The Kitakami mountain range: An area centered around Ichinoseki City, Hiraizumi Town,
and Oshu City in Iwate Prefecture, and Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture This is the candidate site for the ILC（International Linear Collider）

Welcome tothe ILC Kitakami site!
A land that boasts rich history
and many world-renowned figures
along with a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Motsu-ji Temple1

A treasure trove of food products
surrounded by gorgeous mountain ranges
and ocean habitats

Esashi Apples2

Anatoshi-iso Rocks of the Goishi Coast3

Warm hospitality throughout all four seasons A comfortable lifestyle surrounded by good people

Hitaka Hibuse Festival5

Sendai Pageant of Starlight4

March 2014 Iwate Prefecture JAPANAbout the ILC Kitakami site

An environment for research

To the southwest of the Kitakami mountain range lies Ichinoseki City, Hiraizumi Town, andOshu City. At latitude 39 degrees north, they sit on the same line as Madrid, Beijing, andWashington D.C.

In 2013, the researcher-led ILC site evaluation committee designatedthe Kitakami mountain range as the Japanese domestic candidate site.
During a visit to the area, Dr. Lyn Evans, the Director of the Linear Collider
Collaboration (the international organization that coordinates researchand development work for the linear collider accelerator and detectors
around the world) declared the Kitakami site to be perfectly suited forthe ILC.

With Shinkansen trains and expressways, the area has a strong transportation infrastructurethat provides good access to and from the rest of the Japan.

MadridRome

Beijing

New York

San Francisco

Kitakami mountain range

Washington D.C.

Electricity can easily be supplied to the site, and it will be possible totransport heavy equipment from the coastal ports after improving someportions of the roads.
There are currently around 2,000 rooms of accommodations in Ichinosekiand Oshu.
A strong slab of granite with no active faults provides the bedrock forthe 50-kilometer site.

The ILC Kitakami site is a hilly region that stretches to
the Pacific Ocean and is filled with gentle, rolling
peaks.

Iwate Prefecture has an area of 15,280 km², andIchinoseki, Hiraizumi, and Oshu have a combined
area of 2,313 km². (For reference, Switzerland has
an area of 41,285 km², and London has an area of
1,575 km²)The Esashi Earth Tides Station is a national observatory located on aslope of the Kitakami mountains. The equipment inside the facility took
absolutely no damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011
so we know that the Kitakami mountain range is extremely stable.

The area is blessed with beautiful scenery and four
distinct seasons.
■Temperatures (℃)
35302520
15
1050-5-10Jan

Central region of the Kitakami siteFebMarAprMayJunJulAug

SepOctNov

Ichinoseki

Geneva, Switzerland

Average high temperature
Average low temperature

Average high temperature
Average low temperature

Hot air balloon festival in Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi

Climbing wallMotocrossHorseback riding

Pacific saury haul in Kesennuma(Photo: Miyagi Prefecture Tourism Division)

Maesawa beef

DecParagliding

In spring, the cherry blossom trees bloom a pale pink, and in summer you can enjoy swimming in the ocean off
the coast of Sanriku. Autumn brings culinary delights from both the sea and land, and winter is packed withvarious winter sports. Iwate is a natural wonderland abundant in water and greenery.

Dance of the One Hundred DeerTenshochi in spring

Canoeing in summer

Yakeishidake in autumn

Skiing at Hachimantai Resort in winterGenbikei Gorge

Hanamaki I.C.

THE KITAKAMI ILC SITE AT A GLANCE

Living in the area

Hanamaki JCT〔English Consultation Services for Life in the Area〕
To ensure that foreign residents live comfortably in thearea, there are services that give advice on a variety ofissues, such as Japanese language learning, medical
facilities, welfare, child-raising, and more.

Hanamaki Airport I.C.

Hanamaki CityPop. 101,000

Kitak

Morioka StationMorioka

秋田自動車道Prefecture
Iwate Prefectural University●Iwate University●Beijing

Esashi-Tase I.C.

Miyamori I.C.

Kamaishi City
Pop.37,000

Tono CityPop. 29,000

7Kitakami JCTShiwa■Convenience stores

十文字ICTowa

HanamakiSendai cityscape

Kitakami-Ezuriko

Yuda

湯沢IC

Shin-Hanamaki
Station2

Mizusawa I.C.

Esashi-TaseKitakami
StationKitakami-Nishi

YokoteCommonly called “conbini” inJapanese, these stores are open
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You can buy food, snacks, andhousehold items. There arearound 100 convenience stores
dotted throughout Ichinoseki,Hiraizumi, and Oshu. They also
accept credit cards.

Kanegasaki
Town Hall

Kanegasaki Town
Pop. 16,000

Iwate Hanamaki Airport

Oshu City HallTono

Mizusawa-Esashi Station

Miyamori

Sumita Town
Pop. 6,000

Ofunato CityPop. 39,000

Sumita Town HallInternational Linear Collider

International Linear Collider

50km〔City of Trees, Sendai〕
・ Sendai City is the largest city in Tohoku.
・ Population: 1,070,000.
・ It is nicknamed the City of Trees because there arenansehinkku SToho

6

Rikuzentakata City Hall

Kesennuma City
Pop.68,000

Ichinoseki City HallR Linenato J

Ichinoseki Station

OhiraSendai City Taiwa
Pop. 1,070,000

Sendai-Minami

Wakayanagi-Kannari I.C.

