Tohoku
Tohoku is the frozen north of Central Japan. Akita is located in Tohoku, and other Tohoku prefectures make great weekend destinations (especially on a 3-day weekend). Most places are accessible by train or car.
- Aomori. To the north.
- Akita. Us!
- Iwate. To the east.
- Yamagata. To the south.
- Miyagi. To the SE.
- Fukushima. To the SE, farther - the only prefecture in Tohoku that doesn't share a border with Akita.
Tohoku Kizuna Festival
The Tohoku Kizuna Festival (東北絆まつり; Tōhoku Kizuna Matsuri) is a festival held in a different prefecture of Tohoku every summer. It was started in 2011 as the Tohoku Rokkonsai (東北六魂祭; Tōhoku Rokkonsai) to rebuild spirits after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The main event is a parade featuring the "big six" festivals of Tohoku, one from each prefecture: Nebuta (Aomori), Kanto (Akita), Sansa Odori (Morioka, Iwate), Hanagasa (Yamagata), Sendai Tanabata (Sendai, Miyagi) and Waraji (Fukushima). The festival was rebranded to its current name in 2017.
Rokkonsai was held in Sendai in 2011, Morioka in 2012 and Fukushima in 2013. The Kizuna Festival was held specially in Osaka in 2025 to coincide with the World Expo; it is scheduled to return to the Tohoku region for 2026, when it will be held in Morioka.
