Michelin Green Guide Tohoku — Three-Star Matsushima, the Golden Hall at Chuson-ji and the Cedars of Haguro, and All 75 Starred Sights

What the Michelin Green Guide is — 75 starred sights in Tohoku

This is the Michelin Green Guide (Le Guide Vert), which rates destinations rather than restaurants. The Japan edition is published in France: the 4th edition in 2015, the 6th in 2020, and the current one in 2025. Every star below is given with the edition that awarded it.

Tohoku’s stars fall into four areas: Miyagi (Sendai and Matsushima), Iwate (Hiraizumi and Sanriku), Yamagata (Tsuruoka, Mt. Haguro, Sakata) and Aomori (Hirosaki, Oirase, Shirakami). Tokyo to Sendai is about 90 minutes on the Tohoku Shinkansen, to Ichinoseki (for Hiraizumi) about two hours, to Shin-Aomori about three. The areas are far apart, so plan two or three days for Sendai, Matsushima and Hiraizumi, two for Aomori and one or two for Yamagata. Covering Tohoku by JR, the pass for JR East’s Tohoku area and south Hokkaido is worth pricing.

Three-star Matsushima — Zuigan-ji, the four great views, Shiogama

The 2015 edition gives three stars to Matsushima, to Zuigan-ji, the Zen temple Date Masamune rebuilt, and to the four great views of Matsushima, the hilltops that look down on the bay. More than 260 pine-covered islands lie in the bay, one of Japan’s three famous views. At Zuigan-ji the upper chamber, the corridors and the kitchen are one-star, as are the bayside Godaido and Kanrantei, the island of Fukuurajima reached by a red bridge, and Matsushima Bay itself. Entsu-in with the Date mausoleum Sankeiden, the viewpoint Ogidani and the Saigyo-modoshi pine are two-star, and Sokanzan one-star.

Sendai to Matsushima is about 40 minutes on the JR Senseki line. A sightseeing boat around the bay shows the islands from the water. Just before it, Shiogama, the province’s first shrine Shiogama Jinja and the Shiogama fish market are two-star. This coast was struck by the tsunami of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Three-star Sendai and around — Zuihoden and Osaki Hachimangu

The 2015 edition makes Sendai and its surroundings three-star and the city itself one-star. Zuihoden, the mausoleum of Date Masamune, in black lacquer, gold and polychrome carving, is two-star. Osaki Hachimangu, the National Treasure shrine Masamune built, with its porch and ceiling paintings, is two-star, as is the Sendai City Museum of Date family material.

Jozenji-dori, lined with zelkovas, and the Sendai Mediatheque, its glass shell threaded by tubular steel columns, are one-star. Rinno-ji and its garden, also connected to the Date, are one-star. The Loople Sendai sightseeing bus links the main sights in the city.

Three-star Golden Hall at Chuson-ji, Hiraizumi and Jodogahama

In Iwate, Hiraizumi is one-star in the 2015 edition, Chuson-ji two-star and its Golden Hall three-star. Built by the Northern Fujiwara in the 12th century, the Konjikido is an Amida hall gilded inside and out, now sheltered within a protective outer building. Photography inside the Golden Hall is prohibited. The Pure Land garden at Motsu-ji is one-star, its pond laid out as a vision of paradise. The Geibikei gorge at Ichinoseki is one-star. Sendai to Ichinoseki is about 30 minutes on the Tohoku Shinkansen, then 10 minutes by JR to Hiraizumi.

The 2020 edition added the Sanriku coast of Iwate and Miyagi at one star and Jodogahama in Miyako at two — white rock, pines and clear water. Along the Sanriku coast stand memorial facilities and preserved remains from the 2011 disaster. Visit them with respect for the people who lived through it.

The three-star cedars of Mt. Haguro, Dewa Sanzan, Tsuruoka and Sakata

Mt. Haguro, one of the Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata, is two-star in the 2015 edition and its cedar avenue three-star. The 2,446 steps to the summit run between cedars centuries old. The National Treasure five-storey pagoda on the way up, the Sanjin Gosaiden at the top and the Saikan pilgrim lodging, where shojin cuisine is served, are two-star. Haguro is a mountain of Shugendo practice, and you may pass yamabushi in white.

At the foot of Mt. Yudono, Churen-ji and the sokushinbutsu — a monk who became a mummified Buddha through ascetic practice — are two-star. The sokushinbutsu is an object of worship: view it quietly, with hands together. The castle town of Tsuruoka is one-star, with the Chido Museum of the former Shonai lords and the Meiji-era Western buildings Nishitagawa District Office and Tsuruoka Police Station at one star and the Sakai Family Garden at two. In the port of Sakata, the merchant Homma Family Residence, the Kakubuen garden at the Homma Museum and the Ken Domon Museum of Photography are two-star. Tsuruoka to Mt. Haguro is about 50 minutes by bus.

Aomori — Hirosaki, the Oirase stream, Shirakami, and model routes

In the 2015 edition Hirosaki and Hirosaki Park are one-star. The castle keep was moved off its stone base in 2015 for repairs to the walls, and work to return it to its original position runs from about July to November 2026. Entry to the keep is suspended in the meantime, so check the park’s official information before you go. In the temple district of Zenringai, the Chosho-ji gate is two-star, while the Fujita Memorial Garden, the merchant quarter of Nakacho and the Hirosaki Neputa Village are one-star.

Towada-Hachimantai National Park and Lake Towada are one-star, and the Oirase stream, running 14 km through beech forest, is two-star. The World Heritage Shirakami mountains, with their untouched beech forest, are two-star as well. Bears are present at Oirase and in Shirakami: stay on the paths and make noise as you walk.

Michelin Green Guide Tohoku — FAQ

Star ratings: ★★★ worth a special journey / ★★☆ worth a detour / ★☆☆ interesting. Stars come from the 4th (2015) or 6th (2020) edition of the Michelin Green Guide Japan, as noted for each sight, and are reviewed with every edition. “Starred sights” counts every entry the guide awards stars to — including buildings inside a site, museum pieces, viewpoints and routes — so it is not a count of separate locations.