In the morning I wandered around the river that goes through Morioka while I waited for things to open.

Nanshoso is a historic Meiji era building with a beautiful garden which is a registered national monument. It used to serve as a retreat for prominent politicians and business leaders but is now open to the public.

Round the back of Morioka station is a 20-story building called Malios which has an observation deck on the top floor. There I got the best view so far of Mount Iwate.

The Tohoku Kizuna Festival brings together a slice of each of the six great traditional festivals of Tohoku (the north east part of the main island of Japan). It was originally created to remember the lives lost in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, and has since become a celebration of Tohoku pride (kizuna means bonds or ties). Every year it takes place in one of the capitals of the six regions: Aomori, Akita, Morioka, Yamagata, Sendai, and Fukushima. Today it was in Morioka and not only that but it went right past my hotel! I didn't plan this, it was pure luck!