Iwate University is located in Morioka. This city in the center of Iwate Prefecture is not only the prefectural capital, with a population of approximately 300,000 people, it has rapidly developed as the core city of the northern Tohoku region since the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen line in 1982. It is rich with the colors of the natural world, showing the changing seasons; here and there the streets have the charms of an old-world castle town, and vibrancy and elegance exist in harmony. Morioka is truly a city that lives up to its alternate name, "Toryo (Forest Hill)."
Three rivers flow through the city: the Kitakami, Nakatsu, and Shizukuishi. Follow the waters of the Kitakami River and look upwards, and you can see the grand figure of Mount Iwate, known as "Mount Fuji of the Nambu area," from wherever you are.
While Iwate University is in an urban area around two kilometres north of Morioka Station, the campus resembles an expansive natural park surrounded by greenery. It hosts four faculties and education and research support facilities.
Take one step outside the university and you will almost immediately find Takamatsu Pond and a place for residents to relax and enjoy themselves throughout the four seasons; not much further away are Koiwai Farm and Lake Gosho.
As is well known, this prefecture offers a magnificent natural world, including Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, Mount Iwate, and Hachimantai, and gorgeous cultural heritage, with Hiraizumi at the top of the list. This area, a deep pocket of Iwate's nature and culture with its warm people, is an optimum environment in which to live a student life.