NNatori04102030km

Kurikoma-Kogen Station
Kurihara City Hall
Tsukidate I.C.

ami R

iverSendai Airport

MurataKitak

Sendai Airport

Tohoku Universitye

Sendai
StationR Lin

Sendai-Miyagi

4Kurihara City
Pop.74,000

ku J

m

Kesennuma I.C.

#4

Miyagi Prefecture

Karakuwa-Minami I.C.

Kesennuma City Hall

Kesennuma-Port I.C.

Ichinoseki City
Pop.126,000

NaruseOku-Matsushima

Izumi

0kOfu

Karakuwa-Kita I.C.

Oshima I.C.

oute

10Ishinomaki

9 hr 40 min

Narita InternationalAirportHaneda Airport

Getting to the site from Tokyo and Tsukuba〔From Tokyo〕
・ By Shinkansen:
2 hr 10 min to Ichinoseki Station
2 hr 20 min to Mizusawa-Esashi Station
・ Very convenient, with trains runningfrequently
・ Able to work together on a day-to-day
basis with Tokyo University's School of
Science and the International Center
for Elementary Particle Physics

3

Kesennuma-Kita I.C.

Tohoku Expressway

Furukawa

7 hr 45 min

Tsuchiurakita I.C.

Tokyo Station〔From Tsukuba and KEK〕
・ By Shinkansen:
3 hr 30 min to Ichinoseki Station
3 hr 40 min to Mizusawa-Esashi Station
・ By Car: 4 hr 40 min to Ichinoseki I.C.
5 hr to Mizusawa I.C.

Kesennuma Port

■Along major roads
There are many shopping
centers and amusement centers
lined along major roads.

(Researchers would be able to transport accelerator partsand measuring devices themselves by car)

Oya I.C.

Motoyoshi I.C.
Miyagi Prefecture

Unazawa I.C.

Tome City
Pop.84,000

N
02.5

5

Taxi

Shin-Hanamaki
StationMiyagi Prefecture

TsukidateIchinoseki I.C.

Sydney■Taking the Shinkansen (only fastest times are shown)

1al R

domestic routes.

Kurikoma-Kogen

Singapore

Rikuzentakata I.C. Kayooka I.C.

Sanriku Lon
Expre gitudinalsswaySendai Station

many beautiful scenic spots close to the city center.
・ Tohoku University is closely involved with the ILC
project, and will be an international hub for thedevelopment of the particle detectors for the ILC.
・ Sendai Airport carries 5 international routes and 9Hiraizumi Town
Pop.8,000

Wakayanagi-Kannari

Vegalta Sendai Soccer Club ©VEGALTA SENDAI

9 hr 40 min

OfunatoGoishikaigan I.C.

Osabe I.C.

Toho

〔Disaster Preparedness in Japan〕
・ Japan is very well-prepared against natural disasters,and people are able to live their lives comfortably.

Hiraizumi-Maesawa I.C.

tion

〔The Reconstruction〕
Tohoku was hit hard by the Great East Japan Earthquakeand Tsunami on March 11, 2011. As the area proceeds
towards reconstruction, the people eagerly await therealization of the ILC.

Kesennuma

Ichinoseki
StationSanrik
Mina u Railw
ami R
ias L yine
Ofunato Port

Ofunato City Hall

Oshu CityPop. 124,000

Na〔International ILC Support Committee〕
・ An independent organization made up of foreign
residents living in the Kitakami site.
・ They are dedicated to developing a communitythat is welcoming to for both foreign and Japaneseresidents.

San Francisco

Ofunato-Kita I.C.

Outlet Mall

Ichinoseki

Sendai Airport

10 hr 15 min

KEKOfunato I.C.

Hiraizumi-Maesawa

Tohoku University●Los Angeles

Narita International Airport

5Mizusawa

MizusawaEsashi
StationSendai-Miyagi I.C.

12 hr 30 min

LondonIwate Hanamaki
AirportIchinoseki
StationSendai StationNew York

12 hr 30 min

Morioka Station

Kamaishi Expressway

9
Mount Yakeishidake
8▲〔Financial Institutions〕
There are around 30 foreign money exchange institutions
that can send money internationally.

8 hr 55 min

Paris

12 hr 50 min

Tono-Sumita I.C.

Mizusawa I.C.
Ichinoseki I.C.

VancouverPrefecture

12 hr 35 min

KitakamiKanegasaki I.C.

Kitakami-Kanegasaki〔Housing〕
・ There are plenty of apartments and houses availablefor rent.
・ Inexpensive property is available and is plentiful
enough to meet the demand for building newresidences for researchers.

Iwate

4 hr 20 min

Kitakami City Hall

Kitakami Station

MizusawaEsashi Station

Tohoku12 hr 15 min

Tono I.C.

ine
Kitakami-Ezuriko I.C.

