Access Guide ●─── Access from major airports outside of Iwate (Tohoku Shinkansen) (Narita Express) Approx. 2 hr 05 mins Ichinoseki Narita International Airport Approx. 1 hr Approx. 2 hr 42 mins Shin-Hanamaki Tokyo Sapporo (Tokyo Monorail) (JR) Approx. 2 hr 10 mins Morioka New Chitose Airport Haneda Airport Approx. 20 mins Hamamatsucho Approx. 6 mins Muroran Approx. 2 hr 53 mins Nihohe Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Shin-Aomori IWATE (Sendai Airport Access Line) Hachinohe Japan Approx. 25 mins (Tohoku Shinkansen) Akita Shinkansen Sendai Domestic Airline Akita Morioka Sendai Morioka Miyako Airport (Connecting bus) Approx. 40 mins Yokote Iwate Hanamaki Airport Sapporo Iwate Tourist Guidebook Akita Expressway Nagoya Approx. 40 mins Shinjo Kitakami Osaka Yamagata Shinkansen Yamagata Fukuoka https://visitiwate.com/ Sendai Joetsu Shinkansen Niigata Sendai Airport Nagano Shinkansen Fukushima ●─── Access from within Japan Hokuriku Shinkansen Tohoku Expressway (New Chitose) Kanazawa Takasaki Sapporo Approx. 55 mins (Connecting bus) Nagano Tohoku Shinkansen Osaka International (Komaki) Tokyo Nagoya Approx. 1 hr 10 mins Iwate Approx. 53 mins Morioka Sanyo Shinkansen Airport (Itami) Narita International Airport Hanamaki Kyoto Nagoya (Komaki) Haneda Airport Osaka (Itami) Approx. 1 hr 20 mins Hiroshima Okayama Osaka Airport Hakata Fukuoka Airport Kansai International Airport Chubu Centrair Fukuoka (Fukuoka) Approx. 2 hrs International Airport Tokaido Shinkansen Kumamoto Kyushu Shinkansen Kagoshima-Chuo New route open in June 2018! Miyako – Muroran Ferry 1 round trip per day (10 hours one way) Temperature fluctuations throughout the year in Iwate prefecture (Morioka) Leave Miyako: 8:00AM Arrive Muroran: 6:00PM Service plan (In Celsius) Leave Muroran: 8:00PM Arrive Miyako: 6:00AM 35 30 See website for details. 25 silverferry.jp 20 15 10 TOHOKU EXPRESSWAY PASS 5 With the Tohoku Expressway Pass, you can use Tohoku’s expressways as 0 much as you like for one set price! -5 Please pick up a special ETC card along with your rental car. -10 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec (Month) Options range from 2 to 14 days at prices ranging from 4,100 to 12,200 yen. Highest Temperature Lowest Temperature Ave. Temperature For example: Regular expressway tolls (regular-sized car) Sendai Airport – Chusonji (Hiraizumi-Maesawa IC) One way: 3,650 yen Guidance in 4 languages for sightseeing in Iwate Sendai Airport – Shirakami-Sanchi (Owani-Hirosaki IC) One way: 7,950 yen http://www.driveplaza.com/trip/drawari/tep2015/en.html Iwate Hiraizumi Interpreters and Guides Association http://iwate-guide.sakura.ne.jp/en/en01.html JR EAST PASS Tohoku Area Available languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, German This special pass lets you freely get on and off all express and normal Inquiries: trains (including shinkansen) within a specified free area! Iwate Hiraizumi Interpreters and Guides Association Office 208 Hanadate, Hiraizumi, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiwai-gun 029-4102 Sold abroad Adult (Age 12 and up): 19,350 yen Child (Age 6-11): 9,670 yen TEL: +81-191-46-3762 (9:00-18:00) FAX: +81-191-46-3518 Sold domestically Adult (Age 12 and up): 20,360 yen Child (Age 6-11): 10,180 yen e-mail [email protected] Conditions for purchase: Available only to foreign citizens with non-Japanese passports, visiting Japan for less than 90 days. Must show passport at time of purchase and pickup. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass_t/index.html Iwate Prefecture Tourism Division 10-1 Uchimaru, Morioka City, Iwate 020-8570 JR Tohoku-South Hokkaido Rail Pass Tel: +81-19-629-5573 Fax: +81-19-623-2510 This special pass lets you freely get on and off all express and normal https://visitiwate.com/ trains (including shinkansen) within a specified free area! Prices and conditions are the same as with JR EAST PASS. Please use QR code to see website for details. http://www.jreasthokkaido.com/tohokuhokkaido/e/ TOHOKU HIGHWAY BUS TICKET This special bus ticket lets you freely get on and off highway buses throughout the six prefectures of Tohoku (including about 60 routes), for either two or three days! Sobacchi Kokucchi Tofucchi Omocchi Unicchi Price 2-Day Pass 6,000 yen Iwate PR characters, the “Wanko Brothers” 3-Day Pass 8,000 yen *There is no child fare for this pass. https://japanbusonline.com/tohoku The Golden Land IWATE, JAPAN Iwate Prefecture Iwate, located in the northeast part of Japan, is the 2nd Festivals largest prefecture after Hokkaido. Iwate is full of charm throughout each of the four rich, beautiful seasons and IWATEJapan boasts stunning views of the sea from the rias coast- line, elegant mountains, and many historical sites tell- ing stories of history and culture represented by two world heritage sites. ●❶ ●❷ ●❸ ●❹ January: Kokuseki-ji Sominsai (Oshu) April: Hitaka Hibuse Matsuri (Oshu) April: Spring Fujiwara Festival May: Esashi Jinku Festival (Oshu) Kokuseki-ji, a Buddhist temple of the 9 musical hayashi-yatai floats decorated (Hiraizumi) A festival celebrated by ten musical Tendai Sect of Mt. Myokensan, holds this with luxurious ornaments move