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The soft serve ice cream at roadside stations makes the most of the flavors and aromas of local ingredients, making it a popular gourmet treat that is essential for a break while driving. In this article, we'll introduce the local soft serve ice creams that each station boasts, along with reports from the area, that we tried at all 39 roadside stations in Iwate Prefecture
Please note that the prices listed in this article are current as of May 15, 2025
Choose your toppings for soft serve ice cream at Roadside Station Morioka Shibutani "Tamitto"! (Shibutani, Morioka City: National Route 4)
The six buildings are all single-story and stand on a hill along Route 4 Bypass. Mount Himekami is visible in the background
in Shibutami, the hometown of the poet Ishikawa TakubokuTamitto," the first roadside station in Morioka City, opened
Mount Iwate in the distance on the other side
"Gather, connect, and weave together" embodies the desire to make this not just a roadside station, but a community hub where residents can gather.
Not only does it offer a spectacular view of Mt. Iwate and Mt. Himekami from the station, but it also has a wide selection of gourmet food, and has been attracting many visitors since it opened
Gankui mame soft serve ice cream: 480 yen
Milky soft serve ice cream, glossy black beans, and Tami-chan cookies on top
The creamy, milky flavor is complemented by sweet, simmered black beans (Kankido beans), and the combination is absolutely delicious. To enjoy the cream and black beans together, we recommend getting a spoon from the counter.
Onigurumi soft serve ice cream: 480 yen
The little dots are all about the Oni
Small pieces of Onigurumi, a special treat in Iwate, are kneaded into the milky cream. The cream has a strong milk flavor, and the fat from the Onigurumi adds richness to the flavor, creating a rich taste that leaves a lingering aroma of walnuts after it melts in your mouth
We recommend toppings for your soft serve!
This is the only place where you can buy Tami-chan Cookies as souvenirs
"Tami-chan Cookies" (50 yen) and "Nanbu Senbeiavailable are
Tami-chan Cookies are sold at "Toki no Ya," a direct-from-the-farm goods store, and are a new Shibutami souvenir featuring cute illustrations.
Nanbu senbei comes in flavors such as "mentaiko mayo," "burnt butter," "corn potage," "salt lemon," "wasabi mayo," and "plain," and the saltiness of the flavors acts as an accent, enhancing the sweetness of the cream fillings.
Vanilla soft serve topped with mentaiko mayonnaise rice crackers is delicious when you use the rice crackers to scoop up the cream!
Both the cookies and the rice crackers taste even better when you eat them while scooping up the cream
Gelato and smoothies also available
On the east side, there is a terrace with wooden tables and chairs where you can enjoy takeout food while looking out at Mount Himekami
There are also other shops, such as "Morioka Milk Stationa smoothie shopBON JEWEL,, both of which have a stylish atmosphere and are popular with women.
Morioka Milk Station Menu
Morioka Milk Station offers a daily changing flavor of gelato, two types of French bread sandwiches called "Cascouts," as well as craft sodas
BON JEWEL menu
BON JEWEL offers 12 types of smoothies and salad bowls, both of which can be taken out and enjoyed while looking out at Mt. Iwate and Mt. Himekami
Roadside Station Morioka Shibutani "Tamitto" ＜Information＞
Facility name: Roadside Station Morioka Shibutami
Address: 80-42 Shibutani, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Amazing soft serve ice cream packed with nutritional value and made with local specialties from Nishine Roadside Station! (Osuke, Hachimantai City: National Route 282)
The left side is direct from the farm, the right side is the restaurant
"NishineThe station nameNishine Town." Hachimantai City, located at the foot of Mount Iwate, is home to many local specialties such as wild grapes and honey, but the Nishine area is known as a major producer of spinach.
Spinach soft serve ice cream: 350 yen
Spinach soft serve with a vibrant grass-like color
into the creamspinachThis soft-serve ice cream, sold at restaurants, has
The restaurant's recommended dish is spinach cutlet curry
There are also plenty of other gourmet menu items that use spinach, including green spinach curry and spinach ramen, which are recommended for spinach lovers
We also recommend the big-sized "Mochiri Pork Bun"!
