Day 2
Sep. 11th(Sun),2022

Behold the Performance of Young Geinoh Practitioners Dancing in Hirono Town, against the backdrop of the Ocean (“Hiro”) and Highlands (“No”)

Itinerary		remarks
08：00	From Morioka Sta. to Hachinohe Sta.（Arr.09:21)	Tohoku Shinkansen ‘Hayabusa 1’
09：29	From Hachinohe Sta. to Taneichi Sta.（Arr.10：24)	JR Hachinohe Line Kuji direction
11：00	Hirono Suisankaikan UNIQUE	Explore on foot
11：30	Hamanasu-tei Main Restaurant	Explore on foot
12：30	Dancing Through Hirono: The Sanriku Future Geinoh Festival（13：00〜15:45）
17:44	From Taneichi Sta. to Hachinohe Sta.（Arr.18:44）	JR Hachinohe Line Hachinohe direction
19：06 or 20：12	From Hachinohe Sta. to Tokyo Sta.（Arr.22：04 or 23：04）	Tohoku Shinkansen ‘Hayabusa 46’

---

Morioka Sta.

Tohoku Shinkansen ‘Hayabusa 1’
Dep. 08:05
Arr. 09:21

Travel time｜ 31 min

Hachinohe Sta.

JR Hachinohe Line Kuji direction
Dep. 09:29
Arr. 10:24

Travel time｜55 min

Taneichi Sta.

10min on foot

---

10：40 Hirono Suisankaikan UNIQUE

UNIQUE – A Symbol of Reconstruction for the Town of Hirono

▲ Exterior design based on the motif of a white cruise ship

▲ Sea urchin, a specialty of Hirono Town

▲ Display of specialties and other products

Enjoy the Stunning View from the Observation Deck!

The exterior of the building, which resembles a white cruise ship, is a symbol of the restoration of the town of Hirono and has become its new tourist center. Inside, there is a shop selling freshly caught seafood from the area, a product exhibition corner selling specialty products and items related to Nanbu Divers. There is also a snack shack where visitors can taste local delicacies. In the summer, visitors can experience cracking open their own sea urchin shells. From the observation deck, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the sky and the Pacific Ocean that stretches out the horizon. Taneichi Seaside Park, the campground, and facilities for raising young sea urchins can also be seen from there. There are also plenty of shopping and dining areas, as well as hands-on activities made available -.

---

Hirono Suisankaikan UNIQUE

22-133-11 Taneichi, Hirono-cho, Kunohe-gun, Iwate

Phone｜+81 (0)194-65-5161　

FAX｜+81 (0)194-65-5162

Opening Hours｜9：00-17：00（Apr.～Sep.）　

　　　　 ｜9：00-16：00（Oct.～Mar.）

Closed on Thursday

Hirono Suisankaikan UNIQUE – Home | Facebook

---

11：20　Hamanasu-tei Main Restaurant

A Line-up of Delicious Seafood, Unique to the Local Area!

▲ Hoya cooked in various ways

▲ Hoya ramen

▲ Hoya pasta

Loaded with seafood!　A wide variety of dishes using natural sea squirts, hoya.

You can enjoy hoya cooked in various ways such as grilled, deep fried, steamed, as raw sashimi, and with broth soup. Hoya ramen, ichigo-ni ramen, and hoya pasta are also popular. Hirono Town also has the largest catch of sea urchin in the prefecture. The specialty, fresh uni–don (sea urchin rice bowls), are exquisite! (*Sea urchin is only available from late April to early August every year.)

The seafood served will depend on the fishing season and other factors, so please be sure to call in advance.

---

Hamanasu-tei Main Restaurant

22-131-3 Taneichi, Hironocho, Kunohegun, Iwate

Phone｜ +81 (0)194-65-2981

Opening Hours｜11：00-15：00（L.O14:45）

http://www.uninosato-hamanasutei.com/

---

15min on foot

Hirono Townspeople Cultural Center (Cecilia Hall)

Dancing Through Hirono:

The Sanriku Future Geinoh Festival

13：00-15：45

Dancing Through Hirono: The Sanriku Future Geinoh Festival

Witness the Bursting Energy from the Young Performers!

The Sanriku region of Tohoku is a treasure trove of local folk performing arts unparalleled to anywhere in the world. We will hold an unprecedented performing arts event focusing on the young practitioners who represent the future of Sanriku.

The groups from Hirono are: Ono Naruikazuchi Taiko, which will participate in the Sanriku International Arts Festival for the first time; Nakano Fuji no Kai, which is enlivening “Nanyadoyara,” with its wide range of attractive variations; and Kadonohama Koma Odori Preservation Society, who are actively handing down the art form at local elementary and junior high schools.

Also featured are the Kitakami Shonan High School Onikenbai Club’s Onikenbai and the Iwaizumi High School Geinoh Club’s Nakano Nanazumai, both of  which represented Iwate Prefecture at the 46th National High School Arts Festival in Tokyo in August 2022 and received awards for excellence in the local arts category. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to appreciate the diverse geinoh of Hirono, and the top performing arts of Iwate Prefecture’s high school students!

We hope you enjoy the Sanriku Future Geinoh Festival with the youngsters proudly presented by the Sanriku International Arts Festival.

*Admission is free, but please make your reservation in advance.

---

Hirono Townspeople Cultural Center (Cecilia Hall)

Dai 24 Chiwari-124-3 Taneichi, Hirono, Kunohe District, Iwate

Phone｜ +81 (0)194-65-5411

---

15min on foot

Taneichi Sta.

JR Hachinohe Line Hachinohe direction
Dep. 17:44
Arr. 18:44

Travel time｜60 min

Hachinohe Sta.

Tohoku Shinkansen ‘Hayabusa 46’
Dep. 19：06 / 20：12
Arr. 22：04 / 23：04

Travel time｜２hrs58min

Tokyo Sta.

TOP

Day1

---

Sanriku Geinoh Festival LINK　September,2022-March,2023

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

1 2

Areas

• Hirono Town

Artists

• Nakano Fuji no Kai

  Bon odori dances from the area once called Nukanobu, spread from the southern Aomori to northern Iwate region, are called “Nanya doyara” and have long been enjoyed as one of the few forms of entertainment among the people. It is said that there are hundreds of varieties of bon odori, with each region and village having their own unique characteristics and variations.
  In today’s world of diversifying entertainment, opportunities to enjoy the Nanya doyara with the participation of the people are decreasing, and the number of skilled performers are aging. Nakano Fuji no Kai, a preservation society founded by local volunteers in 2014, is working to enhance the appeal of its hometown by promoting the Nanya doyara, which is unique to the Nakano area of Hirono Town, to the next generation, and by expanding its activities into a wide range of PR and exchange fields.

• Ono Naru Ikazuchi Taiko

  Ono Naru Ikazuchi Taiko was formed in 2000 by a group of young men and women who took a taiko drumming course. Today, the group has 28 members ranging in age from 5 to 46 years old.
  The name, “Ono Naru Ikazuchi Daiko”, comes from Naru Ikazuchi Shrine, the town deity of Ono, in Hirono Town (formerly Ono Village). It is hoped that the taiko drumming will develop to become something that represents the former Ono Village, and be loved by the villagers as a prayer for a good harvest and family safety.
  Trained in musical composition and performance by Warabi-za, a renowned troupe based in Akita Prefecture, the group is named after the image of lightning, and their drum music is valiant and charged with youthful passion and freshness.

• Kadono Hama Koma Odori Preservation Society

  During the Warring States period, the Nanbu Hachinohe Clan ruled the area from southern Aomori to northern Iwate. The Koma Odori dance is said to be a dance that depicts the scene of going into battle, and cavalry battles at that time. It is also said that the dance was performed to comfort the spirits of horses and ancestors who died in battle, as well as to ensure the safety of the horses, which always supported the people as war and farm horses.
  　Since 1978, the dance has also been performed by children at local elementary and junior high school athletic meets and cultural festivals to pass on the geinoh and to promote their physical fitness and growth.
  　There are 14 types of dances: 7 dances performed with horse-like costumes, and 7 stick dances performed with poles, swords, and long swords.

• Iwate Prefecture Iwaizumi High School’s Geinoh Club

  Since its establishment in 1990, the club has performed at nine national competitions, three times at the National Theatre of Japan, and once in Paris. Many of the members not only belong to the club, but they are also a group of volunteers who aspire to pass on the Nakano Nanazumai dance. Although it is difficult to balance their activities during the peak season, they feel the need in spreading the local folk dance to as many people as possible, and to pass it on to younger generations.
  It is said that the Nakano Nanazumai was created around the time of the “Seven Years of Famine” in the Tempo era based on the “Shittogi-jishi-mai” of the Kuromori Kagura from Miyako City. With the dancers divided into seven roles, and seven different dances comprise the whole, it is said that this is where Nanazumai (literally, seven dances) got its name. The dancers play the role of farmers who cultivate the fields, plant crops, protect them from vermin, and share the harvest, all in the hope of a bountiful gathering.

• Iwate Prefecture Kitakami Shonan High School’s Onikenbai Club

  Onikenbai is a geinoh handed down by farmers in the Kitakami region of Iwate Prefecture, and is said to have begun approximately 1,300 years ago.
  Under the guidance of Iwasaki Onikenbai, a Nationally-Designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, the club of 50 members participated in the National High School Culture Festival held in Tokyo in August 2021, representing Iwate Prefecture.
  They perform a brave and dynamic sword dance called “Katana Kenbai no Kurui”, a four-sided formation dance called “Hitori Kago”, and “Sanban-niwa no Kurui” which is rich in variety in both dance and music, among others.