Walks and Trips with Sachiki-san

Pines at Namiita Beach had Grown Tall 2/17/2026

Sachiki-san and I went for a walk at Namiita Beach in Otsuchi Town.

Namiita beach is known for its Katayosenami waves. According to the Otsuchi Town Tourism Exchange Association, "it is said that the waves are absorbed by the coarse sand, resulting in no return waves. However, it is also thought that other factors play a significant role, such as the shallow seabed topography, currents within the bay, and the wavelength of the incoming waves, as the return waves remain small even after the sandy beach disappeared by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami."

I have been to this beach many times since I was a child. Before the Great East Japan Earthquake, this was a beautiful beach with a beautiful contrast between green pine wood, white sandy beach, and blue sea. However, the pine wood and sandy beach disappeared due to the tsunami and land subsidence caused by the earthquake.

The current Namiita beach has seen its sandy beach restored through regeneration works, and the pine trees, which were reportedly about 30cm tall when planted, have grown considerably.

Near the coast, there is a surf shop and such. Namiita Beach is one of the best surfing beaches the Tohoku region.

A little way from the beach, there is a monument inscribed with a poem by Kenji Miyazawa in a parking area along the national highway.

Having Heard No More Bear News, Went for a Walk on Shiroyama 1/13/2026

Since last autumn, there had been continuous reports of bear sightings and damage caused by bears. However, for the past month, I've heard no such news, nor have I received any bear sighting alerts via LINE from the town hall.

Perhaps the bears have finally gone into hibernation?

So, Sachiki-san and I went for a walk on Shiroyama(Castle Hill) in the neighbouring town.
Shiroyama was the site of the Otsuchi clan's castle from the Muromachi period until the beginning of the Edo period.
It is now maintained as Shiroyama Park.

We started from the car park of the Otsuchi Town Central Community Centre at the southern end of the park.
The paved road has a gentle gradient but continues uphill for about 1 km. I regretted not starting from the western car park closest to Honmaru(Centre of the Castle) site, one of the three available.

This is the western car park.

We left the paved road and entered the walking path, reaching the base of Honmaru site. However, I, turn 65 years old this year, decided not to go all the way to Honmaru site.
Honmaru site is located at the top of these steps.

We didn't go up to Honmaru site, but we got a good view of Otsuchi Bay.

Last Run of 2025 at Seagull Park 12/23/2025

Seagull Park is the closest dog park to our home, so We're registered as a member and use it regularly, but it's been over a month since our last visit.

I've been thinking ‘We should go soon’, but it's already year-end. we finally managed to go today, and it seems this will be our last run of the year.

‘Stop filming and throw the ball already,’ he seems to be saying.

A black Labrador girl came into the neighbouring area. We've met her before.

Played with a Ball at Seagull Park 2/21/2025

It's been a while since we last went to the dog park, so Sachiki-san ran around a lot.

Tono-go Hachimangu Shrine still Had Beautiful Autumn Leaves 11/4/2025

Tono-go Hachimangu Shrine is known for having a cat shrine on its grounds, and it's also known for its beautiful autumn leaves, and every year during the autumn leaves season, they hold an autumn leaves illumination event. This year's illumination ended on November 2nd, but I thought, "There should still be some autumn leaves to see," so Sachiki-san and I went there.

Japanese traditional umbrellas are placed on the horse track running perpendicular to the approach to the shrine, creating a nice atmosphere in combination with the autumn leaves.

This horse track is 500 meters long.

Sachiki-san wasn't paying any attention to the autumn leaves and was playing with the fallen leaves. (lol)

The shrine grounds are spacious.

At the main shrine, I prayed for the longevity, health, and happiness of my family. Sachiki-san is, of course, also a member of my family.

Although the autumn leaves illumination had ended, the autumn leaves themselves were still beautiful.
Next time, I'd like to come and see the snowy scenery.

Ran around a lot at Daiwa Fruit Park 10/24/2025

Daiwa Fruit Park is a fruit-themed tourist farm, but it also has a dog park, so Sachiki-san and I visited it.

It's located in Rikuzentakata City. Nearby is the Takatamatsubara Memorial Park for TSUNAMI disaster, known for its "Miracle Pine Tree."

Paying no attention whatsoever to the fruit being cultivated in the park (lol) and headed straight for the dog park.

Registration for the dog park is done at the cafe. It's the building you see behind Sachiki-san in the picture.

Almost at the same time as us, a male Akita Inu arrived. Sachiki-san doesn't get along well with male dogs, so we let the Akita Inu use the large dog area and used the vacant small dog area.

