Not that this is likely to happen any time soon, but here are five places I want to visit in Tohoku.

1. Rice Field Art in Inakadate Village, Aomori - Intrigued by how the farmers come up with these large-scale colourful designs and work out the number of rice seedlings needed to make their rice fields come alive with vibrant hues of colours.

2. Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum in Asahikawa, Hokkaido - For a couple of years after I returned to Singapore from Japan, I secured a few gigs as a translator during sake appreciation events. Drinking on the job! Best thing ever! Now such events are no longer existent, but it makes me want to visit a sake brewery one day. Another example is Urakasumi Sake Brewery in Miyagi.

3) Morioka Wanko Soba in Morioka City, Iwate - Not a big eater by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to challenge myself to see the number of bowls of pint-sized soba I can devour in one sitting.

4) Minamisanriku Onsen in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi - Haven’t never stayed at an onsen overlooking the ocean before. Would love to stay at one, feeding my soul with a nice panoramic view of the ocean, tuning in to the ebb and flow of the waves and feeling the cold wind caress my rosy cheeks.

5) Yokote Kamakura Festival in Yokote City, Akita - I am not a fan of the cold, but testing the sturdiness of the igloos and sipping amazake with local Akita children sound like my kind of fun!