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【August 2026 Trip Plan】A Tohoku Loop from Tokyo, with Goshogawara Station as the Destination
I've put together a route for a driving loop around Tohoku — leaving Tokyo, heading north through Iwaki, Sendai, and Morioka into Aomori, then returning south through Akita and Yamagata. The destination this time is Goshogawara Station.
Week One: North Along the Pacific Side
I'll leave Tokyo and head north along the Pacific coast. The first stop is Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture.
From there I'll follow the Joban Line to Haranomachi Station, then pass through Nagamachi Station in Sendai and continue on to Furukawa. After Furukawa the route enters Iwate Prefecture — Kitakami Station, Hanamaki, and then Morioka. I'm planning to leave after work on a weekday and use the weekend for street photography along the way.
Week Two: Tsugaru, and Goshogawara Station
From Morioka I'll cross into Aomori Prefecture, passing through Chuo-Hirosaki Station in Hirosaki before heading to Goshogawara Station.
Goshogawara is a place tied to Osamu Dazai. Walking there while thinking of his travel essay Tsugaru is what I'm looking forward to most on this trip.
I don't particularly seek out Dazai's other novels. I read Tsugaru in high school, and it's the only work of his I actually like. There's a brightness in it that his other books don't have, and that's what I keep coming back to.
From Goshogawara I'll continue to Kazuno-Hanawa Station in Akita Prefecture, then on to Akita Station. After going north along the Pacific side, the route turns through Tsugaru and down into Akita.
Week Three: South Through the Interior
From Akita I'll head south via Yuzawa Station to Yamagata Station.
From Yamagata I'll return to Sendai Station, then pass through Utsunomiya Station on the way back to Tokyo. The return is an inland route, running south through the interior.
I've heard that bears have been coming into towns in Tohoku. I want to travel carefully.
Route Map
I've built a route planner — a tool where you can register waypoints and visualize the full route on a map. I used it again to plan the stops for this trip. You can check the route map at the link below.
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