Iwate in One Day: Mitsuishi & Kippushi Green Space — Guide Hitoshi

Tour Report by Hitoshi

My name is Hitoshi Ohata. I’ve been an interpreter and guide for about six years since I retired. I live in Takizawa City which is at the foot of Mt. Iwate, the highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture. My hobby is playing table tennis once a week. I’m not a competitive player, I’m just having fun. I also play go, a board game. The main guides are a guide to Hiraizumi’s cultural heritage and a guide to cruise ship tours in Aomori and Iwate Prefecture. I’ve experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake, so I can talk about things like that. I try to convey Japanese culture and society to people overseas in an easy-to-understand way as much as possible.

What Is a Full-Day Private Walking Tour of Morioka Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests and I set out from the Hotel and explored the city on foot in a clockwise route. At Mitsuishi Shrine, they gazed around the giant boulders said to bear the handprints of an ogre. After photographing the impressive main gate of Hoonji Temple, we went up into the main hall and carefully observed the interior. Entering the Rakando hall, the guests viewed the Five Hundred Rakan statues. They observed the differing expressions of the statues, including Marco Polo, Kublai Khan, and the only female rakan. In the meditation hall, the guests seemed to take in the atmosphere of zazen. At the long-established Goza-Kyu shop in Konya-cho, they showed great interest in the brooms, bamboo crafts, and other goods. At the Iwate Bank Red Brick Building, they sat on the chairs in the lobby and photographed the surroundings. At Morioka Hachimangu Shrine, the guests visited the shrine of the twelve zodiac animals corresponding to their own zodiac sign (the sheep) and then paid their respects at the main hall. After a break to rehydrate, we set off again. After carefully viewing the Sixteen Rakan at Chabatake Children's Park, we entered a Morioka machiya townhouse in Natayacho and toured the interior. They were impressed by the earthen-floor space and the inner garden. They seemed surprised to learn that the great-grandchild of Mitsumasa Yonai (Japan's 19th Prime Minister), who rests at Enkoji Temple, is a member of parliament. At Morioka Castle Ruins Park, they took in the view below from the site of the main keep of the honmaru. Going down the Roka Bridge, we viewed the monument to Inazo Nitobe and the poetry monument to Takuboku Ishikawa in the ninomaru. They showed interest in the meaning of Nitobe's inscription, "I shall become a bridge across the Pacific." They seemed astonished by the size of the Eboshi Rock at Sakurayama Shrine and went close to take photographs. Feeling hungry, we had lunch at an eatery near the shrine. Viewing the townscape of the main avenue, we crossed Kaiun Bridge, known as the "bridge that makes you cry twice," and headed north along Kibushi Green Space. Looking out over the riverbed of the Kitakami River, we arrived back at the Hotel.

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Tour Report by Hitoshi

My name is Hitoshi Ohata. I’ve been an interpreter and guide for about six years since I retired. I live in Takizawa City which is at the foot of Mt. Iwate, the highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture. My hobby is playing table tennis once a week. I’m not a competitive player, I’m just having fun. I also play go, a board game. The main guides are a guide to Hiraizumi’s cultural heritage and a guide to cruise ship tours in Aomori and Iwate Prefecture. I’ve experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake, so I can talk about things like that. I try to convey Japanese culture and society to people overseas in an easy-to-understand way as much as possible.