Culture A Guide to Tono City and Hanamaki City Veronica Carnevale Tono City and Hanamaki City in Iwate Prefecture act as gateways to different worlds—showcasing traditional customs, folktales,..
Culture Dolls That Color the Seasons 2026 Feb 15th - May 10th A new special exhibition at the Morioka History and Culture Museum invites visitors to explore how traditional dolls have long reflected..
Culture Morioka's Sansa Odori 2026 Aug 1st - Aug 4th The Morioka Sansa Odori is held every year August 1st-4th. In addition to being the world's largest taiko drum gathering, ..
Culture Osawa Onsen Konsei Festival 2026 Wednesday - Apr 29th Golden Week in Iwate Prefecture brings with it one of Japan's more unusual and fascinating cultural events, the Osawa Kons..
Culture Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival 2026 Saturday - Jun 13th Held on the second Saturday of June every year, the Chagu Chagu Umakko Festival is an event intended to worship Sozen-sama, the..
Culture Iwate Coffee Festival 2026 Mid May Coffee lovers visiting Tohoku have something special to look forward to this spring: the return of the Iwate Coffee Festival, which..
Historical Kappa Monster Hunting in Tono Justin Velgus Kappa monsters can supposedly be found over Japan, but there is one place where they said to be so common they are immortalized..
Culture The Genuine ‘Nanbu Tekki’ Kettle Scott Brause Nanbu Tekki is the name of traditional Iwate cast ironware. Genuine cast iron cookware from this region of Japan is born of a 900-year..