3 Best Sights in Tohoku, Japan

Founded in AD 850, this temple's highlight is its Konjikido (Golden Hall), which was completed in 1124. The first Ou Fujiwara lord, Kiyohara, commissioned many temples and pagodas during his reign, perhaps as many as 40, not to mention residences for 300 priests. Nearly all were destroyed by fire except for Konjikido, and it is the only structure in Chuson-ji that remains unchanged. More than 3,000 objects have survived and are now kept in the treasure house (Sankozo Museum). It's a 20-minute walk from JR Hiraizumi Station or a 10-minute bus ride.

The surreal Geibikei Gorge is a slightly decrepit, definitely kitschy tourist attraction. You board a gondola at the local river, and your gondolier will sing in classic Japanese style as he maneuvers farther into the echoey gorge. Your destination is an upriver sandbar, where you disembark for a stroll, and for a nominal fee you can throw kiln-fired clay divots (undama) into a crack in a cliff across the river (each divot has a character on it, and if you chuck it in the hole, that fate is in store for you). Bring bread to feed the river fish—they aggressively follow the boat and jump for joy at handouts. Those fish are also available roasted and fried where you disembark. The trip takes 90 minutes, and boats depart approximately once an hour from 8:30 to 3 most days.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Motsu Temple's main buildings were destroyed by the fire that consumed much of the area in 1226. Nevertheless, its remaining Heian-Period Jodo Garden still provides a beautiful scenery, as it was landscaped to depict the Amida Buddha's “Pure Land.” Even the new (1989) main hall was built to reflect the Heian roots of the temple.