Iwate is the largest prefecture on the main island and one of the emptiest — forest, mountains and a long Pacific coast.
Start with the first of these. Each is worth half a day.
A gorge travelled by flat wooden boat, poled by a boatman who sings on the return.
Its one world heritage site is Chusonji, and inside it is the Konjikido — a small hall built in 1124, covered inside and out in gold leaf and mother-of-pearl, and preserved nine hundred years by being kept inside a protective building. It is a single room, and it is worth the journey.
Getting in: Hanamaki Airport · Morioka Station (shinkansen, about 2h 10m from Tokyo)
Pick the season first and the days will arrange themselves.
Snow into April inland. Cherry blossom around late April, with mountains still white behind it.
Cool for Japan. The gorge and the cave are both comfortable in August, and the coast is clear.
Autumn colour from early October in the mountains. The best month for the gorge boats.
Cold and snowy inland, milder on the coast. The gold hall is at its quietest.
