Mizusawa, Iwate

Mizusawa (水沢市; Mizusawa-shi) was a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 60,979 and a population density of 629.17 persons per km². The total area was 96.92 km².

The city was founded on April 1, 1954.

Mizusawa is home to one of the six International Latitude Observatories. The observatories were close to the parallel of 39 degrees 8 minutes north latitude. They worked together to study the Earth's "wobble" using stars selected by Dr. Kimura, the astronomer in charge of the Mizusawa station. Twelve groups of stars that had six pairs of stars each were chosen. Two groups of stars were observed at each station following a schedule of dates, time, and duration prepared by Kimura.^[1]

Merger

On February 20, 2006 Mizusawa was merged with the city of Esashi, the towns of Maesawa and Isawa, and the village of Koromogawa, all from Isawa District, to form the new city of Ōshū.

Schools

In Mizusawa Ward there are eight elementary schools and three junior high schools. All elementary and junior high schools in Mizusawa are public schools.

There are four public and one private senior high schools: Mizusawa Koko (水沢高校) is an academic school and as such aims for its students to move on into further education. Mizusawa Shogyo Koko (水沢商業高校) is a commercial high school whose primary focus is on practical business and IT skills. Mizusawa Nogyou Koko (水沢農業高校) is an agricultural high school while Mizusawa Kogyo (水沢工業高校) is an industrial high school.

As with the majority of Japan schools are publicly run. In Iwate there is one private school in Morioka, Shirauri Gakkuen (nursery school to high school).

For more information, see Education in Japan and Jet Programme in Mizusawa.

Transportation

Airport

The nearest airport to Mizusawa is Hanamaki Airport, a 30-minute train ride from Mizusawa. Hanamaki Airport only operates domestic flights. For international flights the nearest airport is Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture. It takes roughly two hours by bus to reach Sendai or 49 minutes by Shinkansen.

Train

Mizusawa Station is on the main JR line in Iwate, conveniently linking Mizusawa to other cities:

• Morioka: 1 hour 10 minutes, 1,110 yen
• Hanamaki: 30 minutes, 480 yen
• Kitakami: 20 minutes, 320 yen
• Ichinoseki: 23 minutes, 400 yen

Shinkansen (Bullet train)

Mizusawa-Esashi Station (Shinkansen) station is between Mizusawa and Esashi. The Shinkansen is a quick, if expensive, link to major cities throughout Japan.

• Morioka: 29 minutes
• Sendai: 49 minutes
• Tokyo: 2 hours 56 minutes

To reach the station without a car can be difficult. One way to is to travel to a nearby combined Shinkansen/JR line station using the JR line from Mizusawa Station. The nearest combined stations are Ichinoseki (going south) and Kitakami (going north). Otherwise, a taxi costs roughly 2,000 yen.

Bus

There is a local JR bus service operating in Mizusawa. Buses also link Mizusawa to Esashi, Isawa and Measawa. These routes can be surprisingly expensive when considering the relatively small distance however. To reach Isawa, Esashi or Measawa will cost around 400 yen.

There is also a bus route to Sendai and Tokyo.

• Sendai: 2 hours, 1,800 yen (buy tickets on the bus)
• Tokyo: 7 hours 30 minutes (night bus), 7,900 yen (buy tickets in advance)

All buses stop at the front of Mizusawa station with the exception of the Sendai bus, which stops behind the station.

Cycling

Cycling is a convenient and cheap way to travel in Mizusawa. Travel to other parts of Oushu will give you a good workout.

Cycling is not recommended during winter as the amount of ice and snow makes it rather dangerous.

Estimates of times to reach parts of Oushu:

• Central Isawa: 30–40 minutes
• Esashi: 25–30 minutes
• Maesawa: 30 minutes

Walking

Mizusawa is a compact city and the majority of shops and restaurants can be reached on foot.

Festivals

Hibuse Matsuri, April 29-30: The festival consists of elementary school girls dressed in traditional kimonos. They are carried around the city on floats while playing traditional Japanese music. The festival is held to drive away evil spirits from Mizusawa; this originated after a great fire which destroyed most of the city. Also, there are groups dancing throughout the day and night.

Mizusawa Matsuri, August 8-9: Obon festival. One can take part in this festival with Aspia International Center.

Sominsai Festival, February 13-14: This is one of the more unique and quirky festivals in Iwate and maybe even Japan. It consists of men wearing only fundoshi and tabi walking around the grounds of the Kuroishi-Ji shrine, which includes dunking themselves into an ice cold river. Like many hadaka matsuri, the festival takes place in the dead of winter and goes on for most of the night, climaxing at seven in the morning, when the participants fight for a lucky bag.

References

1. ^ National Park Service: Astronomy and Astrophysics (Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory)