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

editorial staff
2025.04.04
Last updated: 2025.04.1

table of contents

1 Departs at Honhachinohe Station!
2 Is Kabushima Shrine a breeding ground for sea cats?
3 Kabushima Shrine, the guardian deity of business prosperity and fishing.
- 3.1 Kabushima Shrine

I came to Hachinohe to see the Hachinohe Enburi, which is usually held from February 17th to 20th, and as I have written in an article I previously published, I watched the "Historical Site Nejo Enburi" which will be held from 11am on the day I arrived, and there is a five-hour free time until the "Oniwa Enburi" which will start at 5pm.

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

There are various "festivals" in Tohoku, and in the summer there are a wide variety of "festivals" in various places, including the Akita Kanotai Festival, the Hanagasa in Yamagata, the Nebuta and Morioka Sansa dances in Aomori, and the Sendai Tanabata. In Tohoku, where winters continue to be severe, you will only notice "summer festivals," but in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, there is a local performing arts festival called Hachinohe Enburi, which is designated as a nationally important intangible folk cultural property, and is a local festival that wishes for a good harvest, passed down in the region. This time I went to Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture to see the Hachinohe Enburi, so I would like to introduce you to the charms of Hachinohe Enburi. Hachinohe Enburi? Aomori...

I'm reluctant to wander around the city without doing anything, so I'm sure I can take a local line and aim for the sea! It's now. Our destination Kabushima Shrine .

Departs at Honhachinohe Station!

First, head to Honhachinohe Station from the Historic Site Nejo, then board the Hachinohe Line to head to Kabushima Shrine.

It is around 12:30, and although there is room for the garden baking bowls starting in the evening, you will need to have a fair amount of room to travel back and forth. We haven't checked in to the hotel yet.

As a record of the trip, I took a photograph of the exterior of the station and entered the station,

yeah,,? catfish? ? No, there's no distinctive beard, carp?

There is no explanation, just a fish there. Why a fish here? The ornament? What's more, right in the middle of the road, it's not in the way, but what's it? I am thinking about this, but looking at the deterioration of my mind, it is definitely not recently. Something like that from the Hachinohe Sansha Grand Festival. Moreover, squid is also hung. It is true that Hachinohe is a port town that boasts the highest catch of squid in Japan,

Wonderland Hachinohe is already full of mysteries from the start.

We aim to change our mindset: Kabushima Shrine, and the nearest station is Same Station ! Hmm... a shark?

After the catfish, the shark is Wonderland Hachinohe.

Even if I leave the station,

It's a shark.

Of course, the station name is "Shark", so you'll do it. I think so, but I won't say it out loud.

You can go inside this "shark" and take a commemorative photo, but I'm alone so I'm giving up.

And this "Same Station" celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024. The electric decorations have a handmade feel and will glow brightly at night. It tells us how much it is loved by the locals.

You can head to your destination, Kabushima Shrine, on foot from Same Station. If you look it up on Google Maps, it is 1.1km away and about 15 minutes.

The weather was clear and there was no snow at all. Although it is coastal, this place is Aomori Prefecture, which is a bit surprising. If anything, it would be so much snowing in Sendai that it would make you think the temperature would be lower.

On the way, I looked at the signboards to Kabushima Shrine, and

Walking from a distance, the bar district is sure to be absolutely delicious and fun.

What! The structure that appears in front of you is Kabushima Shrine.

At the beginning of the Ghibli series, "How Do You Live" that I saw at home before coming to Hachinohe, I remember the island with a torii gate with lots of herons. I'm probably not the only one

Finally, we arrived at Kabushima Shrine (Kubushima).

Even though it's connected to the land, is it "turnip (island)"? There is a reason for this. Kabushima was originally an island that was separated from the mainland. However, the bridge was built in 1918, and then the government's reclamation project that began in 1942 has led to the peninsula that it is today.

The bridge in Kabushima was completed around 1922 in 1919. Images published in Wikipedia

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

The Kabushima Beach stretches out in the foreground

is Hachinohe City Fisheries Science Museum which was also written on the signboard I really want to go, but I don't have time this time so I'll give up.

Now, I'm finally heading to the grounds of Kabushima Shrine.

An umbrella is held for rent on the stairs in front of the grounds of Kabushima Shrine. Many people may know this, but Kabushima Shrine is famous as a breeding ground for sea cats.

Is Kabushima Shrine a breeding ground for sea cats?

Kabushima, home to Kabushima Shrine, is designated as a national natural monument as a breeding ground for sea cats.

The reason why Kabushima is famous as a breeding ground for sea cats is said to be due to its abundant food and the lack of natural enemies. First of all, Hachinohe City is a tide where the Oyashio and Kuroshio Currents mix together, and is known as a place with a wealth of fish, and is also a place where you can catch a lot of sardines, which sea cats like.

And although Kabushima is now connected to land, it was originally an isolated island, and it is also considered to be a major reason why natural enemies from land could not enter.

For this reason, sea cats still fly from late February to mid-April every year, nesting and incubating eggs on Kabushima, and chicks hatching in June leave in July and leave the island in August. The number is approximately 40,000 birds, and there are about 10 other sea cat breeding sites all over Japan, but the rest are located on cliffs, so Kabushima is the only place where you can observe sea cat nests up close.

The day we arrived, it was set to the schedule for Hachinohe Enburi, so it was filled with sea urchins in mid-February! Needless to say, I thought there would be a few, but not one.

Kabushima Shrine, the guardian deity of business prosperity and fishing.

Kabushima Shrine, located on Kabushima, famous for its breeding grounds for sea cats, is said to have begun in 1269 when Enoshima Benzaiten was promoted.

The enshrined deities are Ichisunashima Himemi, Takiri Bimemi, and Takito Himemi, and are worshiped as "Benten-sama of Kabushima." Since sea cats fly over schools of fish, they are also cherished by local fishermen as "the messenger of Benten-sama who informs you of the fishing grounds."

The shrine building was completely burned down due to a fire that occurred on November 5th, 2015, but after five years, it has now become possible for public worship to be visited on March 26th, 2020. During the reconstruction, construction will be refrained from being carried out during the breeding season from April to May, considering the impact on the sea cat.

The new shrine building is made from lumber from Aomori Prefecture, and is dignified and beautiful.

Behind the grounds of Kabushima Shrine, there is a rock surface where sea cat breeds, but as you can see, there are no sea cats at all.

I had imagined that if it had pooped, it might hit the sea cat poop, or that it would be sent to X as soon as it had pooped, but there were no poop or even birds.

The photo above shows Kabushima Shrine during the breeding season.

In front of Kabushima Shrine is a facility called the Kabushima Rest Area, where you can see the four seