What to know: Less than three hours by train from Tokyo, home of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Tohoku should get a gold medal for best unknown travel wonderland. Comprising the six northernmost prefectures on Japan’s main island of Honshu, this region features pristine forests, gorges and crater lakes, thousand-year-old temples and shrines, and venerable local festivals—yet less than 2 percent of international travelers come here. Walk the Michinoku Coastal Trail, which runs for 620 miles from Aomori to Fukushima. The latter was devastated by the 2011 tsunami, and the newly opened trail is a stirring symbol of the area’s rebirth. For skiers, Tohoku regularly records some of the planet’s heaviest snowfalls, and resorts such as Appi Kogen are exhilaratingly uncrowded.
When to go: Year-round How to go: Base yourself at Koganezaki Furofushi Onsen, in Aomori, which offers 70 rooms and an open-air hot spring with views over the Sea of Japan.
