Sembokucho Station is a railway station operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. Sembokucho Station currently serves the JR Tohoku Line for Morioka and Ichinoseki.
The station is located one stop south of one of the largest stations on the JR East network, Morioka Station. The trip from Morioka to Sembokucho Station is only four minutes on the JR Tohoku Line and approximately 90 minutes from Ichinoseki Station for those wanting to access south Iwate. Arriving at the station, you soon feel a sense of being outside the big city. Although it's only located one stop south of Morioka City, it's remarkably quieter and much more user friendly than you may first think. It's a very simple station, there's really nothing that can go wrong, no confusion with multiple exits and very little foot traffic.
The station has a single island platform which services both northbound and southbound lines. There is a large waiting room located on the platform itself and an overhead walking bridge that will connect you to the station office and main exit. The station office is quite small, and contains a reservation office, waiting room, a nice collection of Japanese tourism booklets and of course a vending machine. As with all JR East stations, the interior and exterior of the station is very clean and will ensure your transit is hassle free.
Outside the station there are toilets and an overhead walkway bridge that will take you to the west side of the station. Also outside the station there is a small taxi rank if you need to get somewhere fast. The street directly outside the station has various restaurants, a post office for those wanting to withdraw money with an international card and also a Lawson convenience store.
There are two ramen restaurants located immediately outside the station, the one of the left being a quick eat style and the one located off to the right a larger and well equipped restaurant. A short walk from Sembokucho Station is the Kitakami River, which features a riverside walkway that is quite relaxing during the early morning and late afternoon.
Sembokucho Station is a user-friendly and quiet station that is located only one stop from Morioka Station, yet still has the feel and atmosphere of a small village station.
