Visit Kamaishi, Visit Japan

28/04/2025

【日本語は下にあります🇯🇵】

🌸Cherry Blossoms × Michinoku Coastal Trail in Kamaishi🌸
The Michinoku Coastal Trail spans over 1,000km along the Pacific coast of Tohoku—where hikers can enjoy the ocean, mountains, local towns, and warm encounters with people 🌿🚶‍♀️

Here are 3 cherry blossom spots on the Kamaishi route that are perfect in spring:

📍Hongo, Touni
During the spring festival held every three years, a traditional daimyō procession parade under the cherry trees🏮

📍Odaira Cemetery Park
Enjoy a breathtaking combo of the Kamaishi Daikannon, rias coastline, and cherry blossoms 🌊

📍Kasshi River
A truly Kamaishi view - cherry trees with Nippon Steel’s factory and the Sanriku Railway in the background 🚂

Come experience the changing seasons of Tohoku on this trail!
Follow our Instagram
for more travel tips about Kamaishi!📣

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🌸桜 × みちのく潮風トレイル＠釜石🌸
東北の太平洋沿岸をつなぐ、全長1,000km超のロングトレイル「みちのく潮風トレイル」。
海、山、町、そして人々とのふれあいを感じながら歩ける、今注目の自然道です🌿🚶‍♀️

今回はその中でも釜石ルートから、春におすすめの桜スポットをご紹介します✨

📍唐丹町本郷
3年に一度の春祭りでは、大名行列が桜の下を練り歩きます🏮

📍大平墓地公園
釜石大観音×リアス海岸×桜の絶景コラボを楽しめます🌊

📍甲子川沿い
日本製鉄の工場×三陸鉄道×桜が同時に見える、釜石らしい景色🚂

四季折々に表情を変える東北の風景を、ぜひ歩いて体感してみてください！
フォローして、釜石の旅情報をお見逃しなく📣

#みちのく潮風トレイル #釜石 #岩手観光 #三陸 #桜スポット #ハイキング

28/04/2025

Today, I’m sharing some beautiful cherry blossom spots along the Michinoku Coastal Trail in Kamaishi!

🌸 Spot 1🌸
《Cherry Tree Avenue in Hongo, Touni Town》
This cherry blossom-lined path was planted in the spring of 1934 with 2,800 trees in the Touni area, as a wish for recovery after the devastating Sanriku tsunami of 1933, and also to celebrate the birth of the current Emperor Emeritus. The highlight here is the Hongo cherry avenue, where every three years, a traditional feudal lord’s procession (daimyō gyōretsu) parades under the blossoms during the Amaterasu Shrine Festival. The next festival will be held in 2027.

🌸 Spot 2🌸
《Odaira Cemetery Park》
Located between the Heita and Ureishi areas, the Odaira district offers stunning views from the top of Odaira Cemetery Park. Here, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Kamaishi Daikannon—a towering white statue standing against the blue sea of the Sanriku rias coast—perfectly framed by cherry blossoms.

🌸 Spot 3 🌸
《Along the Kasshi River in Central Kamaishi》
From the Owatari Bridge, you can see cherry blossoms along the river with a backdrop of the Nippon Steel factory and the Sanriku Railway—an iconic view unique to Kamaishi, the birthplace of Japan’s modern steel industry.Come take a walk and enjoy the cherry blossoms! 🌸🚶‍♀️✨

11/07/2024

🎉 Congratulations, Visit Kamaishi, Visit Japan (Green Destinations Gold Award), for featuring in the Green Destinations 2023 Top 100 Story List.

Here's a sneak peek into their Good Practice Story 👇🏼

Kamaishi City established the "Memory Keeper of the Great Earthquake Disaster System" in 2019. A certification system for guiding personnel who pass on the events of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 011 and the lessons learned from the disaster to future generations. However, the system faced a challenge due to the passage of 12 years since the disaster.

As the memories of the disaster faded away, it became difficult to secure human resources to engage the system and maintain their motivation. A local DMO, Kamaishi DMC, has secured financial resources through ""training programs"" involving local businesses in tsunami disaster prevention and selling those training programs to large corporations. This has allowed local human resources to be hired for the long term.

