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Sanriku Fukkō NP, Aomori / Iwate
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At Raga, a roughly 20-ton boulder rests 250 m inland in a field 28 m above sea level. Fossils link it to nearby coastal rock, and it is attributed to the 1896 Meiji Sanriku tsunami.
Southern Sanriku is known for drowned ria bays; farther north, the land rose into broad marine terraces. Around Ōno, a terrace 180–300 m above sea level now supports dairies making local Yume milk and yogurt.
White rhododendrons grow on Kitayamazaki’s sea cliffs, an exceptionally rare sight on Honshu’s Pacific coast. Cool, damp Yamase winds create a high-mountain-like pocket where this northern plant can thrive.
At Kosode, women began diving for abalone and seaweed between farm work while men were away on offshore fisheries; locals first called the divers “katsugi.” Kuji now recognizes their fishing technique as an intangible folk cultural property.
At Taneichi, coastal rocks preserve a Cretaceous shallow sea. A 2025 study of 47 ammonite and clam fossils found 3 ammonite species new to Iwate and showed the formation spans more time than previously known.
At Unosu Cliff, 5 crescent-shaped walls rise almost 200 m. Its name means “Cormorant Nest Cliff,” referring to nests in the rock face—a literal link between the landscape and its seabirds.
A volcanic-ash layer dated to about 112,000–115,000 years ago lies above marine gravel on northern Sanriku’s Taneichi terraces. Researchers used it to confirm that an ancient shoreline now sits 20–30 m above today’s sea.
Kitayamazaki and Unosu look like parts of one dramatic cliffscape, but their rocks began differently: Kitayamazaki is largely volcanic deposits, while Unosu formed from ocean-floor sediments squeezed against a continent.
Near the summer solstice, sunrise can shine through the sea cave at Tsuringane-dō on Kosode coast. The opening is part of a rocky offshore islet sculpted by the same waves that shaped the surrounding cliffs.
Many pines above Kitayamazaki are younger than the cliffs: a huge 1961 wildfire burned the original forest, and much of today’s pine stand was replanted. The forestry agency notes that charred wood can still be seen.
