Morioka Castle Ruins Park

Morioka Castle Ruins Park is a park developed on the former site of Morioka Castle and designated as a National Historic Site. Formerly known as "Iwate Park," it was given its current nickname in 2006. It boasts the largest scale among flatland castles north of the Kanto region built with stone walls, and it is also famous for a monument bearing a poem by poet Takuboku Ishikawa: "Stretching out on the grass of Kozukata Castle, my fifteen-year-old heart was drawn up into the sky." Access is possible on foot from JR Morioka Station, but you can also take the Iwate Ken Kotsu buses from platforms 15 or 16 at Morioka Station East Exit and ride the city-center loop bus "Dendenmushi," which is also a pleasant way to see the area around the station. The park offers seasonal highlights throughout the year. In spring, about 1,040 plum trees—including Bungo ume, weeping plums, and white plums—bloom through early April. At Tsuruga-ike and Kamega-ike, ponds fed by water drawn from the Nakatsugawa River along the former inner moat, wisteria trellises bloom in May and hydrangeas peak in June. A stream flowing from Tsuruga-ike into the Nakatsugawa is called "Hotaru no Sato," where you can view Genji fireflies in late June, followed by Heike fireflies. In October, it is also recommended to stroll while enjoying vivid autumn foliage in red and yellow.