Kitakami
Mountains

Iwate

Rome

〔Education〕
・ The children of foreign residents can enter publicschool in Japan (with Japanese language instruction).
・ In Sendai, classes taught in English are held at
2 international schools.
〔Shops and Markets〕
There are many shops and markets in the area, soresidents can go about their daily lives in comfort.

Kamaishi JR LineFrankfurt

Kitakami-Nishi I.C.

Morioka-Minami

Shin-Aomori Station

Tono City Hall

ami L

横手IC

〔Medical Facilities〕
・ Around 200 hospitals and clinics
・ Helicopter emergency medical service

Towa I.C.

Kitakami CityPop. 94,000

西和賀町
人口6,000人

湯田IC

Takizawa

Lake Tazawa

HanamakiCity Hall

NishineMount Iwate ▲〔Safety〕
Japan is a very safe country, and Iwate in particular has
a very low crime rate.

Iwate shopping centers have all
the things you need for daily lifeand more. Restaurants andspecialty shops form part of theseshopping centers. Many of theshops accept credit cards.

Shin-Hanamaki Station

Hanamaki-Minami I.C.
Matsuo▲ Hachimantai
Mount Hachimantai

Getting to Tokyo from around the world■Shopping centers

Iwate Hanamaki Airport

10km〔About the Shinkansen〕
The trains in Japan run frequently andreliably. Riding the train is safe and the carsare always clean and well-cared for. In
particular, the Shinkansen runs at a top
speed of 320km/h.

8 min

Iwate Hanamaki
Airport■Driving by Car

Mizusawa I.C.
20 min15 minIchinoseki I.C.

Mizusawa-Esashi (Oshu City)
Station60 min10 minIchinoseki
StationSendai-Miyagi I.C.

(Ichinoseki City)

3 hr 25 min

Tsuchiurakita I.C.

23 minSendai Airport Line 26 min

Sendai Station
KEKBus(Express 17 min)Bus 20 min

15-20 minTsukuba
Via Tsukuba
Express

60 minSendai Airport

KEKTohoku University

1 hr 42 min

Ueno Station

45 min41 minBy foot 20 min

3 minAkihabara

Via Keisei Skyliner

6 minTokyo University
International Center for
School of Science Elementary Particle Physics

3 min

Via Keisei Skyliner

47 minVia Narita Express

56 minVia Tokyo Monorail

30 minNarita
International
AirportTokyo Station
Haneda Airport＊I.C.: “interchange”, expressway exit

Geibikei Gorge

Hanamaki Hot Springs

Geto Hot Springs

Shobo-ji Temple

Tohoku New Zealand Village● Related organizations
1. About the ILC

World

Organization or site name

URL

LINEAR COLLIDERCOLLABORATION

http://www.linearcollider.org/International LinearCollider

Advanced Accelerator
Association Promoting Science &Technology (AAA)

http://aaa-sentan.org/en/about_us.html

Organization

http://legacy.kek.jp/intra-e/
HIGH ENERGY ACCELERATORRESEARCH ORGANIZATION, KEK

PrefecturalR&D toward theInternational Linear
Colliderhttp://legacy.kek.jp/intra-e/research/ILC.html

Iwate Prefecture

TOHOKU: A Candidate
Site for the International
Linear Collider

http://www.pref.iwate.jp/view.
rbz?cd=46134&ik=0&pnp=14

Oshu City

Oshu International Linear
Collider Web site

http://www.city.oshu.iwate.jp/htm/ilc/

Ichinoseki City

International Linear
Colliderhttp://www.city.ichinoseki.iwate.jp/index.
(Japanese)
cfm/1,0,166,html

TOHOKU UNIVERSITY

http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/english/

Tohoku University

The Tohoku University
Council for the Promotionof the ILC

http://www.ilc.tohoku.ac.jp/cpilc/?lang=en

Iwate University

Iwate University

http://www.iwate-u.ac.jp/english/index.shtml

Municipal

University

http://www.linearcollider.org/ILC(Japanese)

2. Life in Japan
Organization or site nameNational
Prefectural

Municipal

Ministry of Justice

URL
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/index.html
Immigration Bureau

http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/index.html

Iwate International Association

http://iwate-ia.or.jp/?l=en

Miyagi International Association

http://mia-miyagi.jp/english/index.html

Oshu International Relations
Association

http://www.oshu-ira.com/english/index.html

Oshu City

Oshu International Linear
Collider Web site

http://www.city.oshu.iwate.jp/htm/ilc/ (Japanese)

Ichinoseki City

http://www.city.ichinoseki.iwate.jp/

Sendai City

http://www.city.sendai.jp/language/english.html

ILC Support

The International ILC
Support Committee

https://www.facebook.com/
InternationalILCSupportCommittee● Contact
ILC Section, Office of Policy Promotion, Department of Policy and Regional Affairs, Iwate Prefectural Office(020-8570) 10-1 Uchimaru, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
TEL: 019-629-5217 E-mail: AA0001@pref.iwate.jp

Pride of our Hometown Huge Fireworks Festival

Kitakami River and Mount Iwate

Festival of 200,000 Tulips at Tategamori Ark Farm(Japanese)