The way back down

Google maps no longer seems to let you make trip maps like I have done in the past; a route of this size is considered too big to map. It's a great pity. I planned to come back through Yamagata, Yonezawa and Fukushima but there was a long wait at Shinjo and a long wait at Yamagata.  There's not a whole lot to do around Shinjo station that you can do in an hour, though the station is particularly pleasant.
Instead I opted for the longer trip (though shorted in time)  through Narukuo Onsen to Kogota, Sendai and straight down the Tohoku honsen to Tokyo.

My plans to get back to Tokyo earlier were thwarted however with an accident at a level crossing which stopped all the trains along the Tohoku honsen for 40 mins.  Unfortunately railway staff in Japan have a lot of experience clearing the lines after "human accidents"

The second part of the route I took back

The way up with pink circles, the way back with red stars. Google maps has really declined in its usefulness.