Miyako City was founded on February 11, 1941.  It lies along the coast where the Hei-gawa River (閉伊川; famous for "ayu" [鮎; sweetfish] fishing) flows into the Pacific Ocean.  It is connected to Morioka (90 km west of Miyako) by an east-west train line called Yamada Line (山田線) and the highway R106 and the coastal highway R45 also goes through the town.  The city has several small ports but much of the shipping traffic is taken by larger cities along the coast.  The city includes Todogasaki (魚毛ヶ崎), the easternmost cape of the Japanese main island, and the beautiful Jodogahama Coast (浄土ヶ浜) (see pictures below).
  This area is said to have been named Miyako (宮古; lit. "Old Shrine," honorably with the same sound of "Miyako" [都] meaning the capital) by Emperor Ichijo [Yasuhito] (一条天皇 [懐仁], r.896-1011; 980-1011) as a local Shinto priest of Yokoyama-Hachiman-jinjya Shrine (横山八幡神社) was rewarded for calming down the Rumbling of the Awa* Whirlpool (阿波の鳴門の鳴動; Awa-no-Naruto-no-Meido) in 1011 or the 8th year of Kanko (寛弘8年).
      *Awa[-no-kuni; 阿波国] is the old name of the present Tokushima Prefecture of the Shikoku Island.
  Since then, this fishery area, located in the northern edge of a Rias coast called Sanriku-kaigan (三陸海岸), have prospered under many different lords in spite of many serious disasters including tsunami and famines.  Probably the area faced the most severe time in the late Edo Period in the mid-nineteenth century when a series of peasant uprisings busted out involving more than 10,000 people for each and demanded the recall of the heavy tax against the Nambu clan.  In the time of the Boshin War (戊辰戦争, 1868-1869), the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦) broke out off the coast on May 6, 1869 (明治2年3月25日) when some group of the old Shogunate Navy tried to board the Meiji Government Navy's capital ship Azuma-kan (東艦; the former CSS Stonewall) known as "Kotetsu" (甲鉄) in vain.
  On June 6, 2005, the old Miyako absorbed the town of Taro and village of Niisato from Shimohei District to form the new city of Miyako, more than doubling the old city's size.  As of March 1, 2011, the city has a population of 58,917 and a density of 46.8 persons per sq. km. The total area is 1,259.89 sq. km.
  A planned merger of municipalities will be implemented on January 1, 2010; Miyako City and Kawai Village (河合村) in County Shimohei (下閉伊郡) will merge.
  
  
  
  On March 11, 2011, a series of the apocalyptic tsunami waves wiped out the entire city center of Miyako just like the Deluge after the destructive M9.1 earthquake struck off the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan.  Of the city's population of 58,917 (March 1, 2011) at least 411 people are dead, 490 missing, 33 injured and 4,675 houses fell down only in Miyako.  So we cannot see the beautiful landscape below anymore.  Surviving residents and thousands of volunteers have been working hard to restore the town as it was before the tsunami.

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Miyako Stations

There are two Miyako Stations in the city center: One is JR Miyako Station (JR宮古駅) and the other is Sanriku-tetsudo Miyako Station (三陸鉄道宮古駅) which stands next to the JR station.

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(Friday 16 January) JR Miyako Station

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(Friday 16 January) JR Miyako Station

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(Friday 16 January) Sanriku-testudo Miyako Station

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(Friday 16 January) JR Miyako Station in the night view.

Jodo-ga-hama Coast

Jodo-ga-hama Coast (浄土ヶ浜) is located east of the city center. Geologically speaking, this curious landscape began to create with volcanic rocks made in the age of Paleogene (古第三紀) about 52 million years ago, and with the clear calm inlet separated from the Pacific Ocean. On the rocks you can see evergreens such as Nambu-akamatsu (Nambu Pinus densiflora), the prefectural tree of Iwate. This landscape often looks like a beautiful Japanese garden. The name Jodo-ga-hama literally means the coast of the (Buddhist) Pure Land (Skt. Sukhavati; the Buddhist Elysian fields). It was reportedly named after the saying of Reikyo Ryuko (霊鏡竜湖, 1681-1727), the 7th head priest of Miyako-zan Joan-ji Temple (宮古山 常安寺, 曹洞宗) during the Tenna Era (天和年間; 1681-1684): "Just like the Land of Happiness [Perfect Bliss]" (「さながら極楽浄土のごとし」). Later Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治), as a 21-year-old young man, visited here with people from Hanamaki-cho in late June 1917 and made a tanka poem: うるはしの 海のビロード 昆布らは 寂光のはまに 敷かれひかりぬ (Uruwashi no Umi no velludo Kombu-ra wa Jyakko-no-hama ni Shikare Hikarinu) Beautiful and Beaming Briny Velvet Sea tangles were Spread all over The Shore of the Serene Light (trans. Eishiro Ito)

