After a few more hours of driving, we reached Morioka, a city way up north. We checked into our hotel, which was conveniently located and had cheap parking. After resting for a while, we decided to go out for dinner, we happened to find an amazing ramen spot that had the tastiest tsukemen (dipped noodles) ever: Menya Iori. Check out the interactive map to find out more.
Check out an interactive map of the places I visited here. I will update this map as I continue my journey. This post is about day 6.
We decided to spend the next day exploring Morioka (it is a small city and 24 hours are definitely enough to see everything) and another day to go on a day trip to the nature around Morioka.The main street of Morioka in the city center is this street: Odori Street. It is a semi-covered arcade that offers protection from the elements. Slow traffic speeds allow for easy and relaxed strolling.If you continue down Odori towards the eastern part of the city, you will reach this part of the city where you can find most of the (good) cafes and restaurants compressed into just a few alleys (left side of the picture).Across the street is Tsurugaike, a public park that connects directly to Morioka Castle. The park was so carefully arranged that it almost looked artificial. The fall leaves were at their peak and we finally saw what we came to Japan for. See for yourself on the next three picturesWe walked around a bit more, exploring Morioka Castle, which is no longer a castle. It was destroyed in 1874 and the castle grounds were turned into a park.
We had lunch at Pairon, where you can eat Jajamen, a noodle dish that Morioka is famous for. Jajamen are slightly thicker than ramen noodles, chewy, almost overcooked in consistency, and are served with miso and freshly cut cucumber pieces. You can add garlic, vinegar, and chili oil to your heart's content. The special thing about Jajamen: When you are almost finished eating, you can crack a raw egg over your leftovers, and the server will add hot soup stock and more miso paste to your noodles, turning them into soup. You can practically enjoy two dishes in one. We were so full after all that food that we decided to go out for coffee.Morioka is famous for its coffee culture and nowhere in Japan have I found a higher density of coffee shops per square meter than here. Normally you cannot sit outside in a cafe or restaurant, but we found a place where not only could you sit outside, but they also had seats right by the river, which you can see in the picture above. This is very unusual for Japan but quite enjoyable for us!After coffee, we went to an old Japanese house, Nanshoso, which we found while researching leaf spots in Morioka. We were not disappointed. The courtyard was beautifully landscaped with fall colors everywhere.A view from the garden to the Nanshoso house.Above you can see a small side alley in Morioka to showcase how quaint most streets look there.In the last hours of daylight, we went to Morioka Hachimangu, which is almost 1000 years old and the largest shrine in Iwate Prefecture.
In the picture above, you can see a small shrine on the grounds of the main shrine with Ema hanging to the left and right.
