Matsushima, Tohoku — Travelrags

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.

picturesque port town

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

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Matsushima

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Hiking Through the Misty Forests and Seaside Vistas of Tohoku, Japan