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4 days in Iwate - Not enough!
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| Flying dango from Genbikei, Iwate |
So, where is Iwate?
Iwate is part of the Tohoku region of Japan, east of Akita, and south of Hokkaido & Aomori. It offers a unique coastline, and a lot of cultural heritages! It's also a great place for mochi and noodle lovers.
Why did you decide to visit Iwate?
The main reason I've decided to visit Iwate was no other than due to influence of my favorite person - Hosoya Yoshimasa-san. He is a famous seiyuu (voice actor) in Japan voicing various movies, anime, games and even hosts a radio show.Years ago, he and Ono Kensho-san (voice actor) had a travel program that they have visited Iwate for a 2-day trip, so that gave me the kick start!
What do you have in Iwate?
Iwate has a lot to offer, and my stay of a short 4 days was not enough to visit everything!
Above is a map that I've compiled some information that I believe would find helpful for everyone.
The main parts of sightseeing would be Ichinoseki, Hiraizumi, and Morioka.
However, Tono, Kamaishi, Hanamaki, Miyako are also some places that are worthy of visit!
For further information, you can visit Iwate's Official Travel Guide Page here.
Hiraizumi - The Place of Heritages
Visiting Hiraizumi was a relaxing trip for me. I based myself in Ichinoseki so it is very easy to travel around! It offers a nice, relaxing walk (even a short hike) with temples and nice trees!Motsuji, Chusonji are some of my favorite places. Amazing architecture, nice row of cedar trees, and a relaxing atmosphere! Here are some photos that I've managed to take (and edited) with my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
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| Motsuji's Main Hall |
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| Chusonji's Konjikido. Photography/ videography/ recording inside is strictly not allowed. |
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| Rows of cedar trees along Tsukimizaka (moon-viewing slope) on the way up to Chusonji |
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| Sakura tree in Motsuji's gardens. They also have a flower garden but it wasn't the best time to view it during my visit. |
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| Dragon boats used for festivals in Motsuji. |
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| Beautiful garden in Motsuji |
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| How Konjikido looks like. This is a model found in Ichinoseki Station. |
Ichinoseki - The Gem of Iwate
From Ichinoseki, I have managed to view some nice sakura, gorges, and tasting the nicest mochi I've tried in my life!
The gorge that I would love to talk about is Genbikei, because it has a flying dango that comes from across the river! By all means please try it!
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| Part of Geibikei Gorge |
If anyone wants to know why I came to Iwate, here's why:
おはようございます！！今、細谷佳正さんと旅友の撮影中です！皆様からの質問を大募集！このツイートに返信してください！ロケ中に答えますー！！！よろしくお願いします^_^まぶすぃー。 pic.twitter.com/Dwzc1oTYuc— 小野賢章がゆく 旅友 【公式】 (@info_tabitomo) September 16, 2017
DVD「小野賢章がゆく 旅友 第六弾 〜ゲスト：細谷佳正篇〜」が2018年1月13(土)発売決定！第六弾は"大人の修学旅行"をテーマに岩手県の一関・平泉地区を巡りました！— 小野賢章がゆく 旅友 【公式】 (@info_tabitomo) October 5, 2017
全国のアニメイトショップ、アニメイトオンラインショップにて、本日から予約開始！→https://t.co/e3zKRwiA62 pic.twitter.com/QxLH8QMvc7
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| Mochi from Seki no Ichi Brewery's Restaurant |
A popular culture in Iwate is to eat mochi. I got to know this restaurant (which is also a place where you can visit to understand how to brew beer) from Ono-san and Hosoya-san's program! You get eight different types of mochi (the middle one is not mochi, it's raddish, more of a cleanser you use to switch flavors).
The special part about this set is that, they have a hidden branch (?) under one of the mochis. You can eat the mochi in any order, and if you picked the one with a branch on your first mochi, then the day itself is your lucky day; and if it's in your second mochi, tomorrow will be your lucky day; if it's in your third mochi, the day after tomorrow will be a lucky day... and so on!
There are 8 flavors, from top left: shrimps, wild sesame, black sesame, zunda, raddish (not mochi), walnut, natto, sweetened red bean, grated raddish (with some mushrooms). Although natto is my least favorite, but I don't dislike it. Personal favorites are red bean, shrimp and wild sesame.
Red bean has a sweetness that hit right home, shrimps are crispy and flavorful, wild sesame has a hint of sweetness and fragrance that I love. They also had another bowl of soup + mochi but I really prefer my mochi to be sweet. Salty mochi tastes nice too, but I guess I am just preferring things to be sweet?
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| I got my branch in my third mochi! |
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| Sahara Glass Park near Genbikei |
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| Map of Japanese food in Seki no Ichi's Private Room |
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| Pokemon Train (Ichinoseki - Geibikei - Kesennuma) |
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| The oarsman in Geibikei boat cruise |
Geibikei is a gorge that has different beautiful rock formation. You can buy a ticket at 1,600 yen (perks if you stay with Toyoko inn because you can get a discount of 200 yen with the voucher that you can get in the lobby!!) at the counter of Geibikei. There's a waiting room that you can wait for the boat, or you can eat the food around.
The oarsman will guide you through the river as you view the beautiful gorge (Japanese only). As there are nobody else that are foreign-looking, the oarsman spoke in Japanese only. There are some very, very basic English spoken on another boat with a few Caucasians. Either way you get to receive an English pamphlet as well so you won't miss out.
