Some train lines really emanate nostalgia when you board them. JR’s Hanawa Line is one such example. It began operation in October of 1931 and has thus been operating for over 90 years, connecting Iwate and Akita prefectures across highlands and gorges. For nearly a century, passengers have been able to watch the incredible scenery unraveling around them from its windows.
Many people know of Appi Kogen’s stellar powder snow, but the autumn views here, which were selected as one of the top 100 in Japan, are also not to be missed. Peak autumn occurs from late September to mid-October. During such time, you can ride the gondola from Appi Kogen up to Mt. Maemori (1304m elevation), and see the blanket of primeval beech forests in red, yellow and orange unfolding below you.
You also get first-rate views of other mountains such as Mt. Hachimantai, Mt. Nanashigure, Mt. Himekami, and of course Mt. Iwate.
You might even get the chance to see a sea of clouds, like something out of a picture book. When the temperature is lower at night than it is the following morning, your chances of spotting such a landscape are high.
Around the time the Hanawa Line first began operation, Appi Kogen’s Secondary Beech Forest was a major logging site for charcoal and lacquer. It’s said that locals would use saws to fell one tree per hectare, leaving the largest trees alone. From such trees fell seeds that would grow into new saplings. That forest has grown into a magnificent area that gives us clean water and fresh air, as well as a space to walk around and enjoy nature up close. Today it is recognized as one of Japan’s top 100 forests for 'forest-bathing'.
For more information on the Secondary Beech Forest in Appi Kogen, please click here.
*A “secondary forest” is one that originally grew in a given area, was weakened by deforestation or disaster, and has since naturally regenerated itself.
- Appi Gondola Contact Information
- Appi Kogen Ski Resort:
- 0195-73-5111
- (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
- Hotel Reservation Center:
- 0195-73-5010
- (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Experience Fine Art in Autumn through Geothermal Dyeing
Hachimantai City has a deep history of utilizing its natural resources. Here in Hachimantai, you can find Japan's first commercial geothermal power plant, the Matsukawa Geothermal Power Plant, located deep within Matsukawa Onsen. In 2019, the new Matsuo Hachimantai Geothermal Power Plant near Gozaisho-numa began commercial operations. Additionally, the Appi Geothermal Power Plant, which began construction on the northern slope of Mt. Appi-dake in 2019, started commercial operations in March 2024.
In the 1970s, a nearby hotel began using the steam from the Matsukawa Geothermal Power Plant to supply a hot spring called 'Magma-no-Yu.' Today, over 700 hotels, inns, cottages, hospitals, and other hospitality and welfare facilities, use this geothermal hot spring. Additionally, there is a dyeing technique called 'Geothermal Dyeing,' which was developed using the steam emitted from Matsukawa.
Believe it or not, geothermal dyeing began as an accident! It was discovered by the “Geothermal Dyeing Research Institute” and remains a dyeing method you won’t see anywhere else in the world.
One of its defining characteristics is the incredible range of colors it can produce by utilizing the heat and composition of the geothermal steam. As the dye is seeped into the cloth using high-temperature vapors, tiny amounts of hydrogen sulfide in the vapors mix with the dye, causing it to lose color. These diametrically opposed operations of dyeing and decolorization are happening simultaneously, resulting in surreal patterns.
Geothermal dyeing involves the dye seeping deep into the cloth’s fibers, making the “shibori” or tying part of the process particularly important. Here, parts of the cloth are tied off to guide the dye’s flow and create patterns.
The Geothermal Dyeing Research Institute offers workshops where you can experience this process for yourself. The workshop is led by a dyeing artisan who will guide you through the history of Hachimantai, geothermal steam, and the tying process. You may start to imagine how your design will turn out while you work, but after only 20 minutes of dyeing in the steam box, unexpected patterns can emerge.
Geothermal Dyeing Research Institute & Workshop – Mujosen
- Rinpan 559 Wo-shohan, Matsukawa Kokuyurin, Matsuo-Yoriki, Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture
- 0195-78-2451
- Geothermal Dyeing Research Institute Official Website (Japanese)
- Dyeing Workshop Schedule (Japanese)
- Closed Irregularly
Alpen Rose
- Rinpan 559 Wo-shohan, Matsukawa Kokuyurin, Matsuo-Yoriki, Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture
- 0195-78-3240
- Matsukawa Onsen Alpen Rose Official Website (Japanese)
- Open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Closed irregularly
- Check Facebook for more details
All information listed was confirmed at the time of publication. No responsibility is taken for changes made by third parties after this time.
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