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Julian Ryall

Japan’s tourism boom has packed the streets of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with foreign visitors, but one of the country’s most scenic regions is still struggling to draw them north.
Tohoku, the northern region of Japan’s main island of Honshu, comprises Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures – an area known for mountains, hot springs, skiing, festivals and a slower rural pace of life.
Of the record 42.7 million foreign visitors to Japan last year, just 2.57 million – roughly 6 per cent – spent a night in the six prefectures that make up Tohoku, according to statistics provided by the Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organisation.
More than a decade after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis that hit the region, industry experts say the bigger problem for Tohoku is no longer fear but a lack of familiarity.
They point to a lack of world-famous sights across the six prefectures, transport that can be challenging for non-Japanese speakers and a shortage of tourist information.
But those drawbacks make the region an ideal destination for travellers who want to see Japan while avoiding the crowds that have put pressure on Tokyo, Kyoto and other must-see destinations.

“I think the biggest problem is that Tohoku is just not well enough known by foreigners planning a trip to Japan,” said Kumi Kato, a professor in the faculty of tourism at Wakayama University.
“When you think of Akita, Yamagata or the other prefectures, what do you think of? As a Japanese I know more about the cultural heritage of the region, the mountains, the onsen, the skiing in the winter, but there’s not much that will grab a foreigner making their first visit to Japan.”
A survey conducted in 2025 by the Development Bank of Japan found that fewer than half of the 7,413 respondents from 12 countries across Asia, Europe and North America had heard of any of Tohoku’s primary tourist sights. Just 16 per cent said they were interested in visiting the region.
By contrast, 46 per cent of respondents wanted to visit Tokyo, 45 per cent planned to explore Osaka and the Kansai region and 26 per cent intended to see Hokkaido.
Among Tohoku’s own destinations, only 26 per cent of foreign travellers had heard of Fukushima, 15 per cent knew Sendai and 13 per cent were aware of Aomori.
Fukushima is perhaps best known internationally for the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Development Bank of Japan report said – though the regional promotion organisation believes fears linked to the tragedy have largely faded.

“We feel that international tourists now have virtually no concerns about the effects of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident,” the Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organisation said in a statement.
“The high levels of satisfaction and positive feedback from travellers who have actually visited the region are helping instil a sense of reassurance in travellers.”
It admitted, however, that its message was not reaching enough potential visitors. “Compared to ‘golden route’ destinations such as Tokyo and Kyoto, awareness of Tohoku is still relatively low,” it said.
The organisation has launched a major promotional push to highlight the region’s charms, taking part in tourism fairs at home and abroad and inviting overseas travel agencies and influencers on familiarisation trips “so that they can experience first-hand the safe and attractive current situation on the ground and share this information”.
Others have also recognised Tohoku’s appeal. In 2023, The New York Times placed the city of Morioka second on its list of the 52 best places in the world to visit that year, describing it as the perfect place to explore without the nuisance of large crowds and just a couple of hours north of Tokyo by bullet train.
The article praised the survival of traditional buildings – notably a number of inns and Taisho-era institutions – while also highlighting the parkland on the site of Morioka Castle for its autumn colours.

Alex Litz, director of inbound promotion for Expedition Japan, based in Yamagata City, agrees that communicating the region’s unique attractions is the biggest barrier to attracting more visitors.
“People considering a visit to Japan will look at a map, they will recognise Tokyo and then they will see that all the most famous sights – Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima – are all to the south,” he said.
“Those are the places that first-time visitors really want to see and they do not want to then backtrack to Tohoku – even though it is easy with bullet trains and internal flights.”
He added that the region was also relatively “tourist unfriendly” compared with other parts of Japan, citing a shortage of information available about things to do, places to stay and how to get around.
Less-adventurous travellers could find this information gap and concern over the language barrier off putting, he said.
For Litz, travellers seeking to explore Japan’s great outdoors are among Tohoku’s biggest fans.
“When people come to Yamagata, we can tell them a story,” he said. “There are a lot of people whose lives here today are not that different to 100 years ago, and if anyone wants to experience authentic Japan and life in the countryside, there is no better place to do it than here.”


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Tohoku is just a couple of hours north of Tokyo by bullet train, yet only 6 per cent of overseas visitors visited last year


Tohoku is just a couple of hours north of Tokyo by bullet train, yet only 6 per cent of overseas visitors visited last year.


Tourism

Tokyo

Why Japan’s scenic Tohoku region is still a tourist outlier

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tohoku is just a couple of hours north of Tokyo by bullet train, yet only 6 per cent of overseas visitors visited last year

Tohoku is just a couple of hours north of Tokyo by bullet train, yet only 6 per cent of overseas visitors visited last year