Morioka Iwate
Morioka City in Iwate can be used as a base to visit some of the Iwate ski resorts, as well as a couple of ski areas in Akita Prefecture. Staying in the city provides an opportunity to experience Japanese culture that’s not resortified as you typically find when you stay at some of the larger Japanese ski resorts. Other major pros of staying in Morioka are the huge choice of restaurants and bars, and the savings to be made on accommodation.
Morioka is the capital of Iwate Prefecture and is also the largest Iwate city with a population of approximately 300,000 people.
Where is Morioka?
Morioka is located in the Kitakami Basin of the central part of
Iwate Prefecture in the
Tohoku region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. It’s located not too far southeast of the distinctive Mount Iwate, which can be seen from the city.
Morioka train station is on both the Tohoku Shinkansen and Akita Shinkansen lines, so it’s very easy to travel to Morioka via train and it only takes 2.5 hours from Tokyo. See Japan Travel Navitime for routes, timetables and fares.
Ski Resorts Near Morioka
Appi is a major destination ski resort with hotels at the base and lots of amenities and services. Most of the other ski resorts near Morioka have a small amount of accommodation at or near the base and are small to medium sized ski areas with simple facilities.
If you’re not on a
multi-resort guided tour where transport is included, it’s easiest to get around to the ski resorts if you have a
rental car, which also provides the flexibility to visit an onsen on the way back to Morioka. It is possible to use trains and shuttles to get to most of the ski resorts, but it would be rather time consuming.
Morioka Hotels
One of the advantages of using Morioka as a base for a road trip is that you can stay in a quality business hotel for a fraction of the price you’d pay for ski resort accommodation.
Stay near the Morioka train station for short stays or if you’re using public transport, whilst staying in the Odori area on the other side of the Kitakami River puts you in the thick of the restaurant and bar precinct.
Morioka Hotels