🔗 Read the full story here:
https://www.greendestinations.org/kamaishi-japan/

🔗 Complete collection of 2023 Top 100 Stories: https://www.greendestinations.org/.../top-100-2023.../

30/06/2023

Crowdfunding and New page Announcement！

You may have heard the news about the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.　Around the same time, the 1st World Amateur Rugby Festival (9/23-9/30) will be held in France as well.
Representing Japan, the "IWATE KAMAISHI RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB will participate in the tournament!

We have also created a new FB page for the team!
Please like and follow us using the link below!
https://www.facebook.com/orahono2023
(The page is in Japanese, but you can check out Visit Kamaishi for shared English information or use Facebook’s translation feature to read posts)

Also, crowdfunding has also started! The call for support is open until July 31st. If you would like to support the crowdfunding, please check out the page below⬇️
https://readyfor.jp/projects/orahono2023

⬛Updates can also be found in French at the Mondial Rugby Amateur Page linked below.
https://www.facebook.com/mondialrugbyamateur

「いわて・釜石」からアマチュアラグビー世界大会に参加！感謝と友好の想いを込めた地域伝統の「大漁旗」を贈り、姉妹都市や世界との絆を深めたい。 - クラウドファンディング READYFOR

28/06/2023

Had a wonderful time visiting Harrow International School Appi with Kamaishi Seawaves RFC General Manager Mr. Yoshihiko Sakuraba. As the city Coordinator for International Relations, I was able to interpret as Mr. Sakuraba shared about his life experiences and Kamaishi rugby with the students at their school assembly and present them with an official signed jersey. It was a wonderful experience, and we are looking forward to more exchange opportunities in the future.

21日(水)、八幡平市安比高原にある「ハロウインターナショナルスクール安比ジャパン」を、桜庭吉彦ゼネラルマネージャーが釜石市役所国際交流課のナターシャ・ミリガン国際交流員と共に訪問しました🙌

スクール、アッセンブリーの時間に、釜石シーウェイブスについて紹介させていただき、3月に釜石鵜住居復興スタジアムで開催された公式戦を応援いただいた御礼として、選手のサイン入りジャージを生徒代表にお渡ししました。

今後は、生徒の皆さんとのラグビーを通した交流活動なども行なっていけたらと思います🏉

#釜石シーウェイブス
#釜石 #岩手 #東北魂
#ラグビー #リーグワン

14/06/2023

On June 10, the city and L'Occitane jointly held an event that consisted of the planting of lavender seedlings. City children and citizens planted the seedlings, which were grown in the city with seeds donated by the sister city of Digne-les-Bains, in the farm. Everyone was worried that it may rain, but it cleared up and was just perfect for an outside planting event.

The International Exchange Division was in charge of a booth introducing the sister city of Digne-les-Bains. We introduced the history and specialties of our sister city partnership to many citizens. There was also a tiger dance performance, workshops by L'Occitane Japon, woodworking classes, kitchen cars, and more! It was a very enjoyable event.

13/06/2023

On Sunday, June 11, the selection committee for players to be sent to Iwate Kamaishi Rugby Football Club was held! The players to be sent to Iwate Kamaishi Rugby Football Club will be selected by the Executive Committee by the end of this month.

Videos for the selection were featured on local television. Although it's in Japanese, it is great to see the amazing turnout of people wanting to join the team to go to France! If you get a chance, check it out.

２０２３年９月、フランスで開かれるアマチュアのラグビー大会に 出場する選手の選考会が１１日、釜石市で行われました。

18/05/2023

15/05/2023

Kamaishi and Iwate were featured in NHK news! It was announced that Kamaishi City in conjunction with Iwate Prefecture will be sending a team to the first-ever World Amateur Rugby Festival (Festival Mondial du Rugby Amateur) that will be held by our sister city Digne-les-Bains. Check out the page below and the NHK article to learn more and stay up to date and countdown until the festival.

【NHK】ことし９月にフランスでラグビーのワールドカップが開かれるのにあわせ、現地で初めてアマチュアのラグビー大会が行われます。 岩手県と釜石市は…

19/10/2022

Hello everyone! It’s Natasha, the Kamaishi CIR!

