Ichinoseki

Genbi-kei, which roughly translates to "Gorge of Harsh Beauty" is a scenic gorge known for the white water rushing over rocks, a few waterfalls, and the dango made in a shop across the river and sent to customers via overhead cable. The surrounding area is also home to many hot spring hotels and ryokan.

The permanent collection features a wide variety of objects and artifacts from around the city and prefecture, including a katana exhibit. They also feature special exhibits.

Tranlated as "Lion's Nose Gorge", Geibi-kei is listed as one of the "100 Landscapes of Japan". There are flat-bottomed boats that take you upstream past Buddhist rock carvings to a scenic part of the gorge where visitors can exit the boat for a time to enjoy the views, walk around, and purchase ceramic stones to try to throw in a hole in one of the rocks for good fortune. The round-trip ride, including the docking time, takes about 90 minutes.

During the cherry blossom season in early spring, this large hill on almost a straight path west of the station, is lit by lanterns at night and is beautiful during the day as the trees bloom. Outside of cherry blossom season, the paths up the hill and the small park at the summit offer a pleasant place to explore and provide an overview of the city and Ichinoseki Station from above. According to local legend, the outcropping of rock and earth at the top of the hill was once a signal fire tower during the era when Ichinoseki had just been brought under Kyoto rule.

A 350 million year old cave (formed in the Paleozoic Era), said to be one of the oldest caves in Japan. It was discovered in 1980 and contains many interesting rock formations and fossils. The cave is also rumored to have been used as a hideout for Japanese Christians during the Edo period.

Situated at the top of a densely wooded hill, it is truly breathtaking, not only due to the giant, thousand-year-old trees at the top, but the incredibly long flight of stairs you must climb to get there.

During the days when Christianity was banned, 300 Christians and missionaries were brought here and killed here where the Memorial Park is located. The small museum displays the history of Christianity in Okago and in the greater Tohoku Region. Other features of the park include the Okago Christian Martyrdom Memorial Kurusu Museum housing three Crucifixion statues (closed in winter), History Trail with quotes and letters along the path from various Christian religious figures, and Okago Church. See also Christian sites in Japan.

Ashi Tozan wrote a criminal code while he was imprisoned that was published 100 years later (it was banned from publishing when he wrote it) and eventually used as a model for Japan's penal code. The museum is dedicated to his life and works.