Hachimantai (八幡平市) is a city in northwestern Iwate Prefecture. The area draws visitors for skiing in winter and hiking in summer, and there are also numerous onsen hot springs, many of which accept day guests.
Understand
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Hachimantai is a large volcanic plateau straddling Iwate and Akita prefectures, all of it mountainous and thinly populated. The administrative city of Hachimantai, the product of numerous local council mergers, covers the Iwate side. This means both that many places on the Hachimantai plateau are not within city limits, and that there isn't really an obvious "city center". The closest is the stretch between Ōbuke (大更) and Nishine (西根), two of the many merged towns, but the city hall is plunked in the middle of rice paddies further west near Tairadate (平館).
Hachimantai also has many hot springs, which mostly cluster around the 1 Higashi-Hachimantai Onsenkyō (東八幡平温泉郷) area some 15 km west of the town center. Locally, the higashi (east) is often dropped, but there's another cluster of Hachimantai hot springs on the Akita side of the mountains.
- Hachimantai city Sightseeing Association (八幡平市観光協会), 1-28 Kashiwadai, ☏ +81 195-78-3500.
Climate
[edit]It snows a lot in Hachimantai: the ski resorts get around 12 meters of the white stuff in an average year. January daytime highs average -3°C, while August climbs up 28°C.
Tourist information site
[edit]The local tourist association has a partly multilingual guide site.
Get in
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By train
[edit]Hachimantai is served by the JR Hanawa Line between Morioka and Odate. Counterintuitively, the station for Hachimantai town is 1 Ōbuke, while Hachimantai station is the neighboring city of Kazuno. There's also a station called Matsuo-Hachimantai (松尾八幡平駅), in the middle of nowhere some 10 km north of town.
By bus
[edit]Iwate Kenpoku Bus has roughly hourly buses from Morioka to Ōbuke and 2 Tairadate station (1 hr, ¥930), some of which continue west into the mountains through Higashi-Hachimantai Onsenkyō up to Matsukawa Onsen and, in summer only, Toshichi Onsen.
Get around
[edit]There are some local buses, but schedules are very limited, so this is one of those parts of Japan where driving will come in quite handy.
In ski season only, there are twice-daily direct buses between Higashi-Hachimantai Onsenkyō and Appi Kogen, catering for hot spring guests going skiing and skiers going hot spring hopping.
Due to heavy snowfall, in the western mountains many roads close entirely between late October and late April, and you may need to detour via the other side of the mountains in Akita to reach those few places do stay open.
See
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- 1 Hachimantai Dragon Eye (Kagami-numa 鏡沼). For two short weeks in late May/early June, the edges of this pond melt before the center, producing a stunning "dragon's eye" effect on a sunny day. Access requires driving up and navigating a muddy trail, so wear hiking boots.
Do
[edit]Hachimantai's top draws are skiing at 2 Appi Kogen and hiking in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, both covered in separate articles.
- 3 Hachimantai Ski Resort. This smallish ski resort has six lifts split across two separate areas 2 km apart, with combined ticketing and a free shuttle bus. Panorama (パノラマ) is more beginner-friendly with a dedicated kids area, while Shimokura (下倉) is for advanced powder hounds and features slopes up to 37°. Integrated with the Hachimantai Mountain Hotel for ski-in/out convenience. Ski pass from ¥5800/3400 adult/child per day.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]- 1 Kitchen Cafe Kappa. W-M 11:30-19:30. The only cafe/restaurant in the Hachimantai Onsen area, serving up ramen, rice bowls and a few cafe dishes like waffles and homemade pudding. Food quality is a cut above the usual. Meals from ¥750.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]Hachimantai has several spectacular hot spring lodges deep in the mountains, which are also open to day-trippers.
- 1 Matsukawa Onsen Kyōunsō (松川温泉 峡雲荘), Matsukawa Onsen, Matsuoyoriki, ☏ +81-195-78-2256. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. A traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) nestled in the Matsukawa Gorge, renowned for its milky-white, free-flowing sulfur hot spring baths. Both indoor and open-air baths (rotemburo). The inn serves meals featuring local Hachimantai ingredients, and a communal kitchen is available for guests who wish to cook for themselves (it's recommended to inquire in advance). ¥12,250 - ¥20,500 per person, per night with two meals.
- 2 Tōshichi Onsen Saiunsō (藤七温泉 彩雲荘), Kitanomata, Matsuoyoriki, ☏ +81-90-1495-0950. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 10:00. One of the highest altitude hot spring inns in the Tohoku region, near the summit of Mt. Hachimantai, this very, very rustic inn has no less than six separate outdoor baths (rotenburo) connected with a spiderweb of walkways. The water is milky white and sulfuric, and you can scoop up mud straight from the pools to treat your skin. Accommodations are in basic Japanese-style rooms with buffet dinners. Due to the exceedingly remote location, the inn is closed during the long winter period (end-October and end-April), generates its own power, and has spotty to no mobile phone reception. ¥13,110 - ¥15,810 per person, per night with two meals.
- 3 Hachimantai Heights (八幡平ハイツ), ☏ +81-195-78-2121. This sprawling,.aging mountain hotel is nothing special, but the hot springs are open to daytrippers (¥700) and feature a fabulous outdoor rotenburo surrounded by piles of snow in winter and views towards Mt Iwate on a clear day. ¥20000 with meals.
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]| Routes through Hachimantai |
| END ← | E  W
|
→ Ninohe → Hachinohe |
| Aomori ← Hirosaki ← | N  S
|
→ Morioka → Sendai |