historic site

Sharks, catfish, sea cats, and turnips? Travel report from Hon Hachinohe to Kabushima Shrine [Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture]

Every year, I come to Hachinohe to see the Hachinohe Enburi, which is held from February 17th to 20th. As I wrote in a previous article, I watched the Negishiro Historical Enburi, which started at 11:00 a.m. on the day I arrived, and then had five hours to spare before the Garden Enburi, which started at 5:00 p.m

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT
I actually visited the Aomori Winter Three Festivals "Hachinohe no Enburi" local report [Hachinohe city, Aomori prefecture]
https://jp.neft.asia/archives/38920
Tohoku is home to a wide variety of festivals, including Akita's Kanto Festival, Yamagata's Hanagasa Festival, Aomori's Nebuta Festival, Morioka's Sansa Odori Dance Festival, and Sendai's Tanabata Festival. While the harsh winters of Tohoku tend to focus on summer festivals, Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture is home to the Hachinohe Enburi, a local folk performing art and festival dedicated to praying for a good harvest, designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the national government. I actually traveled to Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture to see the Hachinohe Enburi, and would like to share its charms with you. Hachinohe Enburi? Aomori...
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I didn't feel like just wandering around the city without doing anything, so I decided to take the local train and head towards the sea! My destination Kabushima Shrine .

Departure is from Hon-Hachinohe Station!

First, head from the historic site of Negusuku to Hon-Hachinohe Station, then take the Hachinohe Line to your destination, Kabushima Shrine

It was around 12:30, and although there was still plenty of time before the "Oniiwa Enburi" festival in the evening, I still needed to leave some time to make the round trip. I also hadn't yet checked into the hotel

I took some photos of the station's exterior as a record of my trip, and then when I entered the station..

Hmm...? Catfish?? No... It doesn't have the characteristic whiskers, is it a carp?

There's no explanation, just a fish there. Why is it there? A figurine? And it's right in the middle of the road, not in the way, but what is it? I thought to myself, and judging from the state of deterioration, it definitely isn't recent. Something from the Hachinohe Sansha Grand Festival? There's also a squid hanging there. It's true that Hachinohe is a port town that boasts the highest squid catch in Japan, but..

Wonderland Hachinohe is already full of mysteries from the get-go

I changed my mind and headed for Kabushima Shrine, the nearest station is Same Station ! Hmm... a shark?

After catfish, it's sharks, Wonderland Hachinohe

Even after leaving the station,

It's a shark

Well, the station name is "Shark" so I thought they would do it, but I didn't say it out loud

You can enter the shark's mouth and take a commemorative photo, but since I'm alone I give up

And this "Same Station" will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024. It has a handmade feel, and the electric lights will surely shine brilliantly at night. It is clear how much the station is loved by the locals

To get to our destination, Kabushima Shrine, we walked from Same Station. According to Google Maps, the distance was 1.1 km and it took about 15 minutes

The weather was clear and there was absolutely no snow. Even though it was on the coast, this was in Aomori Prefecture, which surprised me. In fact, it felt like Sendai had more snow and the temperature was lower

Along the way, we saw signs to Kabushima Shrine,

As I walked along the bar district, looking at the delicious food and fun food I was sure to be enjoying,

The structure that appears before your eyes is Kabushima Shrine

It reminds me of the opening scene of the Studio Ghibli film "How Do You Live?", which I watched at home before coming to Hachinohe, about an island full of herons and a torii gate. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this

And finally we arrive at Kabushima Shrine (Kabushima)

It's connected to the mainland, but why is it called "Kabushima (island)"? There's a reason for this. Kabushima was originally an island separated from the mainland. However, a bridge was built in 1918, and then a government reclamation project began in 1942, turning Kabushima into the peninsula it is today

Kabushima around 1922. The bridge was completed in 1919. Image from Wikipedia

The road in front of the shrine, including the promenade, is very clean. There is also a beach at the foot of Kabushima Shrine

Kabushima Beach stretches out in the foreground

is probably Hachinohe City Fisheries Science Museum, which was also written on the information board

Now we are finally heading to the grounds of Kabushima Shrine

There are umbrellas available for rent on the steps in front of the Kabushima Shrine grounds. As many people may know, Kabushima Shrine is famous as a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls

Is Kabushima Shrine a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls?

Kabushima Island, where Kabushima Shrine is located, is a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls and has been designated a national natural monument

The reason why Kabushima is famous as a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls is said to be due to its abundant food and lack of natural predators. First of all, Hachinohe City is located at the tidal point where the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents mix, and is known as a place with an abundance of fish, and is also a place where sardines, a favorite food of black-tailed gulls, can be caught in large quantities

Although Kabushima is now connected to the mainland, it was originally an isolated island, which is thought to be a major reason why natural enemies could not invade from land

For this reason, even today, black-tailed gulls arrive every year from late February to mid-April, nest and incubate on Kabushima, with the chicks hatching in June and leaving the island in July and August. There are an astounding 40,000 of them, and while there are around 10 other breeding grounds for black-tailed gulls across Japan, the others are on cliffs and the like, so Kabushima is said to be the only place where you can observe black-tailed gull nests up close

The day we arrived coincided with the Hachinohe Enburi festival, so in mid-February, the place was filled with seagulls! I thought there would be quite a few, but there wasn't a single one

Kabushima Shrine: The guardian deity of fishing and prosperous business

Kabushima is famous as a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls, and according to the shrine's history, Kabushima Shrine, located on the island, was founded in 1269 to promote the worship of Enoshima Benzaiten

The enshrined deities are the three Munakata goddesses, Ichinoshimahime, Takirihime, and Takitsuhime, who are worshipped as the "Benten of Kabushima." Additionally, black-tailed gulls, which fly over schools of fish, are also cherished by local fishermen as "messengers of Benten who inform them of fishing grounds."

The shrine building was completely destroyed in a fire that broke out on November 5th, 2015, but after five years of construction, it was reopened to the public on March 26th, 2020. During the reconstruction, construction work was refrained from taking place during the breeding season from April to May, due to concerns about the impact on the black-tailed gulls

The new shrine building is made of timber from Aomori Prefecture and is a dignified and beautiful structure

Behind the grounds of Kabushima Shrine there is a rocky outcrop that is a breeding ground for black-tailed gulls, but as you can see, there are no black-tailed gulls at all

I imagined that I might have found some black-tailed gull droppings, or that if I found any I would have to post it on "X" right away, but there was no droppings, not even a bird

The photo above shows Kabushima Shrine during the breeding season

Right in front of Kabushima Shrine is a facility called the Kabushima Rest Area, which displays exhibits on the four seasons and history of Kabushima, black-tailed gulls, sights around Kabushima, and the Michinoku Sea Breeze Trail

The biggest feature of this facility is the glass pyramid on the roof, where you can observe the breeding of black-tailed gulls up close

There were no seagulls to be seen, but I was excited as I climbed the spiral staircase inside the facility and entered the pyramid

There were no gulls there at all, and I could only look at the soil, but it's nice to think that you can see the breeding of black-tailed gulls up close here. I'll definitely visit again in the summer

After this, we returned to Hon-Hachinohe Station from Same Station and headed to the "Oniiwa Enburi" in the evening. In terms of time, a round trip from Hon-Hachinohe Station of about 3 hours should be enough time to fully enjoy "Kabushima." If you're ever in Hachinohe, be sure to stop by

However, there is only one train per hour, so please be sure to check the timetable carefully before going

Kabushima Shrine

  • Address: 56-2 Samemachi, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, 031-0841
  • Visiting hours: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
  • Official URL: http://kabushima.com/jinjya/

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