The sandy coast is known for its rugged and handsome coastlines and coastal scenery as well as sports fresh seafood.

The Sanriku coast spans the three prefectures of our muddy the water and Miyagi in the Tohoku region.

In 2011.

It was devastated by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters to hit Japan in recent decades.

The ensuing tsunami destroyed many towns and villages along the Sanriku coast and thousands of lives were lost in the disaster.

Yeah, the road to recovery has been an ongoing process with the reconstruction of towns and residents rebuilding their lives.

A new development born from this recovery process is the meeting local coastal trail and approximately 1000 kilometer along walking trail connecting Hagino Hey in our body prefecture to Soma in Fukushima Prefecture, which was conceived to connect people in towns along the route.

My name is Rena on staff writer for Japan guide dot com.

And over the next three days I'll be walking some of the best sections of the meeting local coastal trail and experiencing some of the other highlights of the Sanriku coast.

Yeah, here's the plan.

On day one, we follow the coast by train and walk to particularly scenic part of the meeting Agu coastal trail before heading to accommodation for the night.

On day two after a morning walk along the coast will pick up the rental car, take a boat to explore an uninhabited island and visit an excellent memorial museum about the economy Day three, our last day is spent hiking more of the coastal trail on a sacred island before visiting a reconstructed port town.

Our journey ends in sunday where we drop off our car.

So follow along as we uncover the wild and weathered sandy coast.

Three day trip hiking along the meeting local coastal trail.

Day one after arriving at heart, you know, hey station, we make our way to the start of the meeting, Yeogu coastal trail.

Mhm.

From there we walk the first nine kilometers off the trail following the coast to Tanis, a Chicagoan station from where we'll get on the train, changing one's at QG two Takahata station.

We get back on the trail and walk about seven km of the Kita Yamazaki section, popularly known as the coastal outs before taking the train to Mexico where we will be spending our first night.

Mhm.

Damn, that's true.

Mhm.

The local coastal trail spans about 1000 km and I'm here on Kagoshima where the trailhead is and I'm really excited to begin my journey.

Let's go.

Mm hmm.

Yeah.

Mhm.

My walk ends at Tanis Ashikaga station from where I take trains to turn over to my next destination.

Along the way the train makes a couple of stops on bridges for passengers to enjoy the scenery.

I've had a good rest on my two hour train ride and I'm going to take a short taxi ride to the start of my next hike along the Kitty Yamazaki section of the meeting of good coastal trail.

The section offers views of some epic sea cliffs, A number of beautiful, almost private beaches and two tunnels switched.

The locals carved by hand about 60 years ago.

Mhm Yeah.

Mm.

My route also includes the trail out from Sumiyoshi Beach, which students who were cleaning the beach on March 11 used to get to safety away from the water after the earthquake hit.

It must have been a confusing and nerve wracking time for the students.

I cannot even begin to imagine the emotions and feelings.

They must have felt some ruins and reconstructions of buildings devastated by the tsunami can be seen along the coast, one of which is the ruins of a seawall that was left behind as a sober reminder to visitors and future generations of how strong the tsunami was and can be after that.

We head back to Tunnel Hatta station to take the train to Miyako station, which is not far from a hotel for the night.

Yeah.

Mhm.

After 50 minutes on the train, I'm at my accommodation right now and this place looks absolutely beautiful at two big hikes and I'm super hungry so I'm gonna have some dinner, go for a bath bed.

Yeah, Okay.

Why doesn't meet.

Yeah, day two, we start the day with a morning stroll along the trail around Yokohama Beach before picking up our rental car.

Then we drive to the town of Yamada where we'll take a fishing boat to check out some oyster and scallop raft before kayaking around a small uninhabited island.

After that we get back in the car and hit that you added tsunami memorial before carrying on to our accommodation at the edge of a peninsula for our second night.

Yeah, I'm in my rental car and on my way to Yamada will be getting on a boat to see a scallop farm And after that go kayaking around an uninhabited island.

I think it's gonna be fun.

Wow.

Oysters and scallops are some of the main seafood that is harvested in the waters in the town of Yamada.

In the distinct rafts dot the waters in the bay.

I signed up for a farm tour and was treated to a crash course in oyster and scallop aquaculture.

Mhm So on this tour we get to eat raw scallops and the boatman is going to prepare them for us now.

Mm.

Yeah, mm mm.

Perfect.

These are like perfect what not far from the oyster and scallop rafts is the small holland island where visitors can go kayaking and swimming.

It takes about 30 minutes to kayak around the island and the island is a great side trip for those who want to see the coast from a different angle.

So that was kayaking and I think I got like super brown, but we're heading back to land now and we're going to lunch.

Everything in the seafood bowl is from Yamada.

The town that we're in right now and it's as fresh as you can get.

Can't wait to dig in.

Mm sure.

Mm hmm.

The holiday tsunami memorial is a museum in park about the 2011 tsunami.

It stands in the city of Rikuzentakata where massive tidal waves of up to 13 m swept away.

The entire city center visiting the tsunami memorial really drove home the reality of the disaster.

The exhibits lay playing the force of the tsunami and document the emergency response and subsequent rescue efforts.

One cannot even begin to imagine the anguish of everyone caught in the disaster.

The survivors and those who perished.

Mhm.

From the museum visitors can continue their visit to the park with several ruins and monuments from the tsunami remain.

Mhm I'm back in the car and I'm headed to my accommodation for tonight.

It's around 140 km or about 2.5 hour drive from the tsunami museum.

Uh huh.

It looks like seafood, everything for dinner and it looks really good.

Yeah.

Mm hmm.

Day three On our last day, we drive to a Yukawa support and take the boat to the sacred island of King Kazan where we hike to the summit of Mount kinka Zan.

Afterwards, we visit the ports town of Onagawa, which was badly hit by the tsunami and walk through its town center.

Our journey ends in sunday where we drop off our car.

Mhm.

The island of King Hassan is synonymous with King Kazan shrine which enshrines the God and goddess of gold.

It is said that the shrine was established over 1000 years ago, celebrate the first mined gold in Japan.

Mm I've just arrived in kinshasa and I'm going to visit the shrine first and then head up to the summit of the mountain.

King Hassan became known to be one of the highly ranked sacred places in the Tohoku region and drew many pilgrims to its hallowed grounds.

Today, visitors can continue on the mission of the coastal trail to the top of the mountain and be treated to scenic views, wild monkeys and deer roam the island freely adding to the island's rugged off beat charm.

Mm hmm.

While the animals are generally peaceful hikers should look out for other wildlife like leeches and ticks which can be found on the mountain.

Yeah.

Mhm I had a great hike of kinka Zan and I'm on my way to Onagawa, which is about an hour away.

Kanagawa is a fishing town known for its delicious and fresh seafood.

A large percentage of the town was wiped out during the 2011 tsunami and reconstruction works have been ongoing.

Some of the first few public facilities to be completed included.

The train station by noted architect Banshee group and the shopping prominent just across from the station.

I just arrived in Onagawa.

My last stop for this trip now the former town center was completely destroyed by the tsunami on March 11 And the town that we see today was built over a period of five years and was raised by an average of about eight m.

I'm gonna be walking down the beautiful promenade and doing my bit in supporting local businesses.

Let's go.

Mhm.

Further down, closer to the waterfront lie the remains of a former police box, which was toppled and wrecked by the tsunami and left as a stark reminder of the disaster.

Thanks for joining me.

I hope this video has been enjoyable and perhaps even inspires some ideas.

Should you decide to plan a trip to the Sanriku coast?

Mhm For more information or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to Japan guide dot com.

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Thanks for watching.