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[Iwate Prefecture] Soft-serve ice cream with sake, miso and wasabi flavor! Why are the soft serve ice cream eaten at roadside stations so delicious? There's also school lunches!
[Iwate Prefecture] Soft-serve ice cream with sake, miso and wasabi flavor! Why are the soft serve ice cream eaten at roadside stations so delicious? There's also school lunches!
The central part of Iwate Prefecture, between Morioka and Oshu, is dotted with roadside stations selling unique flavors of local soft serve ice cream.
Another feature of this area is that there are many road stations with unique concepts, such as stations with museums that convey the Nanbu Toki brewery, and stations where you can enjoy lunches like school lunches using abandoned schools.
In this article, we will introduce road stations in central Iwate Prefecture.
The prices (tax included) listed in the article are as of the end of May 2025.
[Roadside Station Ishitoritani] Soft-smelled ice cream with sesame scent and ice cream with sake scent! (Ishitoritanicho, Hanamaki City: National Route 4)
The Rindotei, the Sake Master Hall, seen from the parking lot, is located behind this building.
Located in Ishidoriya, the village of Nanbu Toji Brewery has a Nanbusha Traditional Museum, a Historical Folklore Museum, and an Agricultural Traditional Museum
The Sake Master Hall is home to souvenirs and local sake.
The first roadside station in Iwate Prefecture and the building was renovated in July 2023, and the new cleanliness of the restaurant "Sakeshokan", which sells local sake and other souvenirs, "Mori no Kura," and restaurant "Oditori Rindotei" have been newly renovated.
Sesame Soft Serve: 380 yen
"Sake Brewery" sesame soft
the Standing Soba Sake Brewery attached to Rindotei , you can enjoy black sesame soft serve ice cream based on Koiwai milk soft serve ice cream with a rich milk flavor.
The grey cream kneaded with sesame paste gives it a moderate sesame flavor, and the flavor of Koiwai milk spreads in your mouth.
"Sake Brewery" menu is the yellow soba noodles with Japanese-style dashi ramen
In addition, kiosk , so it would be interesting to compare the two.
Sake ice cream: 450 yen
Sake ice cream served in a cup
Although it is a little different from soft serve ice cream, we would like to introduce you to an original sake ice cream that can only be eaten here, which you should definitely try at this roadside station.
The Sake Master Hall is lined with local sake such as Nanbu Seki, and you can sample it at the Denshokan (the sake cake on the left is a popular item from Sunadaya in Morioka City).
It uses Nanbu Seki's special pure rice sake from Kawamura Sake Brewery in the town
When you put it in your mouth, the flavor of milk and koji is puffed with a flavor similar to amazake, and it may be that sake lees are used.
There are 14 types of gelato sold at Sakeshokan
The alcohol content is below 0.5%, so both children and drivers can eat it, but people who are sensitive to alcohol should be careful.
Rindotei is a restaurant that is bustling with local families
Rindotei and Sake Brewery are located far away
The specialty " Taroshi Udon " is "zaru Udon", which is about a thickness between regular udon and soba noodles, and is a good way to eat it in a sweet soup.
"Taroshi Udon" that goes well with a good throat feel
The "Ken Ramen" with thin noodles and fish soup soy sauce flavor, "Sake Shouku Ramen" with miso flavor with shrimp and crab, and "Seafood Ramen" with salty shellfish such as scallops, as well as octopus and savory octopus, are also popular.
Traditional ramen and sake master ramen contain char siu from Hanamaki City's brand pork, "Hakkinton, Platinum Pork."
In addition to these, we also recommend the Hittsumi Set Meal, a local Iwate dish.
There is also an all-you-can-drink soba noodles for yourself, and many local families visit during lunchtime.
All you can drink soba baths yourself
Roadside Station Ishitoriya <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Ishitoriya
Location: 17-3 Nakajirin No. 7th Land Discount, Ishitoriya-cho, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture
[Roadside Station Touwa] Miso soft serve ice cream is a collaboration between local miso and cream! (Higashiwacho, Hanamaki City: Towa IC on the Tohoku Crossing Expressway, Towa IC, Prefectural Route 39 Kitakami Towa Line)
The shop is in the foreground, and the back left is "Ajidokoro Touwa"
The facility is small, but it is located adjacent to Towa Onsen and Hotel Forkroro Hanamaki Towa, making it a roadside station where you can take a day trip or stay overnight.
