Ichinoseki

Ichinoseki is a rural city in southern Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, set where the Kitakami River cuts through wooded hills. It serves as the shinkansen gateway to two celebrated gorges and to Hiraizumi, the temple town that was once the capital of a golden northern fiefdom.

At Geibikei, boatmen pole flat-bottomed boats between sheer cliffs and sing folk songs as they go; at Genbikei, dango dumplings fly across the river to you in a basket on a rope. In Hiraizumi, the gold-covered Konjikido hall of Chuson-ji recalls the lost court, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mochi is the local obsession, served in dozens of sweet and savory styles from a tradition dating back to samurai days; try a full mochi set lunch. Autumn colors both gorges spectacularly. The shinkansen stops in town, so Ichinoseki works as a day stop or overnight between Sendai and Morioka.