As the temperatures start to warm in the northern regions of Japan, it’s time to get out and enjoy a day trip or two.

Hachinohe City, only a 30-minute drive from Misawa Air Base, is a good destination to enjoy the great weather and great attractions. Here are three great spots to visit in Hachinohe City.

Mutsuminato Fish Market

To get a look at the freshest catch, make sure to time an early morning visit to Mutsuminato Fish Market.

I dropped by the market at around 7 a.m. and over 50 shops at the market and lining the street to the JR Matsuminato Station were buzzing with activity.

The “Isaba no Kachha,” literally “fish mothers” is what the women selling fish at the market are called, were hawking a variety of seafood from their stalls.

The market, mostly run by elderly women, is astonishingly open 365 days a year. So, as long as you visit early, you’re likely to catch the fish mothers tending to their stalls.

As I browsed the fresh selection, I made sure to stop for a delicious breakfast at one of the market restaurants. For about 600 yen ($4), I got a sashi and shellfish set with white rice and miso soup on the side.

Kabushima Jinja

My next stop was Kabushima Jinja, a Shinto shrine known for beauty but also its over 40,000 umineko black-tailed sea gulls. The gulls vacation at the shrine from February through August, so make sure to borrow an umbrella before you start your hike up the shrine steps to avoid getting an aerial splattering.

The shrine itself dates back 700 years, but the main shrine had to be reconstructed after a fire in 2015. Take in the impressive grounds and buildings of the shrine, which is thought to bring good fortune for fishermen.

Tanesashi Kaigan Beach

Near the shrine, make your way through the pine woods along a coastal trail to Tanesashi Kaigan. This unusual beach is not sandy but instead, a green lawn spreading straight to the shoreline.

Standing on the green beach, I could not help but keep inhaling the cool, refreshing sea breeze as much as I could.

It was hard to believe that such a scenic coastal area was devastated by the deadly Tsunami triggered by the 9.0 earthquake that shook the nation in 2011. Two days after the earthquake and tsunami, U.S. military members from nearby Misawa AB and beyond arrived to lend a hand as part of Operation Tomodachi.

Though the area has recovered in the 13 years since the devastating disaster, the connection within the local community and the signs of renewal remain.

Hachinohe is blessed with natural beauty, delicious seafood and rich traditions. Visit it yourself and enjoy what the unusual coastal city has to offer!

Mutsuminato Asaichi (morning market)

Location: Kubo, Minato-cho, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture

Hours: Mon. – Sat., 3 a.m. – noon (close Sunday and second Saturdays every month)

Tel: 0178-33-7242

Kabushima Shrine

Location: Same, Same-cho, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture

Tel: 0178-46-4040

Tanesashi Kaigan Information Center

Location: 14-167 Tanakubo, Same-cho, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture

URL: http://tanesashi.info/

Tel: 0178-51-8500

Misawa Air Base

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