Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)
Blissfully (or painfully) quiet, this renovated rural property is a good budget option, though it’s a little like a school camp in layout. There is an on-site bar if birdsong is not your thing, or you need to celebrate a day’s hiking. It’s about 20 minutes by foot from Aizu-Takada Station along the Tadami line from Aizu-Wakamatsu (¥240, 20 minutes).
Pick-up from the station is possible if you call ahead.
7.45 MILES
Halfway up Iimori-yama, Sazae-dō is a weird and wonderful hidden gem in a Buddhist temple complex. Built in 1796 the 16.5m-high hexagonal wooden structure…
6.77 MILES
This is a superb reconstruction of the yashiki (villa) of Saigō Tanomo, the Aizu clan’s chief retainer. Wander through the 38 rooms, which include a…
7.06 MILES
On the eastern edge of Aizu is Iimori-yama, the mountain where the White Tigers (Byakkotai) samurai killed themselves during the civil war of 1868. You…
5.07 MILES
The towering 1965 reconstruction of Tsuruga-jō sits in sprawling grounds framed by the original moat and some ruins of the old castle walls. Inside is a…
Yamatogawa Sake Brewing Museum
12.92 MILES
Step into the Yamatogawa Sake Brewing Museum to peek inside a kura (mud-walled storehouse) that dates from 1790 and, until 20 years ago, functioned as a…
7.21 MILES
At the foot of Iimori-yama, this museum tells the story of the dramatic suicides of the teenage samurai who died during the Bōshin civil war of 1868, and…
12.83 MILES
This collection of 10 kura (mud-walled storehouses) has been arranged as a small local museum, as well as the obligatory gift shop or two.
5.07 MILES
The towering 1965 reconstruction of Tsuruga-jō sits in sprawling grounds framed by the original moat and some ruins of the old castle walls. Inside is a…
6.77 MILES
This is a superb reconstruction of the yashiki (villa) of Saigō Tanomo, the Aizu clan’s chief retainer. Wander through the 38 rooms, which include a…
7.06 MILES
On the eastern edge of Aizu is Iimori-yama, the mountain where the White Tigers (Byakkotai) samurai killed themselves during the civil war of 1868. You…
7.21 MILES
At the foot of Iimori-yama, this museum tells the story of the dramatic suicides of the teenage samurai who died during the Bōshin civil war of 1868, and…
7.45 MILES
Halfway up Iimori-yama, Sazae-dō is a weird and wonderful hidden gem in a Buddhist temple complex. Built in 1796 the 16.5m-high hexagonal wooden structure…
12.83 MILES
This collection of 10 kura (mud-walled storehouses) has been arranged as a small local museum, as well as the obligatory gift shop or two.
7. Yamatogawa Sake Brewing Museum
12.92 MILES
Step into the Yamatogawa Sake Brewing Museum to peek inside a kura (mud-walled storehouse) that dates from 1790 and, until 20 years ago, functioned as a…