I’ve been to Morioka in Iwate Prefecture a few times, but mostly just for short stops while waiting for another Shinkansen to head either west or north in the Tohoku region 1. This time, however, I decided to actually enjoy the city of Morioka and experience staying in a traditional Japanese-style inn (Ryokan, 旅館). I really like the concept of ToToTo (ととと) — they’ve created a Japanese-style Ryokan that includes shared spaces, similar to a hostel 2. The owner told me that ToToTo (ととと) is short for Hito-to-Hito (人と人), which means “People and/with People.” He said that he wanted to connect people from different places in this shared spaces. I was mesmerized by the architecture of this place. The place was cozy - I truly wish I could’ve spent more nights. In the morning, the people of Morioka were surprised by the first snowfall of the year on Mount Iwate. The snow had accumulated overnight and can be observed from Morioka Station.
