Hanamaki

Hanamaki is a city in central Iwate Prefecture, Japan, in the Kitakami River valley where three rivers join the Kitakami. To the west it rises to the foothills of the Ou Mountains and to the east to Mount Hayachine, the highest peak of the Kitakami Range at 1,917 metres; Lake Tase and Lake Hayachine are among its reservoirs. It is famous as the birthplace of the novelist and poet Kenji Miyazawa, whose memorial museum is a perennial attraction, and for the local specialty wanko soba and its many hot spring resorts. In January 2006 it merged with the towns of Ishidoriya and Ohasama and with Towa. Dairy farming dominates the economy, alongside electrical appliances, and the climate is humid subtropical with cold winters. Hanamaki Airport serves the city.