I rented an electric bicycle near Morioka Station and was just riding southeast from the station when I came across a communal well called “Seiryusu” (it seems anyone, not just locals, is welcome to drink from it). The small alley leading from there to the Miyako Kaido had a truly wonderful atmosphere. Temples lined the streets here and there, and there were attractions like “Rakan Children’s Park,” featuring a row of large stone statues of the Sixteen Arhats, and the “Morioka Machiya Story Museum,” a renovated sake brewery. If you head a little further south, you’ll come to the Kitakami River. It was my first visit to Morioka, and I found this alleyway area incredibly exciting.
