Thoughts on Morioka

Hi,

We are thinking to go from Osaka to Hokkaido and stay for a couple of days somewhere in between.

We have stayed at Sendai a couple of times, hence wanting to try somewhere new

We are thinking Morioka, a good 5 hours train from Osaka. Has anyone been there ? Would you recommend it?

(Another option is Aomori, but from the photos, it seems Morioka locks nicer with Mt Iwate as a backdrop)

Morioka is the capital city of iwate prefecture
JR east iwate holiday pass =2500 yen
Iwate ken kotsu bus pass 1 day =1000 yen
Iwate ken poku bus 7 day =4800 yen

I have always loved Morioka for some reason, but I was never of the impression that the city has a lot to offer to tourists. It could be due to my lack of research, but I just don't know of many interesting things to do in the city besides eating noodles. It can be a good base though.

Needless to say: I was rather surprised by the recent NY Times article.

I spent 1 night in Morioka and then cycled away from there. I did not think that it was an interesting city. What about Hiraizumi or an onsen ryokan stay in Nyuto onsen?

I haven't been but I'm looking at visiting Morioka during my October trip.
From my research, it seems like a pleasant but unspectacular city but around it you have Nyuto Onsen, the beautiful Hachimantai region, Kaukodate and 1h20m by car to the East, Jodogahama Beach.
So, it seems a great base for the region.

Near the station, there is mainly Morioka Castle, Nanshoso, etc. Some sites are further out, but overall it doesn't have many attractions. Most of its sites are here:
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Morioka

But as a base, it is a good city. There is a direct bus to Ryusendo Cave, and I think they also have direct buses to Hachimantai.

By train, you can access Hiraizumi, Ichinoseki, Hanamaki, and most of Iwate Prefecture from Morioka as a base, as well as much of Akita Prefecture and eastern Aomori Prefecture.

Yeah, I have to concur. I stayed there overnight but found little of interest. It's a good bullet train station to get off and rent a car for some other places.

As others have mentioned, Morioka is a good base for the local area but it is rather uninspiring. My trip which was half walking, half driving can be seen below:

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3268

I also concur the getting off at Ichinoseki and visiting Hiraizumi

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1019

From memory - this town is rather spread out and I remember hiring a bike to get around quicker.