One big pork bun is enough to fill you up
This large pork bun, made with locally sourced Tochu tea pork and shiitake mushrooms from Hachimantai, is delicious and satisfying, with a chewy, fluffy bun filled to the brim with plenty of filling. It's sold in the local products sectionspinach buns, but they sometimes sell out early.
Nishine Roadside Station <Information>
Facility name: Nishine Roadside Station
Address: 154-36, Oobuke 2nd District, Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 0195-75-0070
Opening hours:
Direct from the farm/shop 8:30-17:00
Restaurant 11:00-16:30 (soft serve ice cream until 17:00)
Roadside Station Shizukuishi Anekko's Rice Field Soft Cream? (Shizukuishi Town, Iwate County: National Route 46)
On the left is the entrance to the day spa, in the center is the restaurant, and on the right is the Kobiru Kitchen and the direct-from-farm shop
Located near the border with Akita Prefecture, this roadside station is one of the most popular in Iwate Prefecture, with hot spring facilities, an auto campground, a dog run, and more. It has a wide selection of local produce and products, four restaurants, and its spacious parking space, which can accommodate 73 standard-sized cars and 15 large vehicles, is always crowded
Shizukuishi Town's tourism mascot, "Shizuku-chan"
Incidentally, "anekko" is a dialect word used in the Shizukuishi region to refer to a young woman of marriageable age.
Hitomebore soft serve ice cream: 350 yen
Hitomebore Soft & Kobiru Kitchen
The "Hitomebore" rice is roasted and kneaded into the ice cream, adding a fragrant accent to the light-tasting cream. It's not too rich, making it a refreshing soft serve ice cream to enjoy after a bath. "Kobiru Kitchen" ("Kobiru" means a break during rice field work) also offers seasonal limited-edition soft serve ice cream flavors.
Besides soft serve ice cream, the Anekko Burger is also popular for takeout! It's very filling!
Next to the "Anekko Burger" is the "Moonlit Anekko Burger" which comes with a fried egg and is available in limited quantities every day (for a limited time)
While handmade soba noodles and tomato noodles are popular at each restaurant, Kobiru Kitchen recommends the Shizukuishi minced meat cutlet, which allows you to fully enjoy the rich flavor of beef, along with soft serve ice cream. The "Anekko Burger" (650 yen), which features the minced meat cutlet topped with a sweet sauce and sandwiched between moist, chewy buns sprinkled with fragrant sesame seeds, is a popular choice.
A generous amount of cabbage is placed underneath the thick Shizukuishi beef minced cutlet
The burger is filled with plenty of shredded cabbage and is quite filling, with just one burger being enough to leave you feeling full
Shizukuishi Anekko Roadside Station <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Shizukuishi Anekko
Roadside Station Shiwa offers mellow soft serve ice cream perfect for adults! (Shiwa Town, Shiwa District: National Route 396)
The Akasawa Farmers' Center and the building on the left are the restaurant Karintei and the Shiwa Town Products Center where you can buy local wine and sake
Shiwa Town, located south of Morioka, is known for its fruits, wine, and sake, with a thriving cultivation of apples, peaches, and grapes. Near the roadside station is the "Shiwa Fruit Parka winery that uses Shiwa grapes,Jien Jijo Wine Shiwa,is highly regarded.
The winery sells their own wine and you can sample it (of course, drivers are not allowed)
"Akasawa Direct Sales Center" and "Karin-tei Restaurantis sold in different varieties at
Grape soft serve ice cream: 400 yen
Vivid purple grape soft serve
This soft serve ice cream has a beautiful purple color from the grape juice, and after the sourness of the grapes spreads in your mouth, you are greeted by the just-right sweetness of the milky cream
In addition to soft serve ice cream, Akasawa Farmers' Center also sells 20 types of gelato, mainly fruit flavors
The soft serve ice creamgrape,vanilla, andmixed, but seasonal soft serve made with fresh, in-season fruits is sometimes available.