In early October, I participated in a workshop about Kamaishi Daikannon and Nakamisedori for a seminar collaboration with Iwate University as general staff and interpretor. We learned a lot about the street facing Daikannon, that used to visit tourists as well as the home to several local restaurants. The street used to be a major local attraction, getting loads of visitors and buses lined up to visit, but since the early 2000s along with the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, shops rapidly started to close down one by one, making in completely abandoned a few years later. Now there is a group trying to revitalize the street called “The Renovation Project” and in recent years a workspace as well as a café has opened.

For the workshop, we visited the actual location of Nakamisedori, and then we had discussed and proposed ideas on how to revitalize the street and area. Each group consisted of foreign university students, Kamaishi high school students, and other Japanese members. We used Japanese and English to communicate with each other and exchange opinions. Everyone thought the street was very unique and had a lot of potential for the future. Although it was a very short 2 days, we all became very close, and it was a wonderful experience.

#釜石大観音仲見世通り #釜石大観音仲見世リノベーションプロジェクト #岩手大学 #国際交流

06/10/2022

Kamaishi City was asked by the NPO Earth Identity Projects to participate in "The World's Biggest Painting" project this year.

We have created a painting with the cooperation of local junior high school students. This project is designed to help children develop a love of peace that transcends national, religious, and racial boundaries, as well as develop a global perspective, spreading momentum for global peace and environmental protection throughout the world. In addition to expressing our gratitude once again for the support we received in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the city of Kamaishi wishes for world peace for the disaster-affected areas. The junior high school students who participated in the project used the theme “Recovery & Peace” to create a 5x5 meter Kamaishi Painting.
This picture will be stitched together with pictures drawn by children from around the world to form the "World's Biggest Picture," which will be unveiled in France in 2024, when the Paris Olympics are scheduled to be held.

　We will unveil “Kamaishi Painting” created by local junior high school students in the city on the following dates. We hope to see you at the venue!

Date: Sunday, October 9, 2022
Place: Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium
　
It will be unveiled at halftime of the 2022 RugBig Dream - RWC MEMORIAL Game. (The unveiling is scheduled to be around 12:50 p.m.)

A ticket is required to enter the stadium on the day of the event.
For details, please look at the "2022 RugBig Dream - RWC MEMORIAL" information on the city website and the Kamaishi Seawaves website.
https://www.city.kamaishi.iwate.jp/docs/2022092600058/ （City Website）

#世界一大きな絵 #ラグビッグドリーム

🌍「世界一大きな絵」プロジェクトによる「釜石の絵」をお披露目します✨

当市では、今年度NPO法人アース・アイデンティティー・プロジェクツより「世界一大きな絵」プロジェクトへの参加依頼をいただき、市内中学生の協力により絵の作成を行いました。本プロジェクトは、子どもたちが国や宗教・人種を越えて平和を愛する気持ちを育むとともに、世界的な視野を育み、地球の平和と環境を守る機運を世界中に広げていくことを目的として行われているプロジェクトです。当市では、東日本大震災の支援に対して改めて感謝の意を表すとともに、復興を果たした微災地からの世界平和を願い、市内の中学生が本プロジェクトに参加して「復興と世界平和」をテーマに縦 5mX横 5mの「釜石の絵」を完成させました。
この絵は、今後世界中の子どもたちが描いた絵と一緒に縫い合わせられ、一枚の「世界一大きな絵」として、パリオリンピックが開催される 2024年にフランスで披露される予定です。

〜「釜石の絵」お披露目について〜
下記日程で市内中学生に作成いただいた「釜石の絵」をお披露目いたします。ぜひ会場にお越しください。
日時：令和4年10月9日日曜日
場所：釜石鵜住居復興スタジアム
「2022 ラグビッグドリーム〜RWC MEMORIAL～」の試合ハーフタイムにてお披露目予定。（12時50分頃を予定）

※当日、入場の際には観戦チケットが必要となります。
詳細は市ホームページ内「2022 ラグビッグドリーム〜RWC MEMORIAL~開催のお知らせ」および、釜石シーウェイプスのホームページをご覧ください。

22/09/2022

This week, a large typhoon made its way through Japan🌀

Luckily the typhoon wasn’t too bad here in Kamaishi, and although it was a bit rainy and cloudy throughout the day, we were left with this absolute beautiful sunset at the end of the day.🌅

We hope other people in Japan stayed safe from the typhoon. ✨