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Sanriku Fukkō NP, Miyagi
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The brackish reeds near the center shelter the endangered Hinuma damselfly—the only place it has been recorded in Tohoku. The center leads observation outings, but keeps the exact spot secret to protect it.
The center displays a golden eagle, once a breeder on nearby Mount Onikura. Unlike the species’ usual cliff ledges, eagles there nested in giant pines; the local pair disappeared in 2012, and habitat restoration is under way.
This vast reed bed has a human-made beginning: flood-control works launched in 1911 bought land that forced 2 settlements to move. Reeds later colonized former fields, and residents secured shared rights to harvest them.
At the neighboring local-goods shop, look for Jūsan-hama wakame. Ishinomaki says the river’s nutrients mingle with Pacific water here, helping give the local seaweed its famously springy, not-too-tough texture.
Winter reed-cutting and spring controlled burns help renew this habitat. Local schoolchildren also turn some of the harvest into handmade reed-paper graduation certificates—each one has its own slightly different shape.
The Kitakami River mouth reeds are one of Japan’s 100 Soundscapes, selected for the rustle of reeds in the wind mixed with waterbird calls. The marsh’s changing seasons bring their own soundtrack.
Reeds harvested near the center travel well beyond the river mouth: local thatchers use them to repair and reroof cultural-property buildings around Japan, linking this working marsh to traditional craftsmanship nationwide.
In 2026, a center workshop looked far ahead on nearby Tsukihama-sawa River. After a 2019 typhoon reshaped it, participants used stones and wood to work with the river’s natural flow—not simply force it back to its old form.
On a 2026 center-led estuary outing, participants found a young Japanese eel and returned it to the water. The species spawns near the Mariana Islands, then grows in East Asian coastal waters and rivers.
When the visitor center opened in April 2018, its next-door city goods center was a new rebuilding hub in tsunami-hit Jūsan-hama. Local forestry groups donated wooden tables and chairs for its shared lounge.