Wine soft serve: 450 yen
The color is closer to wine red than the purple of the grape soft serve
This is a recommended soft serve at Restaurant Karintei, and the aroma of wine spreads throughout your mouth, followed by a slight acidity and a fragrant aroma that reaches your nose, making it irresistible for wine lovers
Karin-tei takeout menu
However, the alcohol content is said to be 0.5%, so drivers who are sensitive to alcohol should be careful
Japanese Walnut Soft Serve: 450 yen
Although you can't see the walnuts, you can somehow feel the color of the walnuts in this Japanese walnut soft serve
This soft serve ice cream has a light taste and a subtle walnut scent, and can also be purchased at Karin-tei
Personally, I would have liked a stronger walnut flavor, but the cream adds a fragrant aroma and makes for a delicious soft serve
Rich and aromatic grape juice
At the Akazawa Direct Sales Center, a variety of grape juices made by different grape farmers are lined up
The direct-from-the-farm store has a wide variety of grape and apple juices on display, but I recommend the additive-free and sugar-free "6-Month Aged Shiwa Town Grape Juice" (1,200 yen).
Aged for 6 months for a very mellow taste and flavor
The juice is squeezed from Campbell's Early and aged for six months, giving it a rich sweetness even without added sugar, and the aging process mellows the acidity, resulting in an elegant, mellow taste
Phone number: 019-671-1300 (Shiwa Town Products Center)
Opening hours: Restaurant Karin-tei (April to November) 11:00-16:00, (December to March) 11:00-15:00
Opening hours: Akasawa Farmers' Center 8:30-17:00 (may vary depending on the season), Shiwa Town Products Center (shop) 9:00-17:00
URL: Iwate Prefecture Roadside Station Liaison Committee Official Website (Roadside Station Shiwa)
GOOGLE MAP
Roadside Station Kukai Kogen Beef Village: Refreshing soft serve ice cream perfect for a hot day in Kukai! (Miyako City: National Route 106)
The yellow building appears to be unused, and the white triangular roof building to the right is the food court
This roadside station is located in Kuzakai, about a 30-minute drive from Morioka city center. It is also the trailhead forKabuto Myojin(now part of Miyako City).
As we visited at lunchtime, there were many customers in the food court
Since the Miyako-Morioka Crossing Road opened in March 2021, the number of drivers stopping by has decreased, but many people still visit during the tourist season to enjoy driving on the old road
Shiso apple soft serve ice cream: 350 yen
The first thing you notice is the scent of apples in the shiso apple soft serve
This soft serve ice cream is made with the juice of apples from the ward border and red shiso (perilla) from the former Kawai village, and has a texture similar to sorbet with a refreshing aftertaste. It has a beautiful, subtle pink color, and you can immediately taste the sourness of the apples, and then the aroma of shiso spreads throughout your mouth
A food court with a wide selection of dishes
A small shop and the food delivery area at the back
Among the many menu items, the one that is said to have many repeat customers who come specifically for it is the crispyfried potatoes.
Food court menu
Other popular dishes that attract many repeat customers include Kukai soba and daal ramen, which stands out for its spiciness and delicious flavor
Roadside Station Kukai Plateau Beef Village Kukai ＜Information＞
Facility name: Roadside Station Kukai Plateau
Address: 2-434-2 Kukai, Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture
At all of the roadside stations we introduced, soft serve ice cream sells like hotcakes and is recognized by users as the station's signature delicacy. One way to enjoy roadside stations is to sample the unique soft serve ice creams and experience the unique characteristics of each area
I'm a former Edoite (Tokyoite) who loves Morioka and the six prefectures of Tohoku, and I'm a big fan of history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and choral singing.
I'll introduce you to interesting things, delicious food, and great places in Tohoku!