You will be brought until the end of the place and is given 20 minutes to go around. Walk till the end to get some lucky beads (5 for 100 yen) and test your throwing skills for luck! Do remember to get back to the boat on time so you won't be left behind! (I almost got left behind because there were too many people due to two ships coming in at almost the same time, no joke lol)
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| Me finally having the courage to ask a stranger to take a photo of me in the inner part of Geibikei |
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| Cross the bridge and you get to see the selling place of the lucky beads |
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| Some lucky beads - you get to choose for luck, romance, love, opportunity, career.. etc. |
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| Many failed attempts to throw the beads into the hole, gotta swing that arm hard man |
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| Salted skewed fish outside of Geibikei's ticket counter |
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| Free omikuji outside of Geibikei - pick a bead to see which luck you will get! |
After finishing my time in Geibikei, I had plenty of time until my next train back to Ichinoseki, I ate some fish and and played with the omikuji beside the river. Apparently transparent is for studies and I have no intentions to pursue another degree at the moment (lol), a little weird but then I am contemplating about taking JLPT N2 so, maybe it works? BTW you have to return the bead and you will hear an ear-cleansing 'ding' sound!
On the way back to the train station you should also see Kamisukikan! It's a place where you can buy paper-related merchandise, or you can also try making paper! You will be given colored water and various dried leaves, flowers, etc. to be creative!
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| Paper-making studio in Kamisukikan |
Morioka - The Heart of Iwate Noodles
If we are talking about Japanese noodles, you definitely can't miss out Iwate! They love noodles so much that even their city mascot is noodle-themed!
The three famous noodles in Iwate are Wanko soba, Jajamen, and Reimen. You can find them all in Morioka itself!
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| Top: Reimen from Pyonpyon; Bottom left: Egg soup after Jajamen; Right: Jajamen from Pairon |
If you love challenging yourself as a big eater, try eating wanko soba in Azumaya! You get to eat as much as you like with a fee of 3k+ JPY and you'll receive a certificate after your challenge! If you could beat 100 bowls you get a special momento too! Otherwise if you don't feel like challenging (which was my case), there are a lot of places that you get to eat this. I ate mine in Yoshiie because Hosoya-san signed in a corner of the building!
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| Wanko Soba in Yoshiie, Hiraizumi |
Of course, besides noodles, Morioka has a lot to offer too! For instance, beautiful architecture and parks!
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| Bank of Iwate Morioka Red Brick Building |
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| Surrounding area (red brick building across) |
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| Morioka History and Cultural Museum |
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| Pairon Jajamen |
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| Morioka Castle Site Park |
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| Shinkansen Hayabusa and Komachi in Morioka Station |
Other Regions of Iwate
Hanamaki is a place where you can catch the steam locomotive to Kamaishi, SL Ginga! It's a beautiful train with a old school, sleek design while having a planetarium inside! It's a place where Miyazawa Kenji, a children storybook writer lived. This region itself is said to be the Ihatov of Iwate.
Tono and Kamaishi are famous for its history of steel and iron making. It is also a filming place for some dramas due to there having a traditional village. Besides, if you arrive Kamaishi, it's recommended to stay for a night and even head to Miyako for the beautiful Jodogahama beach! Their sanriku railway just went fully operated after the tsunami strike, so it's worth going now!
If you are interested in traditional crafts, perhaps Ninohe of Iwate is a unique place for you too! It's famous for the Japanese lacquer so if you are keen to know how they are made, a trip to Ninohe is recommended as well!
Kitakami is a great place to visit during spring (late April), as Kitakami Tenshochi is lined with rows of sakura blossoms! If you are going there at the right time, you get to enjoy festivals and night view where the trees are lit up too!
My Itinerary
My itinerary in Iwate was a simple and relaxing one! If it's helpful it'd be great!
Day 1 - Arrival in Morioka - Morioka Castle Ruins Park - Sakurayama Shrine - Rock-breaking Cherry Blossom Tree - Bank of Iwate Red Building - Pairon's Jajamen - Takubou Shinkon House - Returning to Ichinoseki to check in hotel.
Day 2 - Taking a train from Ichinoseki to Hiraizumi - Chusonji - Kanjizaiouin Ruins - Hiraizumi Heritage Center - early lunch in Yoshiie (tsukimizaka) - Chusonji - Konjikido of Chusonji - other ruins while walking along the way back to Ichinoseki Station - bus to Takkou no Iwaya - bus to Genbikei - Bus back to Ichinoseki
Day 3 - Hotel breakfast - Pokemon train to Geibikei Station - Geibikei - Kamisukikan - Tsuriyama Park (sakura viewing) - train to Mizusawa Park (sakura viewing)
Day 4 - Hotel breakfast & check out - Hanamaki Station - Kenji Miyazawa Memorial Museum - Kenji Miyazawa Dowa Mura - Onsen-hopping in Hanamaki - leave Iwate
Hope the above helps! I'm definitely planning to head back to Iwate for SL Ginga in the future! I would really want to see Miyako and also taking the Pokemon train all the way until Kesennuma (Miyagi) too!
Will you be going to Iwate? Feel free to ask anything in the comments!
Until my next update! ☆
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