Sachiki-san, who loves new things and places, was excited about being in a new place.

He ran around a lot and did a lot of sniffing.

He occasionally kept an eye on the Akita Inu in the large dog area (lol).

A staff member kindly took pictures of us, saying, "You probably won't be able to get pictures together very often."

The Kuzakai Highland was already Autumnal with the Ears of Silver Grasses Bearing 9/4/2025

On my way from my home in Kamaishi City to Morioka City, Sachiki-san and I stopped off at the Kuzakai Highland Roadside Station.

This area is at a high altitude, and there are woods behind the roadside station, offering a cool, sheltered walk from the sun.

The midday temperature was 24°C. It was very comfortable in the woods.

Beyond the woods, silver grass grew thickly, its heads swaying in the breeze, creating a truly autumnal landscape on the highland.

I sticked to Sachiki-san closely on the cool highland (lol).

The lower world is still hot, but autumn is approaching.

Went to Seagull Park on the Long-awaited Cloudy Morning 8/7/2025

It had been almost a month since Sachiki-san and I last visited Seagull Park.

In summer, the sun is so strong that even in the morning it gets hot when the sun is out, so we had been waiting for a cloudy morning. However, even though a cloudy morning came, there was a time we were unable to go, and a month passed.

Therefore, I wanted Sachiki-san to run around briskly, but He went at his own pace. (lol)

The caretaker carried a 2-litre water bottle and followed Sachiki-san as he marked his territory.

If the caretaker runs, maybe Sachiki-san will chase after and run too.

But since the caretaker is 61 years older than Sachiki-san, running with him ends in seconds. (lol)

Kirikiri Beach was Cool and Quiet in the Morning 7/23/2025

A swimming beach opens at Kirikiri Beach in Otsuchi Town in the summer.

This year, Kirikiri Beach became the second beach in Iwate Prefecture to receive the international certification "Blue Flag".

This year's beach opens on July 24th. On the morning of July 23rd, the day before the beach opens, Sachiki-san and I went for a walk.

Fisharena and Kirikiri Fishing Port Park are located adjacent to the sandy beach where the swimming beach will be opened. Fisharena is a fishing port equipped with mooring and storage facilities exclusively for pleasure boats.

Kirikiri Beach is cool and quiet in the morning, and a walk while enjoying the scenery is the best.

However, Sachiki-san does not go down to the sandy beach because he once got dermatitis from digging into the sand while walking on another beach. The beach is known for its singing sand, but we took a walk in Kirikiri Fishing Port Park.

The park juts out into the sea like a peninsula, so you can get a good view of the surrounding scenery.

This was Sachiki-san's first time at this place, so he kept looking around and sniffing around during our walk and never once looked at the camera (lol).

The "Dokonjo(gutsy) Poplar" Survived the Massive Tsunami is so Tall 6/3/2025

In Okirai, Sanriku-cho, Ofunato City, there is a poplar tree that survived the massive tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake and came to be known as the "Dokonjo(gutsy) poplar".

The area around the poplar is now maintained as the "Dokonjo poplar square", but according to the information board, before the Great East Japan Earthquake, it was a place where shops, inns, and material warehouses were located.

I had visited the area once before I started living with Sachiki-san, but I went back again with Sachiki-san for a walk.

The Dokonjo poplar is so tall that you should look up to see it. It is about 25m tall, about the height of a 7-8 story building. It is about 80 years old. It was planted after the Sanriku tsunami in 1933.

The grass in the square had just been mowed, so Sachiki-san found it comfortable to sit on.

The Ofunato Tsunami Narrative Society website has a picture of the "Dokonjo poplar" standing among the rubble.

https://www.ofunato-tsunami-museum.org/kui-3-3-dokonjopoplar

Looked out over the Lake-like Yamada Bay from the Yamada Bay Observation Square 5/20/2025

The construction of seawalls after the Great East Japan Earthquake has reduced the number of places where the sea can be seen.

About 2 km from the center of Yamada town, near the Orikasa Bridge on National Route 45, is Yamada Bay Observation Square, where you can see Yamada Bay, which is surrounded by peninsulas and looks like a lake.

It is located beside National Route 45 and has a parking space and observation deck, so Sachiki-san and I stopped for a break while we were driving around.

The island on the left is Oshima. It is also known as Oranda jima(Holland Island. It is said a Dutch ship anchored there during the Edo period to supply water and food.

The island to the right of Oshima is Kojima.