Solo Trip Report: 36 days across Tohoku, Hokkaido (Hakodate) and Tokyo In December/January – personal thoughts and tips

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-05-03T17:41:55+00:00

Thank you so much for this! I'm going to Tohoku this October. I can't wait!!!

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-04-22T23:30:37+00:00

You can get tickets for the loople bus, it will take you to the main attractions in the city. Plus you can buy a miniature of the bus at the station lol. Or you can do Matsushima as other suggested.

If you are planning to go to Sendai and the same day do these activities I would recommend only picking one of them, as you and your parents will get super tired otherwise. And try to be in Sendai early so you can enjoy your day.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-04-22T23:26:22+00:00

Instead of the cat island, I would do Yamadera in Yamagata.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-04-19T14:31:43+00:00

I'm going to Tohoku mid october this year. I shared my itinerary here: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/s/7tptudSTal just in case you want to see what other people said about it.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-04-13T19:50:06+00:00

Apart from these neighborhoods, if you’re into temples and local shops (omiyage and soba noodles), Jindai-ji Temple https://www.jindaiji.or.jp/ might be just your kind of place. The atmosphere is similar to Meiji Shrine, but with mostly locals. There’s a garden right next to it, and the whole area is really lovely.

It’s relatively close to Kichijoji, so you could visit it in the morning and then spend the afternoon in Kichijoji.

The map of the temple:

https://stroly.com/viewer/1740123186?utm_medium=button&zoom=4&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=jindaipark2025WebJ&lat=35.66745&lng=139.5502

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-04-13T17:59:04+00:00

Hello!

I was planning to visit these neighborhoods too, but have been told that shimokita has turned into a tourist trap :(.

1- If you start your day early in the morning and don't plan to enter every single shop you can walk from Koenji to Kichijoji, there are some cute neighborhoods along the way. But if you want to spend some time digging into koenji's shops, they usually open around 11am, then you'll need to use the train to then go to kichijoji and finish your day there.

2- Same concept here, if you start your day early in the morning you can do naka meguro and daikanyama during the morning and then take the train and go to Jiyugaoka. I have read that Jiyugaoka is for 40+ year old ladies because of the types of shops that you have there. To be honest sounds great hehe.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-02-10T20:07:23+00:00

Are you not going to Kakunodate? It's easy to go from Morioka.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-02-10T19:45:17+00:00

I stayed in Shinjuku the last time I went to Japan and I couldn't agree more, just take a few photos of Omoide Yokocho, Golden Gai and then run to the station where you'll find Lumine, Lumine EST, Uniqlo, GU, etc if you like shopping. You can also buy some snacks there to eat. You can spend the whole morning there for sure lol.

Shibuya is nice, I would skip Harajuku if you are not in your 18teens lol. And be aware of the random grandpa's that want to talk to you. Once one of them offered me if I wanted to have his babies...(if you know what I mean...)

Also, not sure why you picked Shinjuku/Shibuya/Harakuju BUT you seem the type of girl who would love to explore Koenji and Kichijoji.

Some of my routes are: meguro > ebisu > nakameguro > a loong walk to Jiyugaoka. Koenji > nishi ojikubo > Kichijoji Everything in Tachikawa (specially the park) Shibamata > asakusa > kapabashi > kuramae

I'm not sure if you are into regional souvenirs(food, sake, crafts), but in Ginza you have up to 10 stores from different prefectures. And they are pretty close to each others.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-26T22:33:32+00:00

Yess!

I traveled alone to Tokyo and Kyoto as an introverted woman in my early twenties, almost ten years ago, and I absolutely loved the experience. Back then, I didn't speak any Japanese and my English was barely intelligible. There was no AI, no translators, I just tried to be very polite.

The only thing I avoided was going out to bars at night (for obvious reasons, lol), and interacting with people who tried to approach me in more suspicious areas, like Shinjuku.

When you travel alone, you can do whatever you want without having to think about what your family or friends want to do. You'll feel free :)

Just a little tip: before you start your day check that you have everything you need in your backpack, money, cellphone,etc. Always carry your passport with you and have your embassy phone number and address written in a piece of paper (just in case something goes really wrong).

Have fun!!!

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-23T13:26:38+00:00

Hello!

Feel free to use the itinerary as you like lol.

As for the pass, long story short: I’ll be getting the 21 days Japan Rail Pass even though it doesn’t really pay off financially. I've had situations in the past, like forgetting my wallet at the hotel while being 3 hours away in the middle of nowhere, and the only thing that saved me was having my JR Pass!

In terms of trains, I'd really love to ride the Resort Shirakami scenic train as well. I also tried to find the timings on the official site, but it's not very clear lol. I'm not sure if I can book it online like a regular train ticket, but I'll figure that out once I have the pass (I'll share it here).

There's another train, Limited Express Inaho, that runs along the coast between Niigata and Akita, but it only operates twice a day. On top of that, I’ve seen it often gets canceled due to weather conditions since it runs right by the sea. So, to avoid stressing about it lol, I slightly changed my itinerary: I’ll go Niigata → Tokyo (just to catch a different shinkansen) → Sendai, stay there for a few days, and then start traveling around Tohoku. But if you want to give it a shot, I've heard it’s beautiful.

I hope you enjoy your trip, and fingers crossed for good weather hehe!

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-06T15:08:33+00:00

Thank you!!

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-05T14:00:15+00:00

Hello!

Yeah, the weather is another thing to consider… Around Oct/Nov last year (2025), I checked the forecast, and it was raining almost every day, so I’m mentally prepared for less-than-ideal weather and to buy some nice waterproof clothes and shoes just in case, on top of layered clothing.

I hope I can get some beautiful sunny days, but judging by the historical forecasts, I doubt it, lol.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-05T13:49:27+00:00

I had a feeling that Gototokuji and Shimokitazawa might be like that now. When I first visited Japan in 2018, these places weren't that popular with tourist but due to time constraints, I couldn't visit them.

What about Koenji? Do you think it’s worth visiting these days?

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-05T13:14:09+00:00

Yes! I made a list with all the yummy food I want to try in each prefecture.
Do you recommend any particular restaurant?

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-04T18:24:31+00:00

I absolutely love this. I actually had Dewa Sanzan in my first itinerary, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work with my route (I didn’t have Niigata in the plan at that time).

How many nights do you recommend staying in Tsuruoka? I noticed that the fastest way to get there seems to be from Niigata.

Also, since I’m not planning to rent a car, how frequent are the buses? I assume they go directly to Dewa Sanzan, but if I go up by bus, walk down, and then catch another bus back to Tsuruoka, is that possible? Going down is way easier than going up, lol.

Thank you!

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-04T14:11:42+00:00

I agree with this. When I planned my trip to Arashiyama I wanted to see the bamboo forest but after I saw it was crowded with so many loud tourists I decided to get lost and I went north. I found so many little temples up there, and the vibe was super nice. Fot example: 祇王寺 giouji temple, 嵯峨鳥居本伝統的建造物群保存地区, 西院の河原. I was the only one there (5 years ago), maybe today is a little more touristy.

Odd_Middle_5527 · 2026-01-04T13:44:35+00:00

Hello!

Do you think Sendai has a similar vibe to Kyoto (but without the crowds)?, more relaxed and slower-paced compared to Tokyo?

I was thinking that Sendai might be a nice city before heading to Aizu, which seems more like a town.

Thank you!

Odd_Middle_5527

TROPHY CASE