The Iwate Hanamaki Airport serves as a gateway to the wonders of the Tohoku region. The airport offers regular domestic routes to Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, as well as international routes to Shanghai in China and Taipei in Taiwan.
Even though this is a smaller regional airport, there are still options for dining and shopping. The Appi Kogen restaurant on the second floor is popular with airport travelers, and uses a range of local Iwate ingredients in their dishes. Some of the menu options available include Morioka cold noodles, Iwate beef curry, and Harami steak, and if you're traveling with children they have a kids meal option available as well.
As for the retail options, the Miyazawa Shoten store on the second floor sells various products from across the prefecture, including sake and wine, confectionery, and local handicrafts. There's also the Akanuma store which sells a variety of agricultural items, and the Hana Airport Shop & Cafe, where you can grab a bento, an onigiri, or some tasty bakery products and enjoy them in the in-store cafe space. For those traveling abroad, the Miyazawa Shoten Tax-free Shop is open on international flight days.
One really impressive point about the Iwate Hanamaki Airport is their goal of making the airport as accessible as possible. The airport was moved to a new building in 2009, and consultations took place with universal design experts and people with disabilities about what should be included. As a result, you'll find braille panels on all signs, ramps for wheelchair users, a kids corner for children to play in, two-way elevators, and multi-function restrooms among other inclusive features.