around Various events take place including hayashi-yatai floats and 3,000 dancers. festival of naked men and fire to ward town. Yoshitsune's Eastern Flight Processional off disaster and pray for an abundant and a parade of children in period cos- harvest. tume. World Heritage Site, Hiraizumi (Hiraizumi) In June of 2011, “Hiraizumi- Temples, Gardens, and Archaeologi- cal Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land” was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. ●❺ ●❻ ●❼ ●❽ May: Gokusui no En (Hirazumi) August: Kitakami Michinoku Performing August: Funekko Nagashi (Morioka) September: Kuji Autumn Festival (Kuji) Sake glasses float down the stream pass- Arts Festival (Kitakami) Boats adorned with lanterns and other Large, gorgeous floats and dynamic ing Motsu-ji, and poets dressed in the More than 100 groups of performers striking decorations float down the mikoshi pass down the main streets of garb of the Heian period read poetry. gather from all over Tohoku to give Nakatsugawa River wrapped in flame. the city. competing performances. Motsu-ji (Hiraizumi) Pure Land Gardens boasting exquisite beauty throughout all four seasons. ●10 ●❽ Tohoku Shinkansen ●❾ ●❼●12 Tohoku Expressway Hashino Iron Mine (Kamaishi) It was listed as a World Heritage Site in July, 2015 as a site sym- ●11 History and Culture bolizing the modernization of the steel industry in Japan. ●❻ ●❹ ●13 ●❶ ●❷ ●❸ Tohoku Line ●❺ ●❾ Chagu Chagu Umako Festival August: Sansa Odori (Morioka) (Takizawa, Morioka) A vast parade of over 20,000 dancers, taiko drummers, and flute players. You can jump right in 100 beautifully decorated horses are and join. ridden by children about 15 km at a Goshono Jomon Park (Ichinohe) walking pace along the road. Held on Ruins from the Jomon period dating the 2nd Saturday in June. back about 4,000 years cover the area. ●10 ●11 ●12 ●13 Esashi Fujiwara no Sato September: Ninohe Matsuri (Ninohe) September: Hanamaki Matsuri (Hanamaki) September: Morioka Autumn Festival October: Kamaishi Matsuri (Kamaishi) Heritage Park (Oshu) Morioka Castle Site Park (Iwate Park) Oni Kenbai Hayachine Kagura (Hanamaki) Shishi-Odori (Deer Dance) A mikoshi leads a parade of 9 floats through Over 100 mikoshi and 10 splendid floats (Morioka) Boats carrying shinto gods travel on the This part is a reconstruction of the build- (Morioka) (Demon’s Sword Dance) Registered as a UNESCO Intan- (Throughout Iwate) the city. parade through the city. With cries of “yaaare, yaaare,” luxurious ocean with toramai (tiger performance) ings and streets of the Heian period. It With cherry blossoms in the spring and (Kitakami) gible Cultural Heritage in 2009. floats are pulled through the city. and Shinto dancers on board. is famous as a location for the filming fall colors in the autumn, this beautiful of TV shows. park is full of nature. 2 3 Iwate Prefecture Iwate, located in the northeast part of Japan, is the 2nd Festivals largest prefecture after Hokkaido. Iwate is full of charm throughout each of the four rich, beautiful seasons and IWATEJapan boasts stunning views of the sea from the rias coast- line, elegant mountains, and many historical sites tell- ing stories of history and culture represented by two world heritage sites. ●❶ ●❷ ●❸ ●❹ January: Kokuseki-ji Sominsai (Oshu) April: Hitaka Hibuse Matsuri (Oshu) April: Spring Fujiwara Festival May: Esashi Jinku Festival (Oshu) Kokuseki-ji, a Buddhist temple of the 9 musical hayashi-yatai floats decorated (Hiraizumi) A festival celebrated by ten musical Tendai Sect of Mt. Myokensan, holds this with luxurious ornaments move around Various events take place including hayashi-yatai floats and 3,000 dancers. festival of naked men and fire to ward town. Yoshitsune's Eastern Flight Processional off disaster and pray for an abundant and a parade of children in period cos- harvest. tume. World Heritage Site, Hiraizumi (Hiraizumi) In June of 2011, “Hiraizumi- Temples, Gardens, and Archaeologi- cal Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land” was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. ●❺ ●❻ ●❼ ●❽ May: Gokusui no En (Hirazumi) August: Kitakami Michinoku Performing August: Funekko Nagashi (Morioka) September: Kuji Autumn Festival (Kuji) Sake glasses float down the stream pass- Arts Festival (Kitakami) Boats adorned with lanterns and other Large, gorgeous floats and dynamic ing Motsu-ji, and poets dressed in the More than 100 groups of performers striking decorations float down the mikoshi pass down the main streets of garb of the Heian period read poetry. gather from all over Tohoku to give Nakatsugawa River wrapped in flame. the city. competing performances. Motsu-ji (Hiraizumi) Pure Land Gardens boasting exquisite beauty throughout all four seasons. ●10 ●❽ Tohoku Shinkansen ●❾ ●❼●12 Tohoku Expressway Hashino Iron Mine (Kamaishi) It was listed as a World Heritage Site in July, 2015 as a site sym- ●11 History and Culture bolizing the modernization of the steel industry in Japan. ●❻ ●❹ ●13 ●❶ ●❷ ●❸ Tohoku Line ●❺ ●❾ Chagu Chagu Umako Festival August: Sansa Odori (Morioka) (Takizawa, Morioka) A vast parade of over 20,000 dancers, taiko drummers, and flute players.