Kesennuma

A fishing port at the southern end of the Sanriku coast, with earthquake-damaged ruins, a shark museum and Oshima Island. It connects north to Rikuzentakata and south to Minami-Sanriku, and is a key place for understanding the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Kesennuma lies at the northeastern tip of Miyagi Prefecture and is the largest fishing port at the southern end of the Sanriku coast. Its landings of bonito are consistently the highest in Japan, and its shark and shark-fin processing is also famous nationwide. The coastline here is winding and forms part of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park. During the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the city was badly damaged by tsunami and fire. Today, its earthquake ruins and reconstruction districts are important sites for learning about disasters and disaster prevention.

The main sights can be grouped as follows. In the city, you will find the Kesennuma Fish Market, Umi no Ichi, the Shark Museum, the reconstructed Naiwan inner bay district and Mount Anba, which overlooks the harbour. To the east, a bridge connects to Kesennuma Oshima island and the Karakuwa Peninsula, which has the Kyofu-hanzō rock formation. To the south, you will find the Earthquake Ruins Memorial Hall and Iwai Cape. About 40 minutes further south are the Minami-Sanriku SunSun shopping street and the 311 Memorial Museum. To the north, about 25 minutes away in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, are the Miracle Pine and Tsunami Memorial Center, and the Goishi Coast in Ōfunato.

The best season is May to October. Summers are cool, bonito is at its finest from June to November, and Mount Tokusen-jō's rhododendrons bloom in May. Winters are windy.

Getting there: From Ichinoseki, take the JR Ōfunato Line for about 1.5 hours, or take an expressway bus from Sendai for about 3 hours. The coastal railway has been replaced by BRT (bus rapid transit) express buses. The sights are spread out, so driving is recommended. Plan two days to see everything at a comfortable pace, and please be respectful when visiting the ruins.

Top sights

• Kesennuma City Memorial Museum – A memorial museum preserving the former Kesennuma Mukaiyo High School, which was struck by the tsunami; a car that washed onto the third fl…
• Kesennuma Oshima Island – Tohoku's largest inhabited island, reached by car over the Tsurukame Bridge, with the Mount Kame lookout, Odanohama beach and the singing s…
• Miracle Pine & Iwate Tsunami Memorial, Rikuzentakata – The 'Miracle Pine' is the only tree left standing among the roughly 70,000 pines of Takata Matsubara, and it stands in a recovery memorial…
• Kesennuma Shark Museum – Shark-themed museum inside the Umi-no-Ichi complex, covering the fishing industry and shark ecology of Japan's largest shark port, with a r…
• Kesennuma Fish Market – Fishing-port market that has landed the most fresh bonito in Japan for many years running. A second-floor viewing deck overlooks the mornin…
• Kesennuma Inner Bay – Rebuilt waterfront district at the innermost part of the bay, with the new Mukaeru complex and other shops lining the seaside boardwalk. Vi…
• Mount Anba – A 239-meter hill behind the city. The summit observation deck overlooks Kesennuma Port, the Inner Bay and the distant Oshima Island, and it…
• Iwaisaki Cape – Limestone headland famous for its "tide-spouting rock," where waves surge into crevices and send water spouting up. The cape also has the "…
• Ogama-Hanzo, Karakuwa Peninsula – Sea-carved coast on the east side of Karakuwa Peninsula. A 16-meter rock pillar called "Oriishi" stands in the sea, and together with the p…
• Rias Ark Museum of Art – Local art museum in Kesennuma, with a permanent exhibit on the Great East Japan Earthquake and the history of tsunami disasters, displaying…
• Minamisanriku Sun Sun Shopping Village – Wooden shopping street designed by Kengo Kuma to help the area recover. It is home to a cluster of seafood restaurants, and its signature i…
• Minamisanriku 311 Memorial & Disaster Prevention Building – Earthquake learning center in Minamisanriku Town, and the former disaster prevention building, now with only its red steel frame left, wher…
• Goishi Coast – Ria coast on Sumisaki Peninsula in Ofunato, with a sea-carved cave called Anatsuigiso, the Thunder Rock, and a beach of black pebbles as ro…
• Mount Tokusenjo – Low mountain famous for roughly 500,000 wild mountain azaleas. In May, the whole hillside turns orange-red, making it one of the best flowe…

Where to eat

• Asahi Sushi Honten – A long-running Kesennuma sushi shop founded in 1967 and said to be the birthplace of shark fin sushi. It is known for s…
• Fukuyoshi – A famous robata grilled-fish restaurant in Uochō on Kesennuma's inner bay. The manga Oishinbo once called it the world'…
• Hokkatsu Maguroya Uminoichi Branch – A tuna eatery run directly by the Miyagi Northern Bonito and Tuna Fishery Cooperative. It is famous for affordable tuna…