Tohoku
Tohoku Region, Northeast Region
noun
The East North area of Japan is called Tohoku, or the Tohoku region. It was the region hit by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.
This can also mean northeast region when talking about China or Japan, but for other countries (and for the compass direction), we'd use 北東.
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. You haven't seen the on'yomi reading for 北 (ほく) yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you out:
In Tohoku there's a lot of hocus (ほく) pocus going on. Basically, if you're in Japan's northeast, watch out… A lot of mountain hermits live up in those parts, practicing their weird hocus pocus. Don't let 'em getcha.
東北で、ボランティアをしていました。
I was volunteering in Tohoku.
東北の牛肉はおいしいです。
Tohoku beef is delicious.
私のおばあちゃんは東北生まれなので方言が分かります。
My grandmother is originally from Tohoku, so she understands the dialect.