Morioka, Iwate is a city that I have known for twelve years, and for a foreigner, I thought that I knew my way around the city. Recently, I was given a chance to give it a closer look taking the “Den-den mushi go” (“The Snail Bus” in Japanese) an inner-city route on a smaller, newer, less expensive, and generally less crowded bus than the city’s regular ones. It does a quick loop around the heart of the city for 100 yen starting and ending at Morioka station. The bus and its route are designed with the shopper or tourist in mind, not the local commuter. It runs from 9 AM to 7 PM daily with peak shopping hours seeing buses every 15 minutes. The trip, taken on a clear, crisp March day, was highlighted by:
ISHIWARIZAKURA (“The Rock Splitting Cherry Tree”): It is not totally unheard of in nature, but quite rare, for a cherry tree’s seed to germinate inside the cracks of a large boulder. This cherry tree, estimated to be over 350 years old, is exactly that. It is centrally located, in front of the prefectural office. A phenomenon like that is always worthy of pictures and viewing but especially so when its cherry blossoms start blooming. In a typical year that will be around the middle to the end of April.
AZUMAYA: “Wanko Soba” is an Iwate tradition dating back to the Edo period (160 years ago) and a dining highlight since the late 1940s. It consists of the customer eating as many bite-size bowls of buckwheat noodles as they desire while being served at a decent pace by the waitress. The object is not to scarf as many as you can, but occasionally it inspires some friendly competition among its participants. The noodles themselves are quite tasty, and Azumaya, probably Morioka’s best-known “wanko” eatery serves them with tuna sashimi, vegetables, Japanese pickles, chicken, plus spices and garnishes, encouraging you to relish the savory aspects of “wanko” too. Most men and women will eat from thirty to eighty bowls, and records are in the 400 to 500 range. Polishing off 100 bowls gets you a nice wooden placard from the restaurant to commemorate the occasion. A definite “must-do” cultural experience, at least once, while visiting Iwate!
ZAIMOKU-CHO: A neighborhood just a short walk from the train station, it is a spiffy shopping district that has wide sidewalks, interesting sculptures, many benches, and decorative lighting adorning its streets to lure and entertain the customer with its unique atmosphere. The following places are some of its featured merchants:
*KOUGEN-SHA: A high-quality goods and amenities store, highlighted by its lacquer- and tableware, pottery, ceramics, clothing, books, clocks, and other trinkets. Many of the goods it sells are manufactured in Iwate Prefecture. Their motto is; ”quality over fashion” and it is “manna from heaven” for high-end gift seekers. The mood here is one of its special features, and makes it a great representative of Zaimoku’s businesses.
*KOOHIKAN: A tiny, delightful, elegantly-decorated café with great coffee and tea, a quiet, refined ambiance, plus reasonable prices that compete with most local cafes.
*YAMAZEN: A “wagashi” (“Japanese sweets”) store. Their product is neither too sweet nor over-processed. A great place to begin to experience Japanese confections.
Other recommended “Denden” trips:
① Reimen (cold spicy noodle dish) and Termachi-doori strolling route:
[Dendenmushi “Migi” (Right) Route [Morioka Station] to [Honcho-doori Icchome] ]
Kitayama neighborhood walking, Mitsuishi Shirine (“The Devil’s Handprints”), Ho’on Temple (500 Bhuddist Disciples)
[Dendenmushi Right Route [Honcho-doori Icchome] to [Kami no Hashi] ]
Konyacho to Naka no Hashi walking, Gelato at Fujiwara Apiary, Shirsawa Senbei (“rice cookie”), Shoshido, Gozaku, Iwate Bank Nakano Bridge Branch Office
[Dendenmushi Right Route [ Morioka Bus Center (in front of Nakasan department store) ] to [Morioka Station]
Pyon Pyon Sha for “Reimen”
Walk the rest of the way to Morioka Station
② Jaja Men (hot, spicy udon noodle dish), Morioka Castle ruins stroll, Iwate Goods shopping route:
[Dendenmushi “Hidari” (Left) Route [Morioka Station] to [Prefectural Office/front of City Hall] ]
Sightseeing on foot
The Rock Splitting Cherry Tree, Pairon for “Jaja men”, Morioka Castle Ruins Park, Rara Iwate (shopping), Stroll around Odori, Chiroru for cheesecake, Cross Terrace (shopping)
Walk the rest of the way to Morioka Station
Shirasawa Senbei store