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(Friday 16 January) Signpost of Jodo-ga-hama Coast, part of Rikuchu-kaigan National Park (陸中海岸国立公園)

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(Friday 16 January) Map of Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tate-ga-saki Observatory (舘ヶ崎展望台), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Tate-ga-saki Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) The Terminal Building for the Pleasure Boats, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from the Terminal Building for the Pleasure Boats, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from the Terminal Building for the Pleasure Boats, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) The monument of the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦) near the Terminal Building, Jodo-ga-hama Coast. In the time of the Boshin War (戊辰戦争, 1868-1869), the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦) broke out off the coast on May 6, 1869 (明治2年3月25日) when some group of the old Shogunate Navy tried to board the Meiji Government Navy's capital ship Azuma-kan (東艦; the former CSS Stonewall) known as "Kotetsu" (甲鉄) in vain.

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(Friday 16 January) The monument of the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦) near the Terminal Building, Jodo-ga-hama Coast. In the time of the Boshin War (戊辰戦争, 1868-1869), the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦) broke out off the coast on May 6, 1869 (明治2年3月25日) when some group of the old Shogunate Navy tried to board the Meiji Government Navy's capital ship Azuma-kan (東艦; the former CSS Stonewall) known as "Kotetsu" (甲鉄) in vain.

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(Friday 16 January) A view on the way to Oku-no-hama (奥の浜), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view on the way to Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view on the way to Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama (剣の山), Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tsurugi-no-yama, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) The inscription of Kenji Miyazawa's tanka monument in front of the Jodo-ga-hama Rest House (浄土ヶ浜レストハウス), Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Kenji Miyazawa's tanka monument in front of the Rest House, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast. Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治), as a 21-year-old young man, visited here with people from Hanamaki-cho in late June 1917 and made a tanka poem: うるはしの 海のビロード 昆布らは 寂光のはまに 敷かれひかりぬ (Uruwashi no Umi no velludo Kombu-ra wa Jyakko-no-hama ni Shikare Hikarinu) Beautiful and Beaming Briny Velvet Sea tangles were Spread all over The Shore of the Serene Light (trans. Eishiro Ito)

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(Friday 16 January) Kenji Miyazawa's tanka monument in front of the Rest House, Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Jodo-ga-hama Rest House (浄土ヶ浜レストハウス; closed in winter), Oku-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tako-no-hama (蛸の浜), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tako-no-hama (蛸の浜), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Tako-no-hama (蛸の浜), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Jodo-ga-hama Tunnel (浄土ヶ浜トンネル), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Signboard of Naka-no-hama (中の浜), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Naka-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Naka-no-hama, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) Odaiba Observatory (御台場展望台), Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Odaiba Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Odaiba Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Odaiba Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

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(Friday 16 January) A view from Odaiba Observatory, Jodo-ga-hama Coast

Okonomiyaki Azusa

Okonomiyaki Azusa (お好み焼き あずさ) is located in 8-29 Suehiro-cho, Miyako (宮古市末広町8-29). This is one of the two popular Okonomiyaki restaurants of the city as well as Akane located at 2-27 Hokuda, Miyako (あかね, 宮古市保久田2−27). "Okonomiyaki" is a thin, flat cake of unsweetened batter fried with bits of vegetables or a pancake.

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(Friday 16 January) Okonomiyaki Azusa

Tavern Hansui

Tavern Hansui (居酒屋 半酔) is located within 3 minutes' walk from JR/Sanriku-testudo Miyako Station at 3-1-23 O-dori Miyako-shi (宮古市大通り3−1−23). They specializes fresh seafood from the local port. The interesting name "Hansui" (lit. "Pub Half-drunken") reflects the owner's motto "Moderate Drinking & Enjoy Good Cheer." Highly recommended.

