National Parks · Iwate, Miyagi, Aomori
Sanriku Fukko National Park
三陸復興国立公園さんりくふっこうこくりつこうえんSanriku Fukkō Kokuritsu KōenCliffs, rias and a coast rebuilding after the tsunami
Sanriku Fukkō (Sanriku Reconstruction) National Park protects the Pacific coast of northern Tōhoku from Hachinohe in Aomori to the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi. Founded in 1955 as Rikuchū Kaigan National Park, it was enlarged and renamed in 2013 as a symbol of recovery from the 2011 tsunami, and joined by the Minami-Sanriku coast in 2015.
Overview
The park follows the Sanriku coast from the grassy shores of Tanesashi near Hachinohe in the north to Kinkasan island off the Oshika Peninsula in the south. It combines two contrasting coastlines: to the north, high cliffs and wave-cut platforms; to the south, the drowned valleys, deep inlets and islands of a classic ria coast.
The area was protected in 1955 as Rikuchū Kaigan National Park. After the 2011 tsunami devastated the coast, the government made the park the centre of a 'green reconstruction' project: in 2013 it was renamed Sanriku Fukkō and extended north to the Tanesashi coast of Aomori, and in 2015 the Minami-Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park in Miyagi was incorporated. The Michinoku Coastal Trail, reconstruction memorials and restored beaches are part of this vision.
The Sanriku coast is also one of Japan's richest fishing grounds, where the cold Oyashio and warm Kuroshio currents meet. Oysters, scallops, wakame and sea squirts are farmed in the sheltered bays, and seabird colonies nest on the offshore islands.
Landscape and formation
The northern Sanriku coast has been rising for hundreds of thousands of years, forming flights of marine terraces. Waves attack their edges, producing cliffs of 200 m at Kitayamazaki, sea arches and caves at Unosu and Kurosaki, and Cretaceous rock platforms at Hiraiga. Jōdogahama near Miyako consists of white rhyolite formed about 52 million years ago.
South of Miyako, the coast has sunk relative to the sea, and river valleys carved during the Ice Age have been drowned to form ria bays such as Yamada, Ōtsuchi, Ōfunato, Kesennuma and Shizugawa. These funnel-shaped bays amplify tsunami waves, which is why the Sanriku coast has suffered so severely in 1896, 1933 and 2011. At the southern end, Kinkasan is a granite island rising steeply from the sea.
Highlights
- 浄土ヶ浜Jōdogahama
White rhyolite spires and a pebble beach enclosing a calm cove near Miyako, with boat trips to sea caves.
Kitayamazaki
北山崎KitayamazakiCliffs of about 200 m in Tanohata village, among the most imposing coastal scenery in Japan, viewed from observation decks and by boat.
Tanesashi Coast
種差海岸Tanesashi kaiganNatural lawns running down to a rocky shore near Hachinohe, a Place of Scenic Beauty and the northern gateway of the park.
Kabushima
蕪島KabushimaA small island at Hachinohe where tens of thousands of black-tailed gulls breed each spring, a Natural Monument.
Goishi Coast
碁石海岸Goishi kaiganA coast of rounded black pebbles, sea arches and a blowhole at Ōfunato.
Kinkasan
金華山KinkasanA sacred granite island off the Oshika Peninsula, with the Koganeyama Shrine and wild sika deer and monkeys.
Shizugawa Bay
志津川湾Shizugawa-wanA bay of kelp and eelgrass beds at Minami-Sanriku, listed as a Ramsar site for its seaweed forests and wintering Brent geese.
Nature
Ecology
The meeting of warm and cold currents gives the coast a mix of southern and northern species. Red pine forests cover the clifftops, with Japanese black pine on exposed headlands, while the coastal grasslands of Tanesashi and the rocky shores host many flowers, including the Nippon daisy, which blooms along the whole coast in autumn.
The offshore islands are important seabird colonies. Streaked shearwaters nest on Sankanjima and other islands, and band-rumped storm petrels breed on Hideri-jima off Miyako, a colony protected as a Natural Monument. The seaweed forests of Shizugawa Bay, with over 200 species of algae and seagrass, support abalone, sea urchins and fish nurseries.
Flora
Nippon daisy
ハマギクhamagikuA large white daisy of sea cliffs, native to the Pacific coast of northern Honshu, flowering in September and October.
Sukashi-yuri
スカシユリsukashi-yuriAn orange lily that flowers on coastal rocks and grassland in early summer.
Red pine forest
アカマツ林akamatsu-rinThe dominant natural forest on the clifftops of the northern coast.
Seaweed forests
Kelp and eelgrass beds in the bays, particularly rich in Shizugawa Bay.
Fauna
Black-tailed gull
ウミネコuminekoBreeds in huge numbers on Kabushima at Hachinohe, next to a shrine on the island.
Streaked shearwater
オオミズナギドリōmizunagidoriNests in burrows on Sankanjima and other islands.
Band-rumped storm petrel
クロコシジロウミツバメkuro-koshijiro-umitsubameA small storm petrel breeding on Hideri-jima off Miyako, one of its very few colonies in Japan.
Sika deer and Japanese macaque on Kinkasan
Both live wild on the island, the deer regarded as messengers of the shrine's deity.
