Hanamaki offers a collection of hot spring areas in central Iwate prefecture, including the Hanamaki Onsen, Dai, Shidodaira, Osawa and Namari - known collectively as the Hanamaki Onsenkyo Village. This is thanks to the vast natural environments that bless the Hanamaki area, with the city borde..
Tono is a small city located in Tohoku's Iwate prefecture. Known as the City of Folklore, Tono is well-known for its abundant collection of folktales as well as dedication to the preservation of traditional culture. Kunio Yanagita recorded the legends, the Tōno Monogatari, in 1910, preserving th..
Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, it has quite a rich history and a few old buildings still remain. It is at the confluence of 3 rivers, Kitakami, Shizukiishi and Nakatsu rivers, a strategic location in old times. It is also located just a few kilometers away from Mt. Iwate, the large..
Sobe's Café Sobe's Café is located in Hanamaki near Fuji University in the south part of the city. What is special about this place is that it's a macrobiotic restaurant and shop. They also grow their own organic rice,..
Everyone seems to have their own favorite restaurant, cafe, or sweets shop. But if you are asking for bakery recommendations in Morioka, you are going to hear the same answer over and over again: Fukuda Pan Bakery (福田パン). What started as a simple bak..
If you find yourself in Hanamaki, Iwate, you don't want to miss out on a great dining experience. To say that Marukan is an institution in Hanamaki is an understatement. Not only do they have the restaurant and department store, they had at some ..
Situated in the heart of Morioka, at the source of the city's animated pulse, is Hotel Metropolitan Morioka. Hotel Metropolitan Morioka is a convenient 2-minute walk from Morioka train station. From the station to the hotel, you will pass thro..
A hotel with a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, a tasteful local winery, a majestic mountain, and a peaceful farm all within a one-hour driving radius sounds pretty grand, doesn't it? Welcome to Hotel Folkloro Hanamaki Towa! In addition to..
While in my previous installment I introduced a small hot spring place called Dai Onsen, this time I will talk about my favorite hotel there. It is a Japanese style hotel, a so-called Ryokan, and you could call their style omakase, which basically m..
Tohoku contains some of Japan's most undiscovered treasures, and while the 2011 tsunami and earthquake damaged the region, it has bounced back stronger and now offers a gateway into the less-trodden path in Japan. A two-day tour of Iwate aimed to..
Many places in Japan are well known for great powder to ski or snowboard, yet somehow, Iwate is often overlooked for more popular places like Hokkaido or Nagano. Iwate has over a dozen great places to enjoy, 19 in all, there's certainly something..
Rikuzentakata (陸前高田) is a coastal city in southern Iwate Prefecture, along Japan's Pacific coastline. The area is known for a number of popular attractions, but since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami Rikentakata is also known as a region that has ..
