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

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 the record 42.7 million foreign visitors to Japan in 2025, just 2.57 million – roughyl 6 per...

By Julian Ryall