Culture
The Sanriku coast has been shaped by fishing, faith and repeated tsunamis. Stone markers on hillsides warn later generations not to build below a certain line; the most famous, at Aneyoshi in Miyako, was respected in 2011. The tsunamis of 1896, 1933 and 2011 each killed thousands of people, and the memory of them is central to local identity.
Kinkasan has been a sacred island since ancient times, associated with the discovery of gold in Mutsu province in 749, which supplied the gilding of the Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji. Tradition holds that those who visit the Koganeyama Shrine three years in a row will never lack money. The coast is also known for its performing arts, such as deer dances (shishi-odori) and travelling kagura troupes, which have become symbols of community recovery.
Koganeyama Shrine
黄金山神社Koganeyama-jinjaThe shrine of Kinkasan, a pilgrimage site for prosperity reached by boat from Ayukawa or Onagawa.
Tsunami stones
津波石碑tsunami sekihiMemorial stones along the coast recording past tsunamis and warning where not to build.
Tarō district, Miyako
田老TarōKnown for its giant sea walls, overtopped in 2011, and a preserved hotel ruin used for disaster education.
Jōdogahama Visitor Center
浄土ヶ浜ビジターセンターJōdogahama Bijitā SentāVisitor centre at Miyako with exhibits on the coast's landscape and recovery.
History
749
Gold is discovered in Mutsu province; Kinkasan becomes associated with the find and with the Koganeyama Shrine.
1896
The Meiji Sanriku tsunami kills some 22,000 people along the coast.
1933
The Shōwa Sanriku tsunami strikes the same coast.
1955
Rikuchū Kaigan National Park is designated on 2 May.
2011
The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 11 March devastate the Sanriku coast.
2013
On 24 May the park is renamed Sanriku Fukkō and extended to the Tanesashi coast; Sanriku Geopark is certified the same year.
2015
The Minami-Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park is incorporated on 31 March.
2018
Shizugawa Bay is listed as a Ramsar site.
2019
The Michinoku Coastal Trail from Hachinohe to Sōma is fully opened.
Through the seasons
Spring
Black-tailed gulls return to Kabushima in March; spring sea fog (yamase) can bring cool, grey days from late spring.
Summer
The main season for boat trips, beaches such as Jōdogahama, and walking sections of the coastal trail; cool easterly winds can keep temperatures low.
Autumn
Clear, stable weather and the flowering of Nippon daisies make autumn the best season for the cliffs and the coastal trail.
Winter
Dry and sunny with little snow compared with inland Tōhoku, but cold winds; a quiet time for walking the southern ria coast.
Routes and trails
Michinoku Coastal Trail
A trail of about 1,000 km in sections, from grassland walks at Tanesashi to cliff paths in Iwate and ria coast in Miyagi.
Kitayamazaki and Unosu cliffs
Observation decks and a coastal path in Tanohata, with sightseeing boats beneath the cliffs.
Jōdogahama and the Blue Cave
Beach walks and small boats into the sea cave at Jōdogahama.
Tanesashi Coast walk
An easy grassland and shore path from Kabushima south to the Tanesashi lawn.
Kinkasan pilgrimage
A boat to the island and a steep path up to the summit shrine at 445 m.
Practical notes
- The Tōhoku Shinkansen serves Hachinohe, Morioka, Ichinoseki and Sendai; the coast is reached by the Sanriku Railway Rias Line, the JR Hachinohe Line, BRT bus services and the Sanriku Expressway.
- Distances along the coast are long; a car is useful, although the rail and BRT lines link most towns.
- The coast remains exposed to tsunami risk: learn the evacuation routes marked in each town and move to high ground immediately after any strong earthquake.
- Sea cliffs are unfenced in many places, and trails can be closed after storms.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Fukkō' mean?
Fukkō means reconstruction or revival. After the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, Rikuchū Kaigan National Park was renamed and extended in 2013 to support the recovery of the coast through nature and tourism.
What is the Michinoku Coastal Trail?
A long-distance trail of about 1,000 km along the coast from Hachinohe to Sōma in Fukushima, developed by the Ministry of the Environment after 2011 and fully opened in 2019. Much of it runs through the national park.
Why is the coast so different north and south of Miyako?
North of Miyako the land has been uplifted into marine terraces that end in sheer cliffs up to about 200 m high, such as Kitayamazaki. South of Miyako the coast has subsided, drowning river valleys to form the deep, branching bays of a ria coast.
Can tsunami sites be visited?
Yes. Memorials, preserved ruins and museums along the coast, such as the Tarō district of Miyako and the Tsunami Memorial Park in Rikuzentakata, explain the disaster. Visitors are asked to be respectful, as these are places of loss.
What is Jōdogahama?
A cove near Miyako with jagged white rhyolite rocks and a shingle beach, named 'Pure Land beach' by a 17th-century monk who likened it to paradise. It is the park's best-known sight.
Related
Sources
- 1.三陸復興国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
- 2.国立公園の概要 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
- 3.Sanriku Fukko (reconstruction) National Park (opens in a new tab) — Ministry of the Environment, Japan
- 4.三陸復興国立公園（旧陸中海岸国立公園及び旧南三陸金華山国定公園） (opens in a new tab) — 宮城県