That Sounds Good

Top choice in Northern Honshū (Tōhoku)


Room options here range from quaint cottages with private bathrooms to split-level dwellings where you're just within snoring distance of your fellow nature lovers. Activity revolves around an open cafe-bar where meals are served and from where the sounds of weekend jazz billow out over the lake. One of the more cosmopolitan places to stay in this part of Japan.

Pick-ups from the train station are available. Drop in, tune out and relax…why not stay a few days?


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northern Honshū (Tōhoku) attractions

1. Hakkōda Ropeway

14.03 MILES

For anyone wanting a taste of the alpine without having to brave the steep ascent, this scenic ropeway whisks you quickly up to the summit of Tamoyachi…

2. Aomori Museum of Art

24.87 MILES

Looking like a modernist sculpture, the geometric white facade of the Aomori Museum of Art was designed to blend in with the landscape when blanketed with…

3. Sannai Maruyama

25.1 MILES

Excavation of this site turned up an astonishing number of intact artefacts from Japan's Jōmon era (10,000 to 2000 years ago), which are on display at the…

4. ASPAM Building

25.34 MILES

The observation deck on the 13th floor of Aomori's unmissable A-shaped ASPAM Building on the rejuvenated waterfront offers stellar views over the port,…

5. Nebuta no Ie Wa Rasse

25.43 MILES

Even if you miss the Nebuta festival, you can still gawk at the awesome artisanship of the floats at this well-curated museum on the waterfront. On…

6. Neputa Mura

25.58 MILES

Come here to see some of Hirosaki's huge Neputa festival lanterns and try your hand at the giant taiko (drums). There are also exhibitions of local crafts…

7. Hirosaki-kōen

25.68 MILES

Perfect for picnicking, this enormous public park has been shaped over the centuries by three castle moats, and landscaped with overhanging cherry trees …

8. Fujita Memorial Garden

25.83 MILES

The former home and garden of the wealthy Fujita family, this beautiful example of a manicured Japanese garden is the second largest in Tōhoku. Meandering…