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(Friday 16 January) Tavern Hansui

Nakashin Diner

Nakashin Diner (中しん食堂) is located at 1-63 Sakae-cho Miyako-shi (宮古市栄町1-63). Not so far from JR/Sanriku-testudo Miyako Station: Just go straight to the north and you can find the diner in a few minutes on your left.

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(Friday 16 January) Nakashin, 1-63 Sakae-cho, Miyako-shi

Uo-moto

Uo-moto (魚元) is located at 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi (宮古市大通3-6-43). They serve delicious seafood in the decent mood of the traditional Japanese restaurant. A little more expensive than other restaurants in Miyako. Highly recommended when your wallet is plump.

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(Saturday 17 January) Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) Interior of Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) The fish preserve of Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) "Tempura" (Japanese deep-fat fried food) of cod roe (鱈子), Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) "Tempura" (Japanese deep-fat fried food) of codroe (鱈子), Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) "Kita-no-Matsuri-don" (北の祭り丼; lit. the "Bowl of Rice Called the North Festival") with the "tempura" above, Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) "Kita-no-Matsuri-don" (北の祭り丼; lit. the "Bowl of Rice for the North Festival") with the "Tempura" above, Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) Traditional Japanese interior of Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) Traditional Japanese interior of Uo-moto, 3-6-43 O-dori Miyako-shi

Fuji-no-ya

Restaurnt Fuji-no-ya (冨士乃屋) is located at 5-3 Suehiro-cho Miyako-shi (宮古市末広町5-3). They serve both Japanese and Chinese foods.

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(Saturday 17 January) Fuji-no-ya, 5-3 Suehiro-cho Miyako-shi

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(Saturday 17 January) "Iso-ramen" (磯ラーメン; Seafood ramen), 5-3 Suehiro-cho Miyako-shi."Ramen" is Japanese-Chinese noodles (vermicelli).

Asahi-zushi

Asahi-zushi (朝日寿司) is located at 1-4-13 O-dori Miyako-shi (宮古市大通1丁目4-13). This sushi restaurant is highly recommended. The atmosphere is homely and relaxing, and the prices are reasonable.

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(Sunday 18 January) Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii, Iwate Prefectural University (left), Prof. Bongshik Kang, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Asahi-zushi, 1-4-13 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Sunday 18 January) Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii, Iwate Prefectural University (left), Prof. Bongshik Kang, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Asahi-zushi, 1-4-13 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Sunday 18 January) Eishiro Ito, Iwate Prefectural University (left), Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Asahi-zushi, 1-4-13 O-dori Miyako-shi. Photo by Prof. Bongshik Kang.

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(Sunday 18 January) Eishiro Ito, Iwate Prefectural University (left), Prof. Bongshik Kang, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Asahi-zushi, 1-4-13 O-dori Miyako-shi. Photo by Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii.

Tavern Kotori (居酒屋 古都利) is in a few minutes' walk from JR/Sanriku-testudo Miyako Station at 4-3-18 O-dori, Miyako-shi (宮古市大通4丁目3-18). We ate one "Ke-gani" (毛蟹; edible crab) for each and drank hot sake a lot, but we just paid about 1,400 yen for each. This is a typical old izakaya hosted by one old man near the sea.

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(Sunday 18 January) Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii, Iwate Prefectural University (left), Prof. Bongshik Kang, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Izakaya Kotori, 4-3-18 O-dori, Miyako-shi

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(Sunday 18 January) Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii, Iwate Prefectural University (left) and Eishiro Ito, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Izakaya Kotori, 4-3-18 O-dori, Miyako-shi; Photo by Prof. Bongshik Kang.

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(Sunday 18 January) Prof. Bongshik Kang Iwate Prefectural University (left) and Eishiro Ito, Iwate Prefectural University (right) in front of Izakaya Kotori, 4-3-18 O-dori, Miyako-shi.; Photo by Prof. Yoshihisa Fujii.

Hotel Big Wave

Hotel Big Wave (ホテル ビック ウェーブ), 3-5-20 O-dori Miyako-shi (宮古市大通3丁目5-20) where I stayed for engaging as a proctor for the National Center Test for University Admissions 2009, placed at the Miyako Campus of Iwate Prefectural University. This is the nearest hotel to JR/Sanriku-testudo Miyako Station.

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(Monday 19 January) Hotel Big Wave, 3-5-20 O-dori Miyako-shi

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(Sunday 18 January) Hotel Big Wave, 3-5-20 O-dori Miyako-shi in the night view

        

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