Where to stay in Morioka

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. As of 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of 320 per square kilometre (830/sq mi).

For a traveler, Morioka is perhaps not high on any itinerary and is best known as a major transport hub for Tohoku. From here, one can branch off on the Shinkansen towards Akita and some of the tourist towns on the Akita Shinkansen line. Morioka is an ancient city; it has been inhabited since prehistoric times. You're not likely to see much of its history, however, as it presents itself as much like any Japanese city of its size. The city government has an official Japanese-only site for sightseeing with integrated Google Translate.

Budget travellers of the male variety will likely quickly have their attention drawn to a heavily advertised capsule hotel and sauna existing directly opposite the train station. The price can be extremely cheap, but be warned however that capsule patrons can expect a rapidly upward sliding price scale on repeat use of the sauna facilities, and you may well wish to use them a second time in the morning because the air conditioning intake for the sleeping capsules lies in the smoker's lounge. An alternative lies in a relaxation cafe, Kaikatsu Club (快活クラブ, 2-6-8 O-doori) along the main street on the left hand side, about a 1 km from the station.

Getting in

Iwate Hanamaki Airport (花巻空港, HNA), listed in some flight search engines as Morioka Airport, is in Hanamaki 30 km south of Morioka. It has domestic flights to most major Japanese cities except Tokyo, as well as international services to Taipei. Most travellers will find it easier and cheaper to fly to Tokyo and continue to Morioka by train. Shuttle buses connect Morioka station to Hanamaki Airport for every flight arrival and departure. The trip takes 45 min and costs ¥1600 one-way.

Getting around

Morioka is a small enough city to walk around. The furthest you're likely to want to go is the Morioka Castle site which is about a 30-minute walk from the front of the train station over the steel arch bridge and through the central business district. You can otherwise get the bus to the castle site (below), but the walk through the city is quite pleasant, though can be slippery, snowy and just plain cold in winter and unpleasantly hot and humid in summer.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.