Travel / Tourism Spots in Hanamaki / Tono Area

  • Miyazawa Kenji Memorial Museum
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    4.0
    187 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Hanamakishi Yasawa 1-1-36
    The Miyazawa Kenji Memorial Museum is located in the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture. It contains video images, as well as materials related to the poet and author of children's stories, Miyazawa Kenji, organized into exhibits in five fields. There are presentations about the creative process that led to Miyazawa's works, commentaries, and the results of research about him. Special events are held inside the museum, including limited-time exhibits of the manuscripts of his children's stories.

    I recommend to book Donguri to Yamaneko bus service to take you many spots in the area in classic style little bus costing about USD52 for whole day tour(half day also available) In the morning...

  • Tono Municipal Museum
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    4.5
    35 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Higashidatechou 3-9
    Established in 1980, this museum is the first of its kind in Japan. It is a museum introducing the folklore and folk culture of the Tono peoples' lifestyle, environment, history, and culture. The life of the Tono people in the Tono basin valley is displayed in an easy to understand manner through documents and photographs. One can enjoy viewing the Tono Story, the picture works based on local folklore and topics, and the animated film ''Shigeru Mizuki's Tono Story.''

    This is of surprisingly high standard for a municipal museum. The 500 yen admission fee includes the loan of an audio visual device which provides a commentary in English. The displays are well...

  • Denshoen
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    4.0
    8 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Tsuchibuchichoutsuchibuchi 6-5-1
    Located in Tono, land of Japanese folklore, Denshoen is a facility which exists to share the lifestyle of farmers in the area once lived to future generations. Visitors can learn about old folk tales, experience traditional events, and try making folk crafts. The facility also engages in silkworm raising. Each year a festival to pray to the household god Oshira-sama is held at Denshoen. In addition, the facility regularly has a storyteller share old Tono folktales (fee and reservation required). You can enjoy local Tono cuisine in Denshoen’s cafeteria, and there’s also a memorial museum dedicated to Tono storyteller Kizen Sasaki, as well as the Oshira-do Hall.

    古民家や水車小屋・雪隠・井戸などの昔の建物や、土着神オシラサマを祀るオシラ堂を見ることができます。また遠野物語の語り部である佐々木喜善に関する展示もしています。レストランもあり、郷土食のひっつみ(すいとん)やけいらん(もち粉の皮で餡を包んで茹で汁をはったデザート)を食べることができます。総じてなかなか満足度が高い施設でした。

  • Tono Castle Shitamachi Museum
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    3.5
    17 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Tono-shi Chuodori 4-6
    This museum introduces the castle town of Tono. In the Edo period, the area flourished as a castle town under the lordship of Tono Nanbu, of Mutsu Province. The museum, which was designed in the image of the castle's white earth walls, has exhibits of various artifacts from Tono Nanbu. There are also a wide variety of items including armor, hanging scrolls, swords, boxes containing letters, and shell collections. There are also historical materials on display that date from ancient times to the modern age.

    遠野城下町資料館入館料は510円で、とおの物語の館との共通です。遠野城下町資料館は小さな資料館で、展示品も少なく、遠野城下町資料館単独だったら無料にしてもよいと思う展示内容でした。

  • Yorozu Tetsugoro Memorial Museum
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    4.0
    11 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Iwate Hanamaki-shi Towacho Tsuchizawa 5-135
    "About two minutes by car from Towa Interchange on the Kamaishi Expressway. An art museum that honors Yorozu Tetsugoro, a painter from Tsuchizawa, Towa-cho, Hanamaki City and one of the pioneers of modern Japanese art. Under the theme of ""Yorozu and Tsuchizawa,"" the museum displays collected work that includes oil paintings, ink paintings, sketches, and other items such as notebooks, letters, photographs, and his personal articles. The Haccho Dozo on the west side of the museum is the earthen storehouse from his family home that was transferred to the site and rebuilt. The gallery holds exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art. The adjacent cafe is open to everyone, not just museum visitors."

    大正から昭和初期にかけて日本洋画における前衛を切り開いた 萬鉄五郎の記念館。 その作品の収蔵数も充実しており、 萬の一生を通して作品を観覧することが出来ました。 見学していてふと思った事、 萬の絵の情緒は土地の風土が影響していたのではと感じた点、 宮沢賢治とは分野が違えど、同じ地域で育った人、 二人共、自然と地域の人との関係性が、情操の成長に作用していたのではと ふと考えていた自分に気づきました...

  • Roadside Station Miyamori
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    3.5
    9 Reviews
    Transportation
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Miyamorichoushimomiyamori 30-37-1
    This roadside station is located in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture. It sells processed goods using wasabi (Japanese horseradish), a specialty of the area that boasts the largest production in the Tohoku region, and items such as Tassobe-zuke, wasabi miso and wasabi kasu-zuke line its storefronts. In addition, you can taste unique wasabi beer, which has wasabi extracts, and weitzen beer that utilizes technology from the land of beer, Germany.

