"I'm From Tohoku and None of These Disappointed Me": Japanese Viewers Fact-Check a List of Tohoku's 10 Most Disappointing Sights, From Matsushima to Hirosaki Castle
「東北民だけど、どこもがっかりしなかったぞ」——松島・弘前城・中尊寺…東北「がっかり観光地10選」への日本人の反論
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
Tohoku's famous sights are not the problem, Japanese viewers say, the framing is. Under a late-2024 video ranking 10 Tohoku spots as letdowns, the most-liked reply (220 likes) is a Tohoku resident who has been to almost all of them and says none disappointed, and the corrections that follow are factual rather than defensive: Hirosaki Castle is one of Japan's twelve surviving original keeps, not a concrete rebuild, and the concrete shelter over Chuson-ji's Golden Hall (196 likes) is the reason the gold hall survives at all. Where commenters do concede a letdown it is almost always a question of timing, from the hour the soba shops in Ouchi-juku shut to the morning window when Zao's crater lake is clear. A few say exactly where to stand instead.
“I'm from Tohoku and I've been to almost all of them, and none of them disappointed me.”
東北民で、ほとんど行ったことあるけど、どこもがっかりしなかったぞ。
What Japanese visitors do instead
Zao's Okama is at 1,674 meters. Of course fog forms. I'd say early in the morning, when the air currents are settled, is the best bet.
蔵王のお釜の標高は1674メートル。ガスが発生するのは当たり前。気流が安定する午前早めがお勧めかな。
— @kainaoki14787 likesI went to Ouchi early in the morning so it was empty, but by the time I was heading back before midday there was a huge jam of cars waiting to park. Go early.
大内は朝はやく行ったからガラガラでしたが、昼間前に帰る頃は駐車待ちの大渋滞。早く行くべし
— @jughiu9grykgfftgxdg3 likesIf you want the great view of Matsushima, go to Otakamori in Higashi-Matsushima. You do have to climb a mountain path for more than twenty minutes, though.
松島で絶景を観たければ東松島の大高森に行くと良い。 ただし、２０分以上山道を登らなくちゃいけないけどね。
— @齋藤H4 likesAs I remember it, the cherry blossoms at Hirosaki Castle are at their peak during Golden Week. Mt. Iwaki behind them was beautiful too (*^^*)
弘前城の桜の満開時期は、GWだった覚えがあります。背後の岩木山も美しかったですよ (*^^*)
— @atsushi110729 likes
Places named in this article
- Otakamori ObservatoryHigashi-Matsushima, Miyagi
Named by commenters as where to go for the Matsushima view; a climb of more than twenty minutes up a mountain path.
- Chuson-ji Konjikido (Golden Hall)Hiraizumi, Iwate
The concrete shelter is why the hall survives, the most-liked defense in the thread says (196 likes). One commenter arrived at 4:45 p.m. and gave up.
- Yamadera (Risshaku-ji)Yamagata
A commenter who went in thin snow had the place to himself and calls it the good part (98 likes); others answer complaints about the staff by pointing out it is a place of prayer.
- Hirosaki Castle (Hirosaki Park)Hirosaki, Aomori
One of twelve surviving keeps, commenters correct (103 likes). Cherry blossoms peak around Golden Week; keep interior closed for repair work.
- Goshiki-numa PondsUrabandai, Fukushima
Defended by commenters as a nature walk rather than a viewpoint (115 likes); the trail runs from Bishamon-numa toward Lake Hibara.
- Zao Okama Crater LakeZao, Miyagi
Go early in the morning when the air is settled, commenters say; fog is normal at this altitude.
- Ouchi-jukuShimogo, Fukushima
Most soba shops close at three (53 likes), and the car queue for the parking lots builds before midday, so commenters go early.
- Sendai Umino-Mori AquariumSendai, Miyagi
Small, commenters agree, but one of only two aquariums in Japan with Commerson's dolphins (24 likes).
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is Hirosaki Castle a concrete reconstruction?
