| Hayachine Quasi-National Park (早池峰国定公園, Hayachine Kokutei Kōen) is a quasi-national park in central Iwate Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category II) according to the IUCN.[1] Established in 1982, the park's central features are Mount Hayachine (1,914 m (6,280 ft)) and Mount Yakushi (薬師岳) (1,645 m (5,397 ft)).[2][3][4] The alpine zone and forest vegetation of Mounts Hayachine and Yakushi is a designated Special Natural Monument spanning the municipalities of Hanamaki, Tōno, and Miyako (former village of Kawai).[5][6] The area is celebrated for its flora and also for its place in Japanese folklore, most notably as collected in Tōno Monogatari.[2] |