    この道の駅の脇に、釜石線が通っており、夜になるとライトアップされて幻想的な風景 が堪能出来ます。 特にSL銀河が通る際は、写真も映えます。 個人的には、夜のライトアップされたなか、列車が通過する風景をSL銀河で運行してほしいです。

  • Bishamon-do Temple
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    4.5
    7 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Hanamakishi Touwachoukitanarushima 5-1
    A mixed Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple located a short drive from the Towa Interchange on the Kamaishi Expressway in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture. The temple's statue of Vaisravana is believed to have been created in the mid-Heian period to protect the northern side of the area; standing 4.73-meter-tall, the statue is made of a single piece of Japanese zelkova and is the largest of its kind in Japan. This statue has also been designated a National Important Cultural Property. The Bishamondo hall has similarly been designated an Important Cultural Property and the hipped roof building is an excellent example of Muromachi period architecture. During golden week each year, the temple holds the Bishamon Festival.

    ここの毘沙門堂だけを見るのではなく、この地域一帯の歴史建造物を見ることで、東北の歴史に触れることができます。ちなみに、乳児・幼児の健やかな成長を祈って行われる「泣き相撲」で有名な場所でもあります。

  • Shinshoji Temple
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    3.5
    7 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Hanamaki-shi Ishigami Cho 389
    A Buddhist temple about a five-minute drive from Hanamaki-Minami Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway. It is said that the temple was built by Nanbu Masamitsu in 1394. It was also Miyazawa Kenji's family temple, and his grave is there along with tombs of the Miyazawa clan. Through this connection with him, it's considered a powerful place for students wishing to improve academically and pray for passing examinations. It's also a well-known cherry blossom spot with numerous weeping cherry trees around the precincts.

    日蓮宗の身延山の別院です。5月初め枝垂れ桜の景観は見事に毎年ご覧になれます。 毎月1日は一日参りが開催されております。

  • Miyazawa Kenji Dowa Mura (Village of Fairy Tales)
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Hanamakishi Takamatsu 26-19
    An experience-oriented museum dedicated to the fairy tales of Kenji Miyazawa located in Takamatsu, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture. Surrounded by hills and fields, you’ll feel like you’ve wandered into the world of Miyazawa’s fairy tales in the museum’s charming, magical atmosphere. The Kenji’s School area is divided into five zones themed after the Miyazawa’s works. Other museum facilities include Milky Way Station, the Sky Plaza, Kenji’s Classroom, the Fairy Path, the Owl Path, and the Yamano Soen forest. Visitors are encouraged to slowly stroll the facility’s grounds and enjoy the fairy tale world and various sculptures scattered here and there. The nearest station is Shin-Hanamaki Station.
  • Roadside Station Tono Kazu no Oka
    Transportation
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Ayaorichounisato 8-2-1
    This roadside station is located in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture. The spiral magnus wind turbine, with blades shaped like screws, is the symbol of the facility. In addition, it sells locally harvested agricultural products, folk crafts and handicrafts, and features a rich variety of items. You can also enjoy Kuretsubo soba (buckwheat noodles), gyoja garlic ramen and a set meal with jingisukan (grilled mutton).
  • Kappabuchi Stream
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Tsuchibuchichoutsuchibuchi
    Kappabuchi Stream is the birthplace of the legend of kappa in Tono, mischievous water imps. According to the legend, kappa live in a pool in a stream that flows behind Jokenji Temple and like to play tricks on people or startle them. On the banks of the stream is a small outdoor shrine dedicated to the god of the kappa, and it is said that if women with children pray there with their breasts bared, their wish will be granted.
  • Runbinii Art Museum
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    4.0
    3 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Iwate Hanamaki-shi Hoshigaoka 1-21-29
    A museum located about five minutes by taxi from JR Hanamaki Station. The main focus of the exhibitions is the artwork of people with disabilities. The free Borderless Gallery, a cafe, and a bakery are on the first floor, and the second floor consists of an atelier used by Mayura, a local creative group featuring artists with disabilities. The atelier is open to the public in the morning except on weekends and other times the museum is closed. The shop on the first floor sells original merchandise.