- No. It is one of Japan's twelve surviving original keeps and the only one in Tohoku, which is the correction two of the most-liked comments make (103 and 102 likes). One thing the comments predate: interior viewing of the keep was suspended in November 2025, the keep is being moved back onto its repaired stone base during 2026, and the inside stays closed while strengthening work runs to fiscal 2032.
Sources: city.hirosaki.aomori.jp · hirosakipark.jp — checked 2026-09-22
- What time does Chuson-ji's Golden Hall close?
- The Golden Hall admits visitors 8:30 to 17:00 from March 1 to November 3, and 8:30 to 16:30 from November 4 through the end of February. One commenter arrived at 4:45 p.m., decided fifteen minutes was not enough and skipped it, so leave the hall an hour rather than squeezing it in at the end of the day.
Sources: chusonji.or.jp — checked 2026-09-22
- When can you actually see the Okama crater lake at Zao?
- Morning, and not in winter. A commenter with more than ten visits says he missed the view only once or twice, and another points out that the crater sits high enough that fog is normal, so early morning air is the best bet. The mountain roads that reach it close for the winter; in the 2025-26 season they shut on November 4 and reopened on April 24.
Sources: zao-machi.com — checked 2026-09-22
- Is Matsushima worth visiting?
- Yes, but not from the promenade by the water. The charm is the scatter of small pine islands (47 likes), and the view people recommend is from Otakamori in Higashi-Matsushima, about a twenty-minute climb. Several add that Zuiganji temple is part of the visit, which the video skipped.
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 187 of 209 comments
Honestly, there wasn't a single place here that disappointed me. It feels like they're forcing the disappointing points out of nothing. I'd like them to think about how hard each of these places is working to protect its history.
確かにがっかりする場所は無かったですね。 無理やりがっかりポイントを作ってるとしか思えない。 各観光地が頑張って歴史を守っている気持ちも考えて欲しい。
A lot of people apparently say the concrete shelter over Chuson-ji's Golden Hall kills the mood, but without that shelter the golden building, the lavish decoration inside it and the mummies of Fujiwara no Kiyohira, Motohira and Hidehira enshrined there would not have survived to this day. Maybe the people saying it kills the mood or that it's a letdown should learn the history of Hiraizumi before they visit?
中尊寺金色堂は「コンクリートの覆堂が興ざめする」という人が多いそうですが、かといって覆堂が無ければあのような金色の建物・堂内の豪華な装飾・安置されている藤原清衡基衡秀衡のミイラが現在まで残っていませんよ。 「興ざめ」「がっかり」という人達は、平泉の歴史的経緯を学んでから訪れたら？
The first time I visited Chuson-ji's Golden Hall my feeling was, "Huh? This is it?" I went imagining something like Kinkaku-ji, you see. But as I thought about its historical value, I came to feel glad that I had seen it.
中尊寺金色堂に初めて訪れた時、「えっ？。これが？。」ていう気持ちでした。金閣寺みたいなのを想像して行きましたからね。でも、歴史的価値を考えていくにつれ、見て良かったなと思うようになりました。
Hirosaki Castle is one of the twelve surviving keeps. What were you looking at to think it uses a lot of concrete and steel?
弘前城は現存１２天守だぞ 何を見てコンクリートや鉄骨が多用されてるとか思ったんだ
I've been to Zao's Okama more than ten times and there were only one or two times I couldn't see it, I got my goshuin at Risshaku-ji and it was a pleasant experience, and above all Hirosaki Castle is one of only twelve surviving keeps in Japan. Don't tell lies, you should correct this.
蔵王のお釜は10回以上行ったが見られなかったのは1～2回、立石寺の御朱印は気持ちよくもらえたし、何よりも弘前城はにほんに12か所しかない現存天守の一つです。 嘘はいけません、訂正すべきです。
At Hirosaki Castle in Aomori the keep is the only building left in the main enclosure, but apparently it's the only castle site in Japan where the moats, a number of gates and several turrets all remain as they were. I went to the cherry blossom festival in Hirosaki Park this year, and I was startled by a sight even better than its reputation as the best in Japan. Lots of TV crews were there broadcasting. They say there's an autumn leaves festival and a snow festival too, so I want to go.
