Getting around Iwate

Getting inHow you arrive in Iwate

Hanamaki Airport · Morioka Station (shinkansen, about 2h 10m from Tokyo)

Confirmed journey times

Fastest services, checked on the date shown.

Tokyo to Morioka: 2 hours 10 to 2 hours 20 minutes on the fastest Tohoku shinkansen (Hayabusa or Komachi). The stopping Yamabiko service takes about 3 hours 20 — a difference of an hour, so check which service you are booking.
Checked 2026-08-16
The fast train is reserved-seat only: Hayabusa and Komachi have no unreserved carriages. A Japan Rail Pass is valid, and a seat reservation is collected before boarding — it is free with the pass. Reservations are free with the pass.
Checked 2026-08-16
For the temple town of Hiraizumi: Get off the shinkansen at Ichinoseki, south of Morioka, and change to a local train on the Tohoku main line. It is a short hop, but the local trains are infrequent & Allow plenty of time between connections.
Checked 2026-08-16
Distances here are real: Iwate is the largest prefecture on the main island, and the coast is a long way from Morioka. Treat the coast and the inland as two separate days, not one.
Checked 2026-08-16

A Japan Rail Pass does not cover Nozomi or Mizuho. What a rail pass covers

An IC card works on most of them. Signs and station names are in English.

Worth it the moment you leave the main city. What you need to drive here

Permit neededDrive left

Clean, safe and metered. Show the address on your phone rather than saying it. Doors are often opened for you.

Show the address

City: Usually around midnight
Country: Far earlier — sometimes mid-afternoon. Ask at the stop when you arrive, not when you want to leave
If you miss it: Ask your inn to call a taxi before the last bus goes, not after

ATMs: Use 7-Eleven or Japan Post for a foreign card. Bank ATMs are hit and miss
Carry: ¥10,000–20,000 on a day out of the city. Rural areas have very little
Small places: Cash only is common. Ask “Card OK?” before you order

Lockers: At the main station, paid by IC card. They fill by mid-morning
Send it: Any convenience store will deliver it to your next hotel, usually next day. Cheaper than carrying it up stairs
At your inn: They will hold it before check-in and after check-out