    前回は道路に雪が残っていて、雨が降っていたが、JR花巻駅まで20分前後、道を変えて徒歩で往復した。 今回は車だったし、気になって寄ってみたが、福祉関係の情報量が減っているように思えた。気のせいだろうか。 道路の向かいは高校で、その北側は花巻球場で賑やかだった。 高校は、今回初めて花巻東と気づいた。

  • Folktale and Storytelling Center
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Chuoudori 2-11
    This is museum where guests can experience Tono’s world of folklore passed down through the generations through audio and visual exhibits. The facility offers something for both adults and children to enjoy, with a theater, video library, and experience corner. In the Tono-za, a theater that was once used as a sake brewer’s storehouse, visitors can appreciate folk tales told by a professional storyteller and other folk entertainment.
  • Hayachine Shrine
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Hanamakishi Ohasamamachiuchikawame 1-1
    A 50-minute drive from the Hanamaki Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway. This Shinto shrine is believed to have been established on top of Mt. Hayachine as a small hokora wayside shrine in 807 by Fujiwara no Narifusa, a descendant of politician and Fujiwara clan founder Fujiwara no Kamatari. The current main shrine building, a prefecturally-designated Tangible Cultural Property, was erected in 1612 and is an example of the architectural techniques used at the time, including a framework built around central pillars, and the carving and ornamentation around the eaves. The Hayachine kagura, a style of Shinto music and dance passed down via a shrine ritual, has been designated a National Important Intangible Folk-Cultural Property as well as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, and each year on January 3 a stirring performance is offered to the gods here.
  • Strawberry House Takahashi
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    3.0
    2 Reviews
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Iwate Hanamaki-shi Ishidoriyacho Godaido 9-84
    This strawberry farm is located approximately an eight-minute drive from JR Shin-Hanamaki Station. The sweet and juicy strawberries are carefully grown in the greenhouses using electrolyzed water agricultural methods. The farm cultivates a variety of strawberries, including Tochiotome, Sagahonoka and Akihime strawberries. The farm is open for strawberry picking from around December to July, with an unlimited-time all-you-can-eat. The farm closes for the day when there are no more strawberries left to pick. The greenhouses are fully accessible, and visitors can enjoy picking the strawberries even from a wheelchair.

    苺狩りに2歳の子供と初挑戦。 苺好きの子供が、飽きるほど苺を食べ、自身もしばらく苺はいいと思うほど楽しめた。 また別の苺狩りも行ってみたいと思うほど、良い経験が出来た。

  • Jokenji Temple
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Tonoshi Tsuchibuchichoutsuchibuchi 7-50
    This is a temple of the Soto school (of Zen Buddhism) that was established in 1490. 3.5-meter statues of the two guardian Deva kings flank the main temple gate. It is also known as the kappa komainu (kappa guardian dog) temple based on a legend that kappa (a mythical water-dwelling creature) that lived in the river to the south of the temple once helped extinguish a fire at the temple and became komainu (a guardian lion-dog).
  • Kiyomizu-dera Temple
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Hanamaki-shi Ota 21-5-1
    A Tendai Buddhist temple located a 24-minute drive from Hanamaki Station on the Tohoku Main Line in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture. The temple was founded to pray for Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in 807 and is considered one of Japan's three Kiyomizu temples. The temple is also the first temple on the Oshu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the Togoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. The temple's principal object of worship is an eleven-faced statue of Kannon kept in the Kannondo hall. Other highlights include the Deva gate, which enshrines the statue of Kannon which is on the Togoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage; the Jigansuido hall, which is said to miraculously heal eye diseases; and a Japanese cedar split into four trunks which is said to bless worshippers with children.
  • Osako Folk Culture Preservation Center (Hayachine Take Kagura Denshokan Museum)
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Pref. Hanamakishi Ohasamamachiuchikawame 1-2
    "The Hayachimine Kagura Hall, nicknamed the ""Hayachimine Kagura Hall of Folklore,"" is a cultural facility that exhibits traditional performing arts, masks, old documents, and other materials from the town of Osako in Hanamaki City. The kagura stage in the museum is also used for practice by the Take-kagura performers."
  • Gohyaku Rakan
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Tono-shi Ayaoricho Nissato
    500 statues of rakan Buddhist disciples made from natural rock. They were carved over a several year period about 200 years ago by the priest Gizan of Daijiji Temple as memorials to people who died from a famine that hit Tohoku. Large and small pieces of granite were placed around the forest, and he proceeded to carve the images from them. Moss has covered the statues over the years, leaving them integrated with the natural landscape. To get there you can climb a trail starting beside Atago Shrine, or you can drive up.
  • Dewa-jinja Shrine, Haguro Boulders
    Travel / Tourism
    Iwate Tono-shi Ayaoricho Nissato 8-chiwari
    Huge boulders on the grounds of Dewa-jinja Shrine, which honors the Shinto deity Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto. Dewa-jinja Shrine is registered as an Oshu Heritage Site. Since it is located at the summit of Mt. Haguro, to see the boulders you need to pass through Mt. Haguro's torii gate and climb a trail. A legend says the boulders were once even larger but were kicked by a tengu (long nosed goblin), breaking them into smaller pieces. There are a number of the Haguro Boulders, starting with a nine-meter high cracked megalith.

Iwate Areas

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A northern Tohoku prefecture promising peace and quiet, Iwate is sparsely populated, replacing people with snow-capped mountains, history-rich sites, and fields of crops that are to thank for the region’s delicious local cuisine. Meander along the three-city Golden Route, where you’ll visit the grand Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi and the Tono folk villages before tasting the three famed noodle dishes of Morioka.

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