The restaurant "Hidakami" is located inside the building of Towa Onsen on the premises.
The nickname is "Bishamonten and Mantetsugoro no Sato," and comes from Bishamondo, Narishima Sankumano Shrine, where the "National Crying Sumo Tournament" is held every May, and Mantetsugoro, a Western-style painter from the town, where the memorial museum is located.
Miso Soft: 350 yen
The aroma of miso stimulating your appetite
It has a lighter color of white miso. When you put it in your mouth, you can feel the deliciousness of aged miso, and the sweet and salty flavor of the cream spreads out.
We recommend a single miso soft dish that allows you to enjoy the aroma of miso rather than mixing.
After the cream melts in your mouth, the aftertaste remains like after drinking miso soup, and the soft serve ice cream also offers a taste of country miso brewed by local Sasacho Brewery.
Towa-cho Dorayaki "Towa-yaki"
Sales will end as soon as stock is sold out
The mottled Dorayaki from Sato Confectionery in Towa Town is filled with plenty of walnut bean paste that allows you to enjoy the sweetness of the fragrant brown sugar in the moist skin.
If the item is sold out, you may be able to purchase it if you go to Sato Seika in Towa Town.
Brown sugar dorayaki, which has a moderate sweetness, is a popular sweet in the local Towa town.
[Miyamori Roadside Station] Sweet but spicy wasabi soft serve ice cream! (Miyamoricho, Tono City: National Route 283)
Miyamori, a roadside station with a home improvement store and a drug store
nicknamed "Night on the Galaxy Railway" , is the Miyamori River Bridge on the JR Kamaishi Line, which is said to be the motif of Miyazawa Kenji's fairy tale of the same name, and Kenji-related illustrations are on display inside the station.
The museum is full of exhibitions related to Miyazawa Kenji, and Kenji fans are visiting as a "holy place."
" Megane Bridge ," is recognized as a "Holy Land for Lover" and a "Night View Heritage of Japan," and is a great photo spot visited by many people.
Megane Bridge (Miyamorigawa Bridge) is located right next to the road station, and Sanriku Railway trains are passing by, as if they were in time for their visit.
Miyamori Town is also known as the most famous wasabi production area in Tohoku, and fresh wasabi can be purchased, as well as wasabi dishes and processed products.
Wasabi Soft: 350 yen (Mini Soft: 270 yen)
At first glance, it looks like a soft-serve melon ice cream, but you should not let your guard down
Wasabi Soft, sold at Restaurant Gingautei, is bright in its light green color, and when you first eat it, you can enjoy the harmony of light spicy and sweetness while feeling the scent of wasabi. However, as you eat it, the wasabi flavor and spicy gradually become lingering in the aftertaste, the spicy taste on your tongue becomes more intense, and the wasabi aroma that comes out of your nose gradually becomes more vivid.
I like wasabi and am the type of person who adds plenty of wasabi to sashimi, but this software was a struggle and took me a while to finish it.
For software, you can purchase meal tickets here, and if you're not confident in how spicy you are, try vanilla or Amaou Soft.
For those who are not good at spiciness with wasabi, or for children, we recommend mini sizes or mixing them.
A gourmet menu that lets you taste fresh wasabi
You can grate the raw wasabi yourself to adjust the spiciness (you can take out any excess fresh wasabi home)
Restaurant Ginga-tei has a variety of dishes where you can enjoy fresh wasabi, and the specialty " wasabi ramen " comes with soy sauce-flavored ramen, along with a plate for fresh wasabi and grated grated dishes.
Adding grated fresh wasabi or pickled wasabi stems to the ramen will give it a wasabi flavor, and the tangy and spicy accent is a pleasant accent.
Roadside Station Miyamori <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Miyamori
Location: 30-37-1 Shimomiyamori, Miyamori-cho, Tono City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 0198-67-2929
Opening hours: Shop 9:00-17:00
Opening Hours: Restaurant Gingautei Roadside Station Miyamori Branch 9:30-16:00
[Roadside Station Tono Kaze no Oka] Soft cream made with black sesame seeds and freshly squeezed milk from a natural farm! (Tono City: National Route 283)
Roadside station on the top of the hill is a windmill on the back of Tono Kaze no Hill.
It is located on a hill near Tono's urban area known for its Kappa and Tono Monogatari, and was reopened in April 2021.
This roadside station is a relaxing roadside station with a wide observation deck overlooking the Saruga Ishikawa and the JR Kamaishi Line, and a food hall with a calm atmosphere that can be enjoyed as a cafe.
Tada Natural Farm Sesame Soft: 400 yen
The sesame soft serve ice cream has a delicious texture that looks like it's well kneaded with black sesame seeds, and the line in the back is at the counter at Tada Natural Farm.
The grey sesame soft serve ice cream kneaded with black sesame paste gives it a much stronger sesame flavor than any other road station
Not only is Tada Natural Farm's menu, but also the gelato, shakes and Sundays delicious.
The base cream is rich, and the taste is more like cheese than milk, making it a popular soft serve ice cream that is often repeated.
The most popular mix is said to be a mix of vanilla and sesame, but for first-time users, we recommend that you try the sesame soft serve alone.
"Kirisensho" is a simple local B-grade gourmet food
Please try Kirisensho, which can be said to be the soul food of Iwate Prefecture residents.
These simple, belly-rip rice cakes are made from rice flour kneaded and steamed, and have been loved in the central region of Iwate Prefecture as a snack for celebrations and for farming such as rice planting.
[Mitagai Branch School Roadside Station] A delicious and cost-effective Iwaizumi milk soft serve ice cream that's delicious and cost-effective! (Iwaizumi Town, Shimohei District: National Route 455)
Mitagai Branch School has a nostalgic, rural school look.
the site of the Mitakai branch of the Mitakai elementary school that has been closed , this nostalgic roadside station recreates the atmosphere of an old school.
The purchasing department (choose shops) is moderate, but there is a good selection of local products such as Iwaizumi yogurt.
"Business Days" are open all year round, and timetables and world maps are attached to the school (inside the store), which reminds us of our days in elementary school.
Iwaizumi Milk Soft Serve: 300 yen
Iwaizumi Milk Soft Cream gives off a milky look.
Made from Iwaizumi Milk, a popular Iwaizumi yogurt material that is popular for its chewy texture, this soft serves a mild sweetness and rich flavor and aroma of milk, with a smooth texture and refreshing aftertaste.
A dining room with steel pipe desks and chairs that remind you of a classroom when you were a child
Among the local software, which is often priced at around 400 yen, it is also highly valued and popular among the "milk soft drinks" in Iwate Prefecture, thanks to its good value for money at 300 yen.
Let's eat "school lunch" and bring "fried bread" home!
School lunch menu on the day you visit (visit)
offers daily "school lunch-style sets" in addition to Iwaizumi's soul food hormone hotpot set meals and ramen
Compared to when I was a child, I'm so happy to miss the luxurious "school lunches" and milk from paper cartons.
The menu for the day we visited was fried salmon, fried chicken, shredded cabbage, and egg-fried side dishes, rice, miso soup, pickles, and other milk packs, which reminded me of the nostalgic school lunch.
The fried bread left after a classmate rested, and volunteers were competing for rock-paper-scissors.
The nostalgic "Fried Bread (200 yen)" that can be purchased at the "Purchase Department (Store)" is fragrant and is finished softer than the fried bread from old school lunches.
Croquettes in the front and the noodles in the back are both large and full of meat and delicious.
In addition, fried foods such as "shorthorn beef croquettes" and "black pork belly cutlets" are also recommended.
Roadside Station Mitagai Branch School <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Mitagai Branch School
Roadside stations in the central area of Iwate Prefecture have a unique atmosphere and gourmet food, and are characterized by many roadside stations that will make you want to stay for a long time.
In addition, nearby stations in tourist spots can be used as a hub for collecting tourist information, while stations with facilities such as museums are attached to them are places to learn about the local area.
Even if you're looking for soft serve ice cream or gourmet food, you may be waiting for other fun things to eat.
