Ichinoseki

Ichinoseki (一関) is a city in Iwate Prefecture in the north eastern part of the main island (Honshu) in Japan.

Understand
While the city merged in 2006 with surrounding municipalities, it is still not a very large town, and the downtown area which contains most entertainment facilities is compact. NEC, Sony and Fujitsu General Electronics are the main employers, with their factories providing work for mostly Brazilian migrants. The city has warm summers and cold winters, so dress appropriately for the season.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.

Get in
Take the Yamabiko Shinkansen from Tokyo or Ueno station; this journey takes about 3 hours with stops at Sendai and more on the way up. From Sendai, the Shinkansen takes about half an hour, while there are also local trains and a highway bus for those on a budget.

From Sendai, there is a bus that goes to Ichinoseki on the hour. One-way is ¥1500, and round-trip is ¥2700. 80 minutes. Board in front of Sakurano department store on Aoba street, near the station's west exit.

Get around
The downtown is accessible on foot, but bicycles are available for rent at the bicycle parking lot to the left of the station's west exit. Look for the Rentakun (レン太君) sign next to the office. The station also has a taxi pool and is a hub for the city's buses. Trains on the Ofunato Line access the more rural areas of Ichinoseki.

See












Eat
There are a couple of small izakaya (Irohanihoheto (いろはにほへと), Ne-Ne-Ya (寧々家), and the like) style places in front of the train station. And, if you like yakitori make sure to check out the Michinoku (みちのく) and Ippachi (一八), both of which are fairly famous locally. After that there are a couple of good unagi restaurants within a 10 minute walk of the station. For late night eats, there are ramen shops and typical chains like Yoshinoya and Sukiya, plus a McDonald's near SATY.

Drink
Abanzale is the most popular bar for the youth of Ichinoseki, due to its bi-weekly events such as hip-hop night and small dance floor. The music is usually hip hop, but on quite nights you can hear jazz. The English-speaking owner is very friendly, plus he's a DJ. To get there, walk down O-machi to Top Wellness, and turn left. Abanzale is the only bar on the street, and will have a light out front on its sign. If you are younger and want to have fun in Ichinoseki, definitely go to Abanzale, it's your best shot.

Bothy is a very nice little bar. To get there, walk straight out of the station, down and up the underground walkway and it's on your right on the second floor, up some stairs. The food is great and the alcohol selection is nice. Plus, they usually play old rock and roll and the like (think Beatles).

Sugar Bar is another great place. To get there, walk straight out of the station, down and up the underground walkway, turn right at the traffic lights, walk for 3 or 4 minutes and it's on your left, up some stairs on the second floor. They have (probably) the best alcohol selection in Ichinoseki. The master and mama are very friendly, and the mama makes some of the best pasta and pizza in the city. Plus they serve delicious raw ham cut right at the counter. The music is almost always jazz. Lastly, you can get some nice cigars here, if you are interested.

After those places there are, of course, dozens of hostess bars and snacks all around the station. If you are a visitor who doesn't understand hostess bars, don't go. If you know the score, then have at it. Sone of the more popular places are Ageha and Ichigo (いちご).

Sleep
There are a couple of hotels right in front of the station, west (main) exit.

There are also a number of other small hotels and ryokan located throughout the city, including one that is the exact same ryokan where Emperor Meiji stayed during his trip to the north, give or take a few fires, floods, and complete rebuildings.

Go next

 * Hiraizumi
 * Oshu
 * Fujisawa
 * Rikuzentakata
 * Sumita
 * Kanegasaki
 * Kesennuma
 * Tome
 * Kurihama