Goishi Coast Information Center was added to Your Favorites!
Sanriku Fukkō NP, Iwate
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
A 5–7-seat boat piloted by local boatmen passes through the central arch of Anatoshi-iso. The Goishi Coast Information Center handles bookings; using the other 2 arches depends on sea conditions.
Massaki, home of the center, is a wakame-farming pioneer: local fisher Komatsu Fujizō began trials around 1953 and succeeded in 1957. Winter thinnings are prized fresh, briefly swished as shabu-shabu.
At Koshōgatsu (Little New Year), the center decorates a mizuki branch with dumplings and lucky charms for a good harvest—and even hangs sweets for children. Locals also call mizuki the “dumpling tree.”
Opened in 2014 as part of post-quake recovery, the center and campground were meant to help revive visits. The campground’s water, power and biomass-heated hot water were also planned to support temporary housing after a disaster.
Just a 3-minute walk from the center, Kaminari-iwa (“Thunder Rock”) booms when waves push into a cave and compress the air. Its thunder-like sound is one of Japan’s 100 Soundscapes; high tide can hush it.
Along the walk from the camellia grove toward the center, look closely for hanaikada: its tiny flowers sprout directly from the middle of a leaf, an unusual botanical detail easy to miss in the coastal greenery.
The center’s nature walks explore a curious plant mix: warm-current species such as camellia grow alongside northern plants such as rugosa rose and Nikkō kisuge. Shoreline and woodland flowers also share this coastal area.
The coast’s namesake black pebbles are polished by surf from dark shale. Local tradition says these smooth “go stones” were presented to the lords of the Date domain.
The center’s craft activities use pinecones gathered from the coastal pine forest nearby. It’s a small way the forest that frames the local trails becomes part of a visitor’s hands-on experience.
The center is built with locally sourced cedar, and its environmental design continues indoors: solar panels provide power while a wood-biomass boiler supplies heat.
The center serves as an information and rest point on the Michinoku Coastal Trail, a route of more than 1,000 kilometers linking Hachinohe in Aomori with Soma in Fukushima. The full trail opened in 2019 as part of recovery efforts.
Near the center, Goishi’s Camellia Road reaches peak bloom around March–April. When nearby cherry trees flower too, visitors can see camellias and sakura sharing the same spring landscape.
