Everyone seems to have their own favorite restaurant, cafe, or sweets shop. But if you are asking for bakery recommendations in Morioka, you are going to hear the same answer over and over again: Fukuda Pan Bakery (福田パン). What started as a simple bak..
If you find yourself in Hanamaki, Iwate, you don't want to miss out on a great dining experience. To say that Marukan is an institution in Hanamaki is an understatement. Not only do they have the restaurant and department store, they had at some ..
“Jan jan!” the waitress shouted encouragingly as she tilted the small bowl of noodles over the larger, empty bowl on the table in front of me. They slid into it with a dull splat and I gazed down at them sadly. “More more!” T..
Situated in the heart of Morioka, at the source of the city’s animated pulse, is Hotel Metropolitan Morioka. Hotel Metropolitan Morioka is a convenient 2-minute walk from Morioka train station. From the station to the hotel, you will pass thro..
A hotel with a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, a tasteful local winery, a majestic mountain, and a peaceful farm all within a one-hour driving radius sounds pretty grand, doesn’t it? Welcome to Hotel Folkloro Hanamaki Towa! In addition to..
While in my previous installment I introduced a small hot spring place called Dai Onsen, this time I will talk about my favorite hotel there. It is a Japanese style hotel, a so-called Ryokan, and you could call their style omakase, which basically m..
Long since enshrined a UNESCO protected cultural property, “washoku” as a word has now entered into the English language in response to the shortcomings of merely translating it as “Japanese cuisine”. In short this is because ..
Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was a local hero of Hanamaki City in Iwate Prefecture. Tragically, mirroring today's Hollywood celebrities, Miyazawa became only truly famous nation-wide after his death. He is remembered as a farmer, teacher, social ac..
Iwate is usually forgotten by most visitors, in fact, most don't even know it exists but it's a jewel to discover. It's the largest prefecture in Japan with one of the lowest population. That leaves a lot natural beauty to explore. This ..