青森県の弘前城跡は本丸の建物は天守だけだが堀から数々の門や数個の櫓など城跡がそのまま残っている日本で唯一の城跡だそう。今年弘前公園の桜祭り行ったけど日本一と言われている以上の感動の光景にびっくりした。旅サラダなど沢山のテレビ中継がきてた。紅葉祭りや雪まつりもあるそうだから行ってみたい。
Anyone who finds Goshiki-numa disappointing probably wasn't that interested in nature in the first place.
五色沼がっかりする奴はそもそも自然に大して興味ないだろ。
People saying the reception at Yamadera is bad, well, of course it is, because temples and shrines are not tourist attractions, they are places of prayer. The manner for a visitor is to stand there quietly; it is not a place to ask for hospitality or customer service. Before you claim your rights because you paid money, what you paid was a worship fee, and the manner of the person who paid it is to worship quietly.
山寺の対応が悪いと言うのは、当然です、何故なら、寺社仏閣は観光地ではなく、『祈りの場』です、 観光客は『静かに佇む』のがマナーで有り、『おもてなし』などの接客を求める場所では有りません。 『金を払っている』権利を主張する前に、支払ったのは参拝料であり、静かに参拝するのが参拝料を 払った者のマナーです。
"Collecting goshuin isn't a stamp rally" is exactly right. A goshuin was originally received as proof of an offered sutra, and instead of handing in a copied sutra you are allowed to read or chant a sutra in front of the hall. It isn't something they stamp for you just because you paid, having done nothing.
「御朱印集めはスタンプラリーじゃない」ってのはそのとおりだよ。御朱印はもともと、納経のしるしとしていただくもので、写経したものを収める代わりに堂前で読経あるいは誦経してもいいことになっている。何もしないで金さえ払えば押してもらえるものじゃない。
When I went to Yamadera there was nobody there but me, and that was the good part. A thin layer of snow had settled and the scenery looked like an ink painting, so full of atmosphere and feeling, and I walked around the buildings quietly on my own.
山寺に行った時、自分以外に誰もいなかったけど、それが良かった。薄く雪積もって水墨画みたいな景色が風情と情緒が有りまくりで静かに独りで建物を見て廻った。
The charm of Matsushima is in the little islands dotted around, though.
松島は所々にある小島に趣があるんだけどなぁ
The shops in Ouchi-juku are fun just to look at, so I think they're fine. What's a shame is that most of the soba places close at three, even though there are plenty of tourists there.
大内宿の売店は見てて楽しいから良いと思う。３時でほとんどの蕎麦屋が閉めてしまうのが残念。観光客はたくさん居るのに。
What I regret about going to Chuson-ji is that I got my timing wrong and reached the Golden Hall at 4:45 p.m., and with fifteen minutes left I gave up on going in. The approach up to there had real atmosphere and I was glad I went.
中尊寺に行って悔やまれるのは時間配分をミスって金色堂到着時に16時45分で15分では見れないと入るのを断念したこと。そこまでの参道は趣きがあって行ってよかったです。
Mt. Iwaki is inside the clouds nine days out of ten. If you climb on a clear day, the ropeway takes you up to the ninth station, the view is good and you're lucky.
岩木山は9割の日が雲の中。 晴れの日に登ると9合目迄ロープウェイで登ると景色が良くラッキー。
Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium is certainly small in scale, but it has Commerson's dolphins, which only two aquariums in Japan have (the other is Toba Aquarium). Now that importing rare animals is no longer allowed, these very cute Commerson's dolphins are worth seeing!
仙台うみの杜水族館は確かに小規模ですが、日本で2ヶ所の水族館にしかいない(もう1ヶ所は鳥羽水族館) とても希少なイロワケイルカがいます！ もう希少動物の個体輸入も不可となっている今、とてもかわいいイロワケイルカは見ておいて損はないですよ！
Go to Matsushima on a moonlit night. It'll send you.
松島は月夜に行け。 飛ぶぞ。