Scenic areas of Ihatov

The Scenic areas of Ihatov (イーハトーブの風景地) is a cluster of landmarks in Iwate Prefecture, Japan connected with the writings of Meiji period author Kenji Miyazawa in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. These locations were collectively designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in 2005.

Overview
Ihatov is the name of a fictional land derived from the word "Iwate" as a toponym created by author Kenji Miyazawa. In the author’s works Ihatov is a utopia which ranges from small islands in vast oceans and includes deserts and continents; however, it shares a number of things on common with Iwate, including a tendency towards natural disasters, and a resilient population.

The Place of Scenic Beauty designation spanned six locations in the municipalities of Hanamaki (Miyazawa's birthplace), Ōshū, Shizukuishi, Sumita, Hanamaki Tōno and Takizawa, to which a seventh location was added in 2006. Each of the locations appears in one or more of Miyazawa's poems.


 * 1) Kurakakeyama or Mount Kurakake (鞍掛山), Takizawa
 * 2) Nanatsumori or Nanatsu Forest (七つ森), Shizukuishi
 * 3) Oi no Mori or Oi Forest (狼森), Shizukuishi
 * 4) Kamabuchi no Taki or Kamabuchi Falls (釜淵の滝), Hanamaki
 * 5) Gorin Tōge or Gorin Pass (五輪峠), Hanamaki, Tōno, Ōshū
 * 6) Taneyamagahara or Taneyama Plains (種山ヶ原), Ōshū, Sumida
 * 7) Igirisu Kaigan or England Coast (イギリス海岸), Hanamaki