Spending a day in Morioka City, Iwate

*The quiet shopping streets of Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture.*

After spending the night at a hot springs resort on the lake in Akita Prefecture, we decided to take a road trip to the very last of the 47 prefectures of Japan on my travel list: Iwate Prefecture. Iwate actually has the lowest population density of all prefectures on the main island of Japan (Honshu), so you’ll definitely feel like you’re in the countryside if you travel here. Taking advantage of the country roads, we decided to stop at a farm and one of Iwate’s nicest museums, Ishigami-no-Oka, before spending the night in the largest city named Morioka. Traveling to all 47 prefectures of Japan has been extremely rewarding, and though Iwate felt a bit less exciting than other cities I’ve been to, I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to visit.

Koiwai Farm

Koiwai Farm is a very tranquil ranch with animals, various dairy products for sale, and a fantastic view of Mt. Iwate. This farm is located between Akita and Morioka City, so we decided to stop here first because it was on the way to our hotel. Before even checking out any of the attractions, we bought some creamy vanilla ice cream because it was fresh and delicious. We mostly spent our time walking around the fields and gazing at the mountain in the distance, but it was fun to see all of the activities you could do here. One of the most interesting nature spots of Koiwai is a sole cherry blossom tree in it that’s ideal for photography in the spring, but unfortunately it wasn’t in bloom this season. What’s also interesting is that you can sign up for lessons on how to milk a cow! During certain times of the year there are festivals and illuminations, so be sure to see what’s in season when you visit.

Address: 36-1 Maruyachi, Shizukuishi, Iwate District, Iwate 020-0507
Entrance Fee: 800 yen

Ishigami-no-Oka Museum

Since I love art and nature, Ishigami-no-Oka Museum was the perfect destination in Iwate for me. Boasting a huge flower garden and abstract sculptures of animals with aerial views, this is a great place to enjoy a stroll and do photography. My favorite piece of art was the seahorse-like creature that looked like it was eating grass from a funny angle. I also liked the bear that was seated at the observatory point. What makes these kind of open air museums so unique is how the light and shadows hit the sculptures, and also how the surroundings change as the seasons change. I would love to come back and visit this museum again during another time of year if given the chance.

Address: Dai 10 Chiwari-121-21 Itsukaichi, Iwate, Iwate District, Iwate 028-4307
Entrance Fee: 500 yen

Exploring Morioka

Morioka is much smaller and more rural than what I initially imagined it to be, but here are some of my favorite recommendations in the city. Please remember that some businesses and attractions may close early since this is the countryside. One of my biggest regrets was not having enough time to make it to Jodogahama Beach because it was over two hours away from the museum, but I’ve also seen a lot of pretty beaches in Okinawa!

Morioka Castle Site Park

Since Morioka’s Castle Site Park was walking distance from our hotel, we decided to check it out before dinner. However, unlike Akita’s Senshu Park, there was sadly no castle here anymore because it was demolished in 1874 with the end of the samurai area. But the area that remains is quite lovely and you can see a nice pond and views of Morioka City by ascending the stairs here.

Food & Drink Recommendations

About 10 minutes walking from the park, I found an amazing vegan restaurant called Karakoma. I ordered a vegan teishoku set served with beet soup, brown rice, and an assortment of vegetable dishes and it tasted beyond amazing! They also have organic wine and vegan desserts. If I was more hungry at the time, I would have ordered more dishes, but what I had was filling enough!

Before calling it a night, we decided to head to a cocktail bar called esprit for some sweet drinks. I ordered a tiramisu cocktail and a White Russian. As you can expect from a bar like this, the quality was top notch and the drinks were just as good as the vegan meal I ate before. I really hope this bar gets more recognition because it clearly deserves it!

Accommodation

We stayed in Hotel Ace Morioka because it was centrally located and around 5000 yen per night, but I would not recommend it because the rooms were tiny and smoky. I would look at non-business hotels for a better stay because this one landed a bit below my standards.

This ends my adventure of exploring all 47 prefectures of Japan, but fear not! I have plans to still stay in the country and explore various culture festivals and other things I have yet to experience. I will likely be revisiting many of my favorite prefectures, like Kyoto and Osaka, again this year and look forward to what the future brings. My next trip is coming up in about a week and will be in the Philippines! Please continue to look forward to more exciting adventures from yours truly.

