Hi

I haven't gotten much response to my other thread about Nikko and Tohoku so I am putting another out - hoping to see chrysanthemum and autumn leaves this fall.

In place of Tohoku would also consider Kanazawa.
Want to do something that is logistically simple and not spend too much time traveling.

Is it true that in order to reach Tohoku (Morioka for example ) or Kanazawa, from Nikko we would have to retrace our steps to Tokyo ?

Well, fall is the best time or both. I'm not sure my experience will help you, but here goes: When we were in Tokyo in November, we went to the Meiji Shrine and there happened to be a chrysanthemum exhibit. Photos here: http://www.marlandc.com/tokyo.html toward the end of this section.

We enjoyed our time in (three nights) Kanazawa and would have enjoyed more time there - specially if it had stopped raining!

Tohoko is a whole region and offers far more than a single city like Kanazawa.

From Nikko you take the local JR train to Utsunomiya (gyoza capital of Japan), then you are on the main line north to Morioka. Sendai (with the spectacular scenery of Matsushima) is on the way. In Morioka, the 500 statues in Hoon ji are really worth seeing. No photographs are allowed so the snaps you'll see on the web do not do them justice.

I can't help with crysanthemums, but Morioka is not far from Tazawa-ko, which is the deepest lake in Japan, and further north is Towada-ko, which is the biggest caldera lake, and these are famous sites for red-leaf viewing.

BTW. I was in Nikko at the end of October last year and the koyo (red leaves) was in full force. The Toshugo shrine was a nightmare of school and bus parties, but all the other shrines and sites were empty.

I carried on past lake Chuzenji and Kegon waterfall (both excellent) along the "Romantic Road" as far as Fukiware no taki, which is a very unusual waterfall. Photos don't do it justice, but this one I found on the web is not bad:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ippei-janine/4882483956/

The fall colors were spectacular all along this road.

Thanks for the suggestions. It's good to know that not all of Nikko will be mobbed !

That is an amazing waterfall Thanks for the link.

And pictures of the mums are wonderful .

Tohoku perhaps merits a trip to itself for at least a couple of weeks to do it justice ? If so, I may look at going to Nikko for 2 days, Oku-Nikko for another 2 days , then on to Kanazawa for several more days . With time in Tokyo, I will have 10- 12 days.

Please see my post on your other thread.