Japan. by Japanese.Japan, judged by a Japanese
A weathered wooden hall with lattice panels among tall pines on a lawnA broad volcanic peak above forested ridges in hazy low sunA white riveted iron bridge with a footpath along it, city buildings and blue sky beyond

Iwate

Iwate: Places to Visit

Food · Things to do · Where to stay

Most visitors to Iwate go to Hiraizumi, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011 for its temples, gardens and archaeological sites, and to Morioka. Both are on the JR Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo: Ichinoseki Station is about 2 hours 10 minutes from Tokyo and 8 minutes from Hiraizumi on the JR Tohoku Main Line, and Morioka Station is about 2 hours from Tokyo.

Hanamaki and Hachimantai are the prefecture's hot spring areas, Mt. Iwate is hiked in summer, and the Pacific shore is the Sanriku coast, part of Sanriku Fukko National Park. Iwate-Hanamaki Airport has domestic and international flights.

Places in Iwate

  • Hiraizumi — Temples, gardens and archaeological sites inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011, among them Chusonji, with its Golden Pavilion, and Motsuji.
  • Morioka — About 2 hours from Tokyo by Tohoku Shinkansen; Morioka Castle Ruins Park stands where the Nanbu clan's castle once stood, and the city is known for wanko soba.
  • Hanamaki — A hot spring area, listed by Japan's national tourism organization with Hachimantai as one of the country's top hot spring areas.
  • Hachimantai — A hot spring and mountain area, with hikes up Mt. Hachimantai, especially in autumn.
  • Sanriku coast — Iwate's Pacific coastline, part of Sanriku Fukko National Park, with Jodogahama Beach and, in Iwaizumi, Ryusendo Cave.