Japan Roadtrip

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Kanto North loop (Ibaraki → Tochigi → Gunma → Fukushima → Niigata) — 7 days, car

A loop from Tokyo through five prefectures: Hitachi Seaside Park, Nikko’s Toshogu and Lake Chuzenji, Kusatsu Onsen, the Bandai-Azuma Skyline and Goshikinuma’s colored ponds, Ouchi-juku and Tsurugajo Castle, and Yuzawa’s Snow Country.

Don't miss

a yuba kaiseki in Nikko after Toshogu.

  • Day 1 — Tokyo → Ibaraki: Hitachi Seaside Park (autumn kochia/cosmos; peaks Oct 14–22, closed Tuesdays) → Fukuroda Falls (foliage peaks early–mid Nov — slightly early in mid-Oct) (drive ~3h). Stay Fukuroda. — Route map
  • Day 2 — Ibaraki → Nikko (Tochigi): Nikko Toshogu (UNESCO) → Lake Chuzenji, Kegon Falls, Irohazaka (foliage) (drive ~2.5h). Stay Nikko. (Go weekday before 08:00 — Irohazaka weekend traffic severe.) — Route map
  • Day 3 — Nikko → Gunma: Kusatsu Onsen (Yubatake hot-spring field, highest flow in Japan) → Fukiwara Falls (foliage peaks late Oct–early Nov — slightly early) (drive ~3h). Stay Kusatsu. — Route map
  • Day 4 — Kusatsu → Fukushima: Bandai-Azuma Skyline (open to mid-Nov; volcanic-gas alerts can close sections) → Urabandai / Goshikinuma (five-colored ponds, foliage) (drive ~4h). Stay Urabandai. (Kusatsu→Urabandai ~3.5–4h — split with a lunch stop.) — Route map
  • Day 5 — Urabandai → Ouchi-juku (thatched post town) → Aizu-Wakamatsu (Tsurugajo castle + Sazaedo double-helix temple) → Lake Oku-Tadami (Niigata) (drive ~3h). Stay Oku-Tadami. — Route map
  • Day 6 — Oku-Tadami → Naeba Dragondola (foliage mid-Oct–early Nov) → Yuzawa (Snow Country museum, onsen) (drive ~2.5h). Stay Yuzawa. — Route map
  • Day 7 — Yuzawa morning — Snow Country Museum (Yukiguni) + onsen → evening shinkansen to Tokyo (Joetsu Shinkansen) (no car day). — map

Highlights

Hitachi Seaside Park kochia 🌿 Hitachi Seaside Park kochia — hills of scarlet kochia at peak mid-October

Nikko Toshogu Yomeimon Gate ⛩️ Nikko Toshogu Yomeimon Gate — the ornate “gate of the sun”, UNESCO

Goshikinuma 🏔️ Goshikinuma — five volcanic-coloured ponds in Bandai’s foothills

Tsurugajo Castle 🏯 Tsurugajo Castle — Aizu-Wakamatsu’s red-tiled keep in autumn

Ouchi-juku 🏙️ Ouchi-juku — thatched-roof post town

Fukuroda Falls 🏞️ Fukuroda Falls — one of Japan’s three great falls

Local food & drink

  • Yuba — Nikko’s silky tofu-skin, sashimi or kaiseki
  • Yumomi manju — Kusatsu’s hot-spring-steamed bean buns
  • Soki soba — thin soba with slow-cooked pork ribs
  • Negi soba — Ouchi-juku soba eaten with a green onion as chopsticks
  • Kitakata ramen — Fukushima’s soy-tonkotsu ramen
  • Koshihikari rice — Niigata’s flagship rice
  • Echigo (Niigata) sake — the snow country’s sake powerhouse
  • Fukushima sake — regional junmai from Aizu/Bandai Don’t miss: a yuba kaiseki in Nikko after Toshogu.

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