Visiting Zao Fox Village in Miyagi, Japan

Since I recently wrote about my Ghibli Adventures in Yamagata, I figured I’d recount my tale of visiting Zao Fox Village (also called Kitsune Mura) in the neighboring Miyagi Prefecture in 2017. This is the largest outdoor fox sanctuary in Japan that is home to over 100 friendly foxes. Additionally, Zao Fox Village is currently the only place in Japan where you can have the unique experience of holding a baby fox. Though it’s been over 3 years since I first visited this place, I’ll never forget my time here! It was quite the long journey from Tokyo, but was definitely worth it.

Getting There/Expense

Address: Fukuokayatsumiya, Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture 989-0733, Japan

From Ueno Station, you can take the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen Yamabiko to Shiroishi-Zao Station for 10130 yen, then take a taxi for around 4000 yen or Castle Kun shuttle bus (that runs on Tuesdays and Fridays) for 200 yen to reach the village. This combined method of transportation takes about 2 hours total.

The entrance fee is 1000 yen, fox feed is 100 yen, and holding a baby fox cost 400 yen. The cost of getting here from Tokyo is a bit expensive, but the overall cost of the zoo is pretty affordable.

The Fox Experience

The system here is pretty easy to understand. You pay the entrance fee and are given specific instructions on how to safely interact with the foxes, then you are free to wander through their open-air village! They are quite entertaining to watch and you may even have the chance to see the rare silver fox roaming around. If you are afraid to get up close, there are several viewing platforms that you can stand at and observe them. Though some foxes enjoy sleeping through the day, they usually become most active when you offer them treats! The baby foxes are available for visitors to hold under supervision several times per day. Be sure to arrive before 4pm if you want to partake in this activity.

Here is a video I captured when one of the staff came out to feed them. As you can see, they show a lot of positive energy. This is even better seeing in person!

Animal Abuse Dispute

There are several articles and documentaries that claim Zao Fox Village is cruel for encasing animals in small spaces. While some of the cages used to transport the animals are small, I would argue that the sanctuary as a whole is quite wide and gives the animals enough room to relax and go about their usual business compared to usual zoos. As I personally observed the foxes here, I noticed they had enough space to exercise and seemed to be in good health. Though exposure to new people can make animals anxious, these foxes can fortunately retreat to their own plots of land away from visitors if they get tired.

Final Thoughts

Though this trip was quite the expense at the time, I thoroughly enjoyed my time seeing all of the foxes up close—especially since I got the chance to hold one! This was my first time seeing a Japanese silver fox as well. If you are interested in seeing a lesser-known fox village in Japan, please check out Kitakitsune Farm in Hokkaido! I have yet to visit, but it is definitely on my bucket list.

Lavender Fields Forever, Alpacas, and the Blue Pond!

Lavender Fields Forever taken at Farm Tomita in Furano, Japan.

There’s nothing quite like backpacking through flower farms and eating lavender ice cream in the countryside of Japan. During this time of year (late June – August), Hokkaido’s flowers are in full bloom and many people flock to Furano and Biei to enjoy the view. There are a number of farms you can visit by taking the Lilac Express from Sapporo Station, and each of them have unique attractions and food!

I first started at Farm Tomita which is just walking distance from Lavender Farm Station (what a cute name)! This is one of the most famous farms due to its large variety of flora, melon farm, and delicious lavender-flavored food. The fields here are very large and you can easily spend over an hour here. I highly recommend trying the tiny slices of lavender cheesecake and hiking to the top of the hill for a unforgettable view. Here is a map of other lavender farms that you can visit in the area.

Afterwards I decided to take the express train from Lavender Farm Station to Biei Station and take a sightseeing bus to see the Blue Pond. This miraculous pond was formed by aluminum and sulfur mixing in with the water during a landslide. Groundwater washing in from the nearby Shirahige Falls and Shirogane Hot Spring also played a role in helping it obtain its color. What makes it amazing is that trees are still growing from the bottom of it. The color of the pond slightly changes over the course of the year and it has become an extremely popular tourist attraction. It was a cloudy summer day when I arrived, so I was able to capture a wonderful blue hill:

Unbeknownst to me, the sightseeing bus next stopped at a flower farm called Shikisai-no-oka, where you can rent vehicles to ride through the fields and also see alpacas! I was absolutely exhausted from backpacking, so I spent the majority of my time with the alpacas. They were fluffy and adorable–definitely a sight for sore eyes!

Overall, Furano and Biei make for a wonderful day trip in Hokkaido! They are fairly secluded areas in a valley of mountains so this trip was the perfect escape from the city. These areas are quite crowded during the summer seasons by tourists who come to see the flowers, so be sure to come early and “be careful about saliva”.