsunami Reconstruction Memorial ParkMuseumaustere elegy designed by Hiroshi Naito
- Kadonowaki Elementary SchoolSightformer school with debris-filled classrooms
- Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Memorial ParkMuseummemorial park in Miyagi prefecture
- MatsushimaNeighborhoodpicturesque port town
- Oirase StreamSight