Golden Week is the Perfect Time for the Mysterious Hachimantai Dragon Eye!
The Hachimantai “Dragon Eye” is a moniker for Kagami-numa (or Kagami Pond), a pond located in Hachimantai National Park, near Mt. Hachimantai’s summit. It can be reached in just 15-20 minutes on foot from the Summit Rest House parking lot. Its name comes from the way its snow and ice melts coming out of spring, naturally forming a small island in the center that causes the whole pond to resemble the eye of a dragon. This mysterious natural phenomenon can only be seen from mid-May to mid-June, and no one version of it looks quite like the last.
※Please do not try to walk down to the water; the snow and ice may break below you.
The water’s color can change based on when and where you look at it from.
Kagami-numa, like many bodies of water around it, was originally formed by a phreatic explosion. Other nearby examples include Megane-numa right next to it, as well as Gama-numa and Hachiman-numa.
Hachimantai Dragon Eye (Kagami-numa)
- Obuka National Forest, Tazawa-ko, Semboku City, Akita Prefecture
- Contact: Matsuo-Hachimantai Visitor Center
- 0195-78-3500
- 0195-78-3838
- For more information, click here.
- Hachimantai Viewing Platform Parking Lot (107 vehicle capacity, paid parking)
- Access:
- • 40min by car from the Matsuo-Hachimantai IC (Tohoku Expressway)
- • 2hrs by bus from JR Morioka Station (Kenpoku Bus)
- Iwate Kenpoku Bus websaite
- • 15-20min on foot from Hachimantai Summit Rest House
Hachimantai Bus Route Info
- Bus stoppages can occur depending on road conditions, so please confirm ahead of time.
- • Hachimantai Aspite Line (Section from Midorigaoka Gate to Mikaeri-Toge to Fuke-no-Yu gate)
- ▪️ Typically open from mid-April
- • Hachimantai Jukai Line (Section from Matsukawa gate to Mikaeri-Toge)
- ▪️ Typically open from late April
- ▪️ Even after opening, it remains closed for the night for some time until summer (specifically from 17:00 to 8:30 the next morning)
- Hachimantai City Tourism Association website
Introducing 2022’s Local Hachimantai Dragon Eye-Branded Sweets.
After experiencing the Hachimantai Dragon Eye with your eyes, why not give your tastebuds something to try, too?
30 minutes by car from the Hachimantai Viewing Platform parking lot is the Onsenkyo area, where you’ll find Northern Grande Hachimantai and the Salad Farm Village. Both offer tasty products themed after the Hachimantai Dragon Eye.
Northern Grande Hachimantai was recently renovated in April 2022. They now offer not just a dine-in lunch and dinner, and a bar. As well, they have a kitchen-equipped multi-purpose creative space for holding workshops and activities. Their specialty is providing a varied menu of local foods representing the regional gastronomy, while also offering a first-class view of Mt. Iwate.
For example, one of their menu items is the Hachimantai Dragon Eye Ice Cream (get it?), which is made with vanilla ice cream from local gelato shop Nollegretto and green apple jam from Aomori. It recreates the motif of its namesake, something that younger visitors are sure to find amusing, and is of course a delicious cold treat perfect for summer.
- Price(including tax) :￥500
- Availability: 11:00 – 20:00 (last order)
- Dine-in only
Northern Grande Hachimantai
- 1-590-497 Matsuo-Yoriki, Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture 028-7302
- 0195-68-7545
- Northern Grande Hachimantai website
- Hours: 11:00 – 20:00
- Lunch: 11:00 – 14:00 (last order)
- Café: 14:00 – 17:00
- Dinner: 17:00 – 19:30 (last order)
- Closed:
- Weekly on Wednesday
- Beginning and end of year
- 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month (maintenance)
Salad Farm Village is an amusement complex with restaurants, attractions, and fun activities. They also have shops including a café, a gardening area with succulents, and a souvenir goods shop.
Two Hachimantai Dragon Eye-themed items are offered. One is the Hachimantai Dragon Eye Ice Cream Soda, combining a lemon soda with house-made frozen yogurt. The soda’s sparkling blue gradient makes a compelling combination with the pure-white yogurt. It is also available for take-out; have you considered taking a shot of yourself with one with Mt. Iwate as your backdrop?
- Hachimantai Dragon Eye Ice Cream Soda
- Shop: Tomte no mori
- Price(including tax) :￥500
- Availability: 11:00 – 15:00 (last order)
- Dine-in or take-out
The other Hachimantai Dragon Eye-themed item offered at Salad Farm is the Hachimantai Dragon Eye Panna Cotta. It’s a gelatin dessert flavored with lemon and decorated with cream to evoke the Hachimantai Dragon Eye’s iconic imagery. We think its rich texture and snappy lemon taste is a perfect complement to summer.
- Hachimantai Dragon Eye Panna Cotta
- Shop: Egg Emporium
- (also available at Salad Farm’s branch shop
- “Tomte” in Morioka Stations Fezan mall)
- Price(including tax) :￥350
- Availability: 9:00 – 17:00 (or while supplies last)
- Dine-in or take-out
Salad Farm Village
- Address (representative): 2-6-333 Hirakasa, Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture
- 0195-75-2500
- Salad Farm Village website
- 9:00 – 17:00 (individual shop hours may vary)
- All shops closed each Wednesday
- Free parking (300 spaces)
