Hanamaki offers a collection of hot spring areas in central Iwate prefecture, including the Hanamaki Onsen, Dai, Shidodaira, Osawa and Namari – known collectively as the Hanamaki Onsenkyo Village. This is thanks to the vast natural environments that bless the Hanamaki area, with the city bordering the two national parks of Towada-Hachimantai National Park and the Hayachine Quasi-National Park.
It is also known as the home to Kenji Miyazawa, a fable writer born here in 1896 whose imaginative stories have captured the hearts and minds of many children and whose life work is celebrated here.
Visually, Hanamaki comes alive each September thanks to the Hanamaki Festival – with the shishi odori parade of dancers in deer costume a well-respected highlight.
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