Tohoku is cold and snowy in winter, but its people and culture are warm and generous

The ancient Samurai mansions with their exhibition of armours and artefacts were interesting, but we kept getting distracted by the snow falling outside. Our dismay at the raindrops that greeted us when we disembarked from our bus in the Samurai district of Kakudate had turned into sheer delight as it turned into snow that got heavier and heavier. The Japanese garden in the compound of the old Samurai mansion was soon blanketed in white and we simply couldn't look away.

We were in Tohoku, which literally means North-Eastern region, at the north of Japan's main island of Honshu, on a trip organised by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO). Sendai, the biggest city in Tohoku, is only an hour-and-a-half away from Tokyo on the Shinkanshen bullet train, but this remains an underrated destination for tourists, which means that (for now) it is blissfully free from crowds.

Chuson-ji temple is a Unesco World Heritage site, and its bells tolled for an hour-and-a-half in March 2011 for the victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami victim in nearby Fukushima.

Snow started falling and blanketed the garden at the Samurai mansion in Kakunidate, an old Samurai district in Tohoku.

Comprising six prefectures – Miyagi, Fukushima, Aomori, Akita, Iwate and Yamagata – Tohoku is where you go to experience winter. Though Hokkaido is way more famous for skiing among international visitors, Tohoku is a popular destination for the Japanese as this region gets the highest amount of snowfall.

But everywhere we went in Tohoku in early January this year, locals were lamenting that the snowfall has been unseasonably low – yet another casualty of climate change. They say that during this time of year, no surface would have been uncovered by snow and there would even be snowstorms.

For us Malaysians though, there was enough snow and snowing, and we had the best introduction to Tohoku's winter-stalking "snow monsters" at Mount Zao. Snow monsters or juhyo are actually trees covered with layers of frost and windblown ice, which turn them into hulking shapes on the mountain slope.

It has been an unseasonably warm winter in Tohoku; in other years snow would have covered every surface by January.

One of the highlights of our winter holiday was watching snow fall in Kakunadate.

We ascended to the top of Mount Zao on cable cars with skiers in all their gears, and was greeted with more falling snow and freezing temperatures but not many dramatic juhyo. Winter this year has been unseasonably mild and the trees are not laden with enough ice yet. But it was fun enough traipsing in knee-deep snow and experiencing snow falling around us at Mount Zao.

This volcanic area is also known for its onsen, and soaking in the outdoor hot spring looking out to Mount Zao at our ryokan inn was my top Tohoku winter experience. Though the temperature dipped below zero and all was quiet and still at dawn, the onsen was wonderfully warm and relaxing.

Winter freeze at Hirotaki Park in Aomari.

Tranquil Sites

From Mount Zao, we drove further north towards rural Japan where the pace is much more laidback. Our first stop was at Chuson-ji Buddhist Temple in Hiraizumi.

Fukushima prefecture, where the 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, is in Tohoku. On March 18, Chuson-ji's bells tolled for 90 minutes for the victims of the disaster. That same year, Chuson-ji was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site and our guide said it brought some cheer to grieving locals as the temple is an important spiritual institution.

The Fujiwara lord Kiyohira founded the temple as part of a pledge before Buddha to honour the spirits of the dead. Chuson-ji is also renowned for its Konjikidō, which is covered in gold and was completed in 1124. In winter, it is most pleasant to walk up the forested pathway to the temple atop the Kanzan hill and explore its serene surroundings.

A craftsman carries on the tradition of carving Namahage masks.

It was a fun dinner when the Namahage folk creatures barged in with much fanfare.

Another famous religious site in Tohoku is the Takayama Inari Shrine in Tsugaru, Aomori. It is similar to the Fujimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto but without the hordes of visitors. To get to the shrine, you will walk pass 201 traditional torii gates that snake uphill like a dragon.

In Aomori, we also visited the Hirosaki Castle. Almost all Japanese castles were dismantled after 1868 when samurai rule came to an end or were burnt down in WWII. Hirosaki Castle is the only one that was built during the Edo Period (1603-1867) which is still standing. It is located in Hirosaki Park right in the town centre, and visitors can rent a multimedia kit to experience the park and castle in varying seasons.

Hirosaki Castle is famous as a cherry blossom viewing site in Tohoku, and we saw what the park looked like during spring through our multimedia lenses. The local official who developed the multimedia programme was happy for us to experience Hirosaki Park in the different seasons, but he was most proud that we were able to see the video of the town's project to move the castle to enable its repair and restoration work.

Local Traditions

It is locals like him that make our Tohoku trip so enjoyable and enlightening. They generously share their cultural pride and traditions.

In Akita, we were introduced to the Namahage folklore where demonlike creatures would barge in at dinnertime with throaty screams. It's a New Year's Eve ritual where these creatures (played by men in hefty masks and straw capes) would descend on the villagers from the mountain and storm into homes to check on the women and children. The head of the household would protect his wards and assure the Namahage that they were indeed working hard.

In 2018, Oga no Namahage was designated as a Unesco intangible cultural heritage, though it's mostly the elderly who play the role of the Namahage as most of the local young men have moved away to the bigger towns and cities. But it's a tradition that visitors can still learn about at the Namahage Museum and Oga Shinzan Museum.

Another beloved local icon is the Akita dog, the most famous being Hachiko who waited patiently for its owner for 10 years until its passing. Hachiko's statue at the Shibuya station is one of Tokyo's most popular sites, even though Akita dogs originated in Tohoku. There's a museum dedicated to these dogs in Akita, and owners would bring their dogs here.

Further north in Aomori, at the northernmost tip of Honshu, one of the best winter experiences is to ride the stove train operated by Tsugaru Railways since 1940. Though it is frigid cold outside, inside the coach it is warmed by charcoal stoves.

The best part of riding this train is the grilling of dried cuttlefish on the stoves. Though grilled sotong smells strongly anywhere in the world, it is still a yummy treat, just another one of the many delightful surprises of experiencing winter in Tohoku.

AirAsia operates four flights weekly into Tokyo Narita Airport, as well as seven flights weekly into Tokyo Haneda Airport from Kuala Lumpur. For information on available flights, go to airasia.com. For more information on Tohoku, visit japan.travel/en/.