I made it to Morioka on another local train, arriving at my home for the next four nights around midday. From here things followed the usual pattern – I left my big bag at the hotel, had some quick lunch to then move into sightseeing mode – and check out the castle ruins, as well as the local history museum (with good background on both castle and town history). When I came out of the museum, it was pouring – I initially followed my plan for the rest of the day – until I eventually gave up and made it back to the hotel.