This is the first time for a limestone cave to go up and down so much. The cooler seems to have worked hard and it is comfortable in the summer, but the amount of exercise seems to exceed that. Unexpectedly, I’m more interested in the deep and endless transparent underground lake than the grown stalactite.
The water of the underground lake is rich in minerals such as calcium, and the residents of Iwaizumi who can drink it every day are envious. I love the Iwaizumi yogurt that uses this water.
The sea near Iwate Prefecture is a good fishing ground where cold and warm currents intersect. In addition, the ‘rias’ coast has deep natural coves created by the sinking of mountains, making it a natural good port, and the fishing industry has developed in combination with good fishing grounds.
I learned the above when I was in elementary school, but I came here to learn that the northern half is actually a raised coast. The coast of Kita-Sanriku has a series of cliffs, and there is no very good natural port. It means that there are many things you can not understand unless you come.
nedari hama walking course
The Nedari-hama promenade is a short, but refreshing, private beach-like shore and is a part of Michinoku Coastal Trail
Anmo-ura cliff and waterfall that directly falls into the sea (photo below)
anmo ura
Kita-Yamazaki cliff viewpoint, where eastern wind blows over the cold current from the north, becomes thick fog and you can’t see anything easily, but if you don’t give up, you can open your view as you descend to the observatory below the cliff. However, going uphill is tight.
Fudai Sluice: The scars of the Great East Japan Earthquake
fudai water gate tsunami overflown
The Fudai sluice on the way to Kita-Yamazaki was built from the lessons learned by the victims of the two tsunamis. Convincing the opposition, a 15.5-meter-hight lock was built at 300 meters from the river mouth over a 12-year period. The tsunami exceeded this during the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the town of Fudai located upstream of the floodgate escaped.
National railways have been privatized and local lines have been abolished. With the advent of the society of motorization, the abolition of local lines continues. But wonder why, the train running in the countryside even on a single-car train gives us courage. That is Sanriku Railway, we call ‘Santetsu’ with friendliness. It run on the remaining section five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake, also overcoming the damage caused by the typhoon in 2019 and impressing us.
bridge view from trainseawall
It was originally built to deliver goods in the event of a disaster, so there are few sections where you can see the sea from the train window. What’s more, unfortunately, the section where the sea can be seen is valuable because of the construction of a seawall to prevent a tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Rikuchu-noda station to Horinai station is a valuable section, so take a look at the sea. Note that the station name is also included in the drama settings. It’s complicated……
scallop and sake at noda
Salt, scallops and kelp are recommended in this region.
Other amber mining sites are the Baltic coast and the Dominican Republic, but only 90 million years ago is Kuji. At that time, it was just the age of dinosaurs, and the sap became fossils over a long period of time. Furthermore, it is an event before the Japanese archipelago was torn from Eurasia and evidence that Kuji was part of Eurasia.
amber jewel gemstone
Amber was discovered as a jewelry in the remains of 20,000 years ago, and is still an attractive gemstone. Compared to mineral gemstones, they are much lighter and warmer than I expected due to their resin origin.
Amber with insects is even more expensive. The fiction setting of the movie “Jurassic Park” is to extract dinosaur blood and DNA from mosquitoes in amber and restore real dinosaurs. Maybe you could get a ticket to travel to the dinosaur era ! jejeje!
Samurai-Hama (Giant granite coast and pool in the drama)
Tanesashi Coast is not monotonous. There are reefs, sandy beaches, and green pine forests. And finally there is the natural turf, which is mistaken for a completely artificial golf course. Alpine plants grow along the coast because of the easterly wind blowing over the cold current from the north.
Panorama view from Ashigezaki (click photos)
ashige left
ashige middle not found hokkaido
ashige right
Root for 4 hours*
*)Community bus is available here and there on the root.
start from ‘Same’ station. Not the ‘same’ but shark in the meaning. Take a photo with the shark monument in front of the station. (walk next 15min)
Kabu island is occupied by a lot of black-tailed gulls and the sacred shrine on the top of the island was turned white due to their activity ! (45min)
Ashigezaki viewpoint is surrounded by reefs. It seems that Hokkaido can be seen if the weather is nice. (10min)
Nakasuka coast where It is unusual for various alpine plants to bloom (20min)
Osuka coast is like a tropical country with too long sandy beaches. (90min)
Yodo-no-Matsubara is green pine forest rising from the coastline. On the way huge remarkable round ‘white rock’ comes into view. ‘White’ came from activity of sea cormorants. (30min)
The natural turf suddenly spreads in front of you. I wonder why such a large lawn was created. (Goal !)
I stopped by Tanesashi Coast Information center near the turf to get certification for walking 10km on Tanesashi Coast and a pin badge.
Before going back to Hachinohe from Tanesasi Coast station, I charged energy with sea urchin bowl. Sea urchin is a food unique to this season and seems to be steamed rather than raw in this region.
How about taking public bath after walking exhausted. There are a lot of bathes opening in the morning around Hachinohe harbor, so the sailors can always take a bath after coming back on a long trip.
No matter how you look at it, it looks like a Totoro tree ！
In fact, a cedar tree is divided into two at the base, which is only visible to Totoro’s ears at a distance. Even so, the shape is really good.
There is an observation deck with a parking lot nearby, but let’s walk around the Totoro tree through the thickets.
*)On the way I often worried about whether I could reach my destination or not in the real countryside.
By the way, Sakekawa village is famous for various mushroom cultivation. I learned later looking at the production area display at the supermarket in the neighborhood.
‘Gathering early summer rains / Even more rapid / The Mogami River’
by Basho
boat going down
Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the Mogami River.
waterfall from the cliff
The seasons were different, but the flow was not as intense as I expected.
Time seems to have stopped and the area is quiet. I can only hear the sound of pointing the boat’s rod to the river. A stream of water falls from the cliff and the boat song of the boatman is sucked into the mountains. On the way you can see the ruins of Oshin’s outdoor studio. I fell asleep on the way.
The following is a boat landing. One-way, two-way, etc. you can chose according to your schedule.
Higashine city is famous of cherry producer and even the station name has the name of cherry like ‘Cherry Higashine’. But ‘Big Zelkova Tree'(Keyaki) is far more famous since ancient times. The sacred tree quietly stands in the lively voice of elementary school students.
rice terraces
Yamagata was a place to ship rice to the Edo Shogunate by Kitamae ship being collected through Mogami River, so rice production was also popular. You can still see many beautiful rice fields. I like branded rice, ‘Tsuya-Hime'(Shiny princess).
