Morioka

Ranked No. 2 on The New York Times’ 52 Places to Go in 2023, this small castle town is known for wanko soba, reimen cold noodles and its café culture.

Morioka, the capital of Iwate Prefecture, lies in the north of the Tohoku region of Honshu. The Kitakami, Shizukuishi and Nakatsu rivers meet in the city center, and Mount Iwate, the “Nanbu Fuji”, rises to the northwest. Once the castle town of the 200,000-koku Nanbu domain, it keeps its castle stone walls, red-brick Meiji- and Taisho-era Western-style buildings and old merchant-house streets within about 2 km east of Morioka Station, easy to explore on foot or by the “Den-Den-Mushi” loop bus. In 2023 The New York Times ranked it No. 2 on its list of places to go that year. On the outskirts are Koiwai Farm, Morioka Handi-Works Square, Tsunagi Onsen and Lake Gosho; farther afield are Hachimantai, the Appi Kogen ski resort, Hanamaki, Tono and Ryusendo Cave. The seasons are distinct: cherry blossoms in late April, the Chagu Chagu Umakko horse festival in June, the Morioka Sansa Odori festival on August 1–4, autumn foliage and salmon runs in October–November, and cold, snowy winters ideal for skiing and onsen. Morioka Station is about 2 hours 10 minutes from Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen and is also the transfer point for Aomori and Akita. Plan on 2–3 days. Don’t miss Morioka’s “three great noodles”: wanko soba, Morioka reimen and jajamen; the city is also known for Nanbu ironware and its café culture.

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Itineraries