Iwate prefecture, in the northern region of Tohoku, is a large and mountainous region of Japan, home to some 1.2 million people. Large portions of the prefecture have been inhabited ever since the indigenous people of Japan arrived over 10,000 years ago. Many areas within this prefecture, including it’s capital city Morioka, have been continuously inhabited in different stages of society throughout the years.
Iwate prefecture is no stranger to natural disaters, from Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions, Iwate has seen it all. In recent years, in 2011, the Great Tohoku earthquake struck the area, decimating houses and businesses, and the subsequent tsunami had done over 370 billion yen in damages to the fishing industry of the coastal prefecture of Iwate.
While Iwate prefecture is not visited very often by tourists, there is no reason to avoid it. In fact, at Off The Track Japan, we encourage you to explore what Iwate prefecture has to offer. It certainly has an abundance of culturally and historically significant locations to explore.
One of the highlights of Iwate prefecture is called the Wanko Soba Challenge, where you are tasked with eating as many bowls of buckwheat soba noodles as you can. They say that an average male adult can eat over 100 bowls.
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