Hirono, Iwate

Hirono (洋野町, Hirono-cho) is the northernmost Pacific municipality in Kunohe county, Iwate Prefecture, Honshū island, Japan. It has a population of approximately 20,000.

History

Hirono is the product of numerous town consolidations. By 1889 the area consisted of Taneichi town, Nakano village, and Ōno village. In 1955 Nakano merged into Taneichi. Taneichi merged with Ōno in January 1, 2006 and renamed Hirono Town. The new name, combining characters for "ocean" (洋) and "fields" (野), reflected the combination of coastal Taneichi with inland Ōno.

Local Specialities

Hirono Taneichi takes pride in its sea urchin. It is common in restaurants and has its own yearly festival in July, the Taneichi Sea Urchin Festival. Some of the sea urchin is harvested by means of Nanbu Diving (南部もぐり), which is taught in a special program at Taneichi Senior High School. Ascidiacea, sea pineapple, are also harvested in Taneichi. Ōno takes pride in its various milk products.

Access

By car, Hirono is located approximately 3 hours northeast from Morioka or 45 minutes south from Hachinohe. The JR Hachinohe Line provides train access through Hirono. The line originates in JR Hachinohe Station, the final stop of the Tohoku Shinkansen line with high speed access to Tokyo and beyond.

External links

* [http://www.town.hirono.iwate.jp/ Official website of Hirono] (in Japanese)
* [http://www2.iwate-ed.jp/tan-h/ Taneichi Senior High School] (in Japanese)