Oku Japan has expanded its tour offerings along the Michinoku Coastal Trail, adding new guided and self-guided adventures to its roster of self-guided itineraries.
Spanning over 630 miles along Japan’s northeastern coast, this trail offers a journey through landscapes and traditional fishing villages while showcasing the resilience of a region—and particularly of its people—that continues to rebuild following the devastating damage sustained during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The new collection of tours focus on the northern and central sections of the trail, located in an area known as the Sanriku Coast. All the tours feature hikes through some of the most intriguing sections of the trail, stays at small, locally run guesthouses and meals featuring fresh seafood throughout.
On the new “Michinoku: Life with the Sea” small group guided tour, consisting of no more than 13 travelers plus the guide, guests will spend 10 days exploring the Sanriku Coast and learn about the way of life in one of Japan’s most remote regions. Starting from Kabushima Shrine, the Michinoku’s northern trailhead, the group will travel south, hiking through forests and alongside rocky cliffs that plunge steeply into the waves below—the tallest of which can reach more than 650 feet above sea level. After the walk to Jōdogahama, a beach named after the Buddhist paradise, the cliffs give way to a ria coastline that winds intricately alongside the Pacific Ocean.
Besides Oku’s licensed bilingual guide, local guides and members of the community will spend time with the group. Guests will visit an abalone seedling farm for a tour that delves into sustainability, take a guided tour through the Kesennuma Fish Market, visit the town of Fudai, known for its story of survival during the 2011 tsunami, check out Ranbōya Gorge and Thunder Rock, and take in a performance with roots in Shintō and folk culture, among other highlights. There are two departures available in 2025: June 9–18 and August 18–27.
The company’s original self-guided “Michinoku Coastal Trail” tour, which features six- and seven-day options, starts in the city of Hachinohe, located in the northern third of the trail. Like the guided tour, guests begin their walk at the Kabushima Shrine and travel down to the “paradise beach” of Jōdogahama before diverting to the final stop in Morioka City. The new “Rugged Rias of the Michinoku” self-guided tour (which also features two options), starts at Jōdogahama, and continues south to Kesennuma, a city known for its fishing industry.
The “Rugged Rias of the Michinoku” itinerary explores an area that sees few travelers as it has historically been cut off from major population centers. Going deeper into Japan’s rural wilderness, with walking days that alternate between coastal, mountain and forest hikes, guests will visit secluded fishing hamlets, walk along cobblestone beaches and climb to the top of a mountain to look out over the unique ria coastline, a coastal formation that was once a river valley and is found along unglaciated land. The tour also includes a visit to the Kesennuma Fish Market.
Available as either a five- or six-day adventure, this new self-guided tour explores the central portion of the Michinoku that features more rugged, less-populated areas, and as such it is recommended for more seasoned hikers and/or those who have already seen the northern part of the trail. Guests are provided with turn-by-turn directions in Oku’s walking guidebooks, which also detail cultural and historical information that will provide context to the overall journey.
The six-day tour also includes a walk through Rasei-tōge Pass to the village of Okirai, where guests will be able to see many monuments that stood long before the 2011 tsunami. This includes a cedar tree that is several millennia old, and a community center built from the debris of the disaster—it is an intimate look at the past, present and future of the region, built and told by its own people. Departures are recommended from April through October.
For more information, visit OkuJapan.com.
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