Iwayama Park

This park is located on a hill about 340.5 meters above sea level, east of central Morioka in Iwate Prefecture. It offers panoramic views of central Morioka and mountains ranging from Iwayama and Hachimantai in the Ou Mountains to Mt. Himekami and Mt. Hayachine in the Kitakami Mountains. The views from the observation deck on the rest house rooftop and the disc-shaped Seiichi Kashima Memorial Observatory are especially worth seeing. It is also one of the Tohoku region's premier nighttime viewing spots and has been selected as both a Japan Night View Heritage site and one of Japan's Top 100 Night Views.

The park has ties to poet Takuboku Ishikawa, and residents affectionately know the summit of Iwayama as Takuboku's Hill of Nostalgia. Facilities include the Takuboku Chaya shop and the roughly 100-meter-long Takuboku Poetry Path, which features 10 monuments inscribed with his poems. The park also has the Takuboku Nostalgia Statue, inscribed with one of his poems about longing for home, and the Couple's Poetry Monument, engraved with verses by Takuboku and his wife.

There are two Iwayama hiking trails and one bird-watching trail through the Iwayama Wild Bird Forest, offering several routes for a hike to the summit.