Iwate: Hiraizumi 平泉

If you know about haiku (Japanese poem), this is where Matsuo Basho (松尾芭蕉）made the following haiku: '夏草（なつくさ）や　兵（つわもの）どもが　夢（ゆめ）の跡（あと）' 'The summer grass It is all that's left of ancient warriors dreams' It's a very simple haiku, buts that's the beauty of it. Here, you might feel that you can smell summer grass, though you can't feel the dream of ancient warriors anymore. You can reach Hiraizumi by Shinkansen from Tokyo.