Hot springs in Hanamaki

Hanamaki Onsen is a hot spring district in Iwate Prefecture organized into eight separate zones spread through the hills above the Kitakami River valley. The area is the hometown of author and poet Kenji Miyazawa. A narrow-gauge line called the Hanamaki Electric Railway once ran between the spring zones, earning the nickname the matchbox train, and it is widely credited as the inspiration for the celestial train journey at the center of Miyazawa's most celebrated work, Night on the Galactic Railroad.