BELLINO HOTEL ICHINOSEKI is a city hotel in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture. This blog offers information about your stay as well as recommendations for sightseeing and hot springs around the Ichinoseki–Hiraizumi area.
Everyone, how was your Obon holiday this year?
Many guests returning to their hometowns stayed with us at the hotel during Obon.
We wanted these guests who had returned home, their families, and the people of the local community to once again experience the wonderful things about our hometown of Ichinoseki!
We wanted families who had gathered together after a long time to spend a relaxed time together!
With that in mind, BELLINO HOTEL’s very first event, the “Obon Buffet,” was held recently (on August 11, 2019).
We’ll introduce how it went, while also showcasing some of Ichinoseki’s sightseeing spots!
Enjoy a Sightseeing Mood During Your Stay in Ichinoseki! The Food at the Obon Buffet
Let’s start by showing you photos of the venue.
↑This is the buffet food.
At the foot of Mt. Kurikoma and Mt. Sukawa, in the Hondera district of Genbi-cho, Ichinoseki.
We sourced fresh vegetables from the nature-rich Hondera area.
These are fresh, moisture-rich vegetables grown with the underground water of Mt. Kurikoma, one of Japan’s 200 famous mountains!
↑This is the food stall booth.
With the cooperation of the Honedera-mura Manor Exchange Hall, we served local cuisine and grilled iwana (char) with salt.
Also, since this was our first event — also a BELLINO HOTEL appreciation festival — we prepared
“Foie Gras Rice Bowl,” “Maesawa Beef Curry,” “Boiled Snow Crab,” and “Sweet-and-Sour Hakkin Pork” and more!
We prepared a menu packed with local ingredients so that guests could fully enjoy themselves.
↑Drinks, too, were made with Ichinoseki fruit juices!
Enjoy a Sightseeing Mood During Your Stay in Ichinoseki! The Festival Game Corner at the Obon Buffet
The concept of the buffet was a place where families could relax and enjoy themselves together!
To make sure the kids would have a great summer memory too, we set up a festival game corner!
↓The highlight of the festival games was the “kamishibai (paper picture-story show)” performed for us by the Honedera-mura Manor Exchange Hall!
The kids were completely captivated!!
The Honedera-mura Manor Ruins in Ichinoseki are a precious original Japanese landscape. Its history was explained in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way through the kamishibai.
It was a picture-story show that both adults and children could enjoy.
Enjoy a Sightseeing Mood During Your Stay in Ichinoseki! The Souvenir Corner at the Obon Buffet
The souvenir corner was also full of local charm, thanks to the cooperation of the Honedera-mura Manor Exchange Hall.
↑The Nanbu Ichiro pumpkin series. Nanbu Ichiro pumpkin is said to have a strong sweetness and a creamy texture.
↑Sukawa Highland blueberry jam.
↑A craft product from Hondera, cloth zori sandals. A simple craft born from the wisdom and ingenuity of local life.
(A winter handicraft workshop for making cloth zori is held every February!)
These cloth zori sandals are truly excellent! They fit the foot nicely and are breathable — wear them as room shoes and they’ll even help clean your flooring, and you can wash them in the washing machine if you put them in a net bag!
Recommended Sightseeing During Your Stay in Ichinoseki! What Is the Honedera-mura Manor Ruins Like?
The Honedera-mura Manor Ruins convey a medieval landscape into the present — Japan’s original rural landscape.
It is one of the rare original rural landscapes remaining in Japan today.
Photo courtesy of: Honedera-mura Manor Exchange Hall
The Honedera-mura Manor Exchange Hall, which cooperated with us for this article, appears throughout this piece.
This facility is designed to clearly explain, through video and exhibits, the history and value of the nationally designated historic site “Honedera-mura Manor Ruins” and the “Rural Landscape of Ichinoseki Hondera,” which has been selected as a nationally important cultural landscape, while also promoting exchange between visitors and local residents to help revitalize the community.
Please see the link below.
Honedera-mura Manor Ruins Website
It’s about a 20-minute drive from BELLINO HOTEL ICHINOSEKI.
How about including it in your Ichinoseki sightseeing plan?
Also, the meals at BELLINO HOTEL ICHINOSEKI use vegetables grown in the nature-rich Hondera district of Genbi-cho, home to the Honedera-mura Manor Ruins.
Please be sure to stop by BELLINO when you visit for sightseeing♡
Gourmet Information from the BELLINO HOTEL Restaurant! Introducing Local Vegetables from Hondera
