Iwate Prefecture [岩手]
Tourist spots in Iwate Prefecture
Morioka city & northern area
Morioka city
Morioka city (盛岡) is the capital of Iwate Prefecture.
It is located in a basin almost in the center of Iwate Prefecture, and the Kitakami River flows through the center of the city.
Since the 9th century, here has been a central town in this area.
Morioka Castle was built in the early 17 century and developed as a castle town.
After the end of the samurai era, the castle was demolished and is now a castle ruins park.
The scenery of beautiful rivers and mountains is seen, and historic architectures and charming shops are dotted in the compact city.
So, The New York Times ranked Morioka second on its list of "52 places to visit in 2023".
Morioka is known for three kind of noodles: Wanko-soba, Reimen and Jajamen.
You can find the restaurants of such noodles in this city easily.
Photo by Iwate Prefecture
Morioka Sansa Dance Festival is the parade of great Bon festival dance held in the center of Morioka city.
It is held from August 1st to 4th.
The parade goes in teams.
Each team has some dancers, pipers and drummers, but the number of drummer is very large, so this is called "the greatest drum parade in Japan".
One million tourists visit during this period every year.
Various tourist spots in northern area
Southern area
Sanriku Coast
Local foods in Iwate Prefecture
Wanko-soba
Photo by Iwate Prefecture
"Soba" is a major buckwheat noodle in Japan, but Wanko-soba is very unique in serving soba noodle.
Wanko-soba is the famous soba noodle in Morioka and Hanamaki cities.
"Wanko" is a dialect word from Iwate Prefecture that refers to a wooden bowl.
First, you hold an empty bowl.
Then, a waitress behind you puts a mouthful cooked cold soba noodle into your bowl quickly with a brisk call.
You eat (swallow) it immidiately.
As soon as your bowl is emply, the waitress puts next soba noodle into it.
This is repeated endlessly.
Wanko-soba is a competitive eating contest between the customer and the waitress.
It is said that about 15 bowls are equal to a normal bowl of soba noodle.
Adult men eat an average of 60 bowls, but the previous record was 755 bowls which were eaten by a woman in 2026.
When you give up your challenge of this competitive eating, you must put a lid on your bowl.
Even if you say "stop !", the waitress continues to put noodles during your bowl is without a lid.
In Morioka city, there are some Wanko-soba restaurants.
Reimen
Photo by Iwate Prefecture
Reimen is a Korean cold noodle with soup.
It started when a Japanese cook born in North Korea served in 1954 at Morioka.
Of course, he made an effort to suit Japanese taste.
The noodle is white, and springy like rubber.
The soup is made from beef bones, and kimchi (Korean pickles) is topped.
Since the 1990s, it has become popular in Japan.
Now, Morioka is the best place of Reimen.
Jajamen
Jajamen is also one of popular noodle in Morioka.
A Japanese cook returned from Manchuria (current northeastern China) after World War II, then he started to serve it in Morioka.
He had eaten Chinese noodle "Zhajiang mian" in Manchuria, and he made it to suit Japanese taste.
On the boiled thin udon (Japanese white noodle), miso paste mixed with fried minced meat and chopped cucumber are topped.
Depending on individual taste, add a little vinegar, hot sesame oil, grated garlic or ginger to the dish.
After eating, you can order the soup made by adding broken egg and the miso into your used dish.
Nanbu-senbei
Photo by Iwate Prefecture
Nanbu-senbei is a traditional senbei (Japanese cracker) made in Nanbu area.
After mixing wheat flour with water, it is made by baking hard in a round mold.
It usually has a part running off the edge.
It tastes plain with a very little salty and is crisp.
And, the popular senbeis are mixed with black sesame or peanuts.
In addition, there is a unique soup that this senbei is used as one of cooking ingredients.
It is "Ssenbei-jiru" from the eastern part of Aomori Prefecture that was historically a part of the Nanbu domain.
Local specialties in Iwate Prefecture
Nanbu ironware
In Nanbu area, the materials of ironware had been yielded from old times.
So, various ironware has been produced since the 17th century.
Especially, tea ceremony became popular at that time, then good kettles to boil water were made in this area.
And, as the product for daily use, normal kettles were also made.
Today, Nanbu ironware is famous as one of Japanese traditional craft products.
Boiling water or cooking with Nanbu ironware offers excellent benefits such as efficient iron intake and a mellower taste to the water.