Iwate Voyage Tips and guide

Iwate Prefecture (岩手県 Iwate-ken) is in the northeastern Tohoku region of the main Japanese island Honshu.

Second only to Hokkaido in having Japan's lowest population density, much of Iwate is remote and mountainous. Its early history was marked by fighting between the Japanese and the native Emishi people, thought to be related to the Ainu in Hokkaido. In the 11th century, the breakaway Northern Fujiwara clan formed their own independent realm here, ruling from Hiraizumi, the "Kyoto of the North", until crushed by Minamoto forces in 1189.

Most settlements are nestled in the fertile valley running north-south between the Ōu and Kitakami mountain ranges from Sendai to prefectural capital Morioka. The Pacific Ocean coastline is rocky with many sheer cliffs, and its towns were devastated by the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, with 3,056 dead or missing.

Visit Iwate is the prefecture's official multilingual guide site.

Map of Iwate

• 39.702083141.15451 Morioka — The prefectural capital, famous for its noodles.
• 39.956389141.0716392 Hachimantai — skiing, hot springs and hiking
• 39.388611141.1169173 Hanamaki — Hanamaki is most famous as the birthplace of Kenji Miyazawa and for its onsen.
• 38.986611141.1138334 Hiraizumi — once rivaled Kyoto, but now known for two temples and a poet who visited 400 years ago.
• 38.934722141.1265835 Ichinoseki
• 39.843139141.7963896 Iwaizumi — the town has Ryusendo, one of Japan's three famous caves.
• 39.275806141.8856947 Kamaishi
• 39.639722141.9461118 Miyako
• 40.27125141.3047789 Ninohe
• 39.35825141.89944410 Otsuchi
• 39.332028141.53288911 Tono — a small city famous for its folk tales.
• 39.930472141.88891712 Tanohata — is proud of Kitayamasaki Cape, seaweed and farm products.

• 39.860533141.7972811 Ryusendo limestone cave — located in Iwaizumi, considered one of the three major limestone caves in Japan. It also boasts one of the largest underground lakes in Japan, with crystal-clear water.
• 39.994444140.9641672 Appi Kogen — one of the best ski grounds in Tohoku, with runs for all levels.
• Towada-Hachimantai National Park — large national park that covers most of the northwestern corner of Iwate

39.428611141.1352781 Iwate Hanamaki Airport (花巻空港, HNA ^IATA), about 1 hr south of Morioka and 4 km away from Hanamaki Airport station (花巻空港駅) on the JR Tohoku Main Line, is the only airport in Iwate with scheduled service. It has domestic flights to most major Japanese cities except Tokyo, as well as international services to Shanghai and Taipei. Most travellers will find it easier and cheaper to fly to Tokyo and continue to Iwate by train.

• The Tohoku Shinkansen barrels through Ichinoseki and Morioka on its way from Sendai north to Aomori and Hakodate. The Akita Shinkansen splits off at Morioka on its way to Akita.

Iwate has a sparse network of train lines with limited services. The former trunk line north from Morioka towards Aomori, now duplicated by the Shinkansen, has been privatized as the Iwate Galaxy Railway and is not covered by JR passes. In addition, the private Sanriku Railway runs along Iwate's coast between Miyako and Kuji.

Buses fill in the gaps and are often more frequent than trains, but driving is still the best option if you're planning to leave the beaten track.

• Visit Geibikei Gorge and enjoy a ride on one of the boats and listen to the singing of your guide. Feed koi carp in warmer weather, enjoy the changing leaves in the fall and the snow in the winter. (Ichinoseki)
• Explore the remains of the former northern capital (Hiraizumi)
• Make your way through Ryusendo Cave, one of Japan's Top Three caves. (Iwaizumi)
• Search for kappa in one of the most famous kappa towns (Tono)
• Walk through art inspired by the books of Kenji Miyazawa in the Miyazawa Kenji Dowa-Mura (Hanamaki)

Iwate's most famous dishes are the "Morioka three great noodles" (盛岡三大麺 Morioka sandaimen), which are:

• Morioka reimen (盛岡冷麺). Inspired by Korean naengmyeon cold noodles and brought to Morioka by a Korean immigrant, these are spicy cold noodles served with half a boiled egg, kimchi and slice of either apple, watermelon or both.
• Morioka jajamen (盛岡じゃじゃ麺). Inspired by Chinese zhajiangmian, this is a dish of udon noodles with minced meat and miso paste and shreds of cucumber. Once you're halfway through, you can request your noodles are turned into chitantan (チータンタン) soup by adding a raw egg and boiling water.
• Wanko soba (わんこそば). Tiny servings of soba served in "all you can eat" style: your server will keep refilling your bowl until you pop the lid on. 50-60 bowls is considered a normal feed, but some eaters manage to down over 100.

• 
  Morioka reimen
• 
  Morioka jajamen
• 
  Wanko soba

• Aomori Prefecture
• Akita Prefecture
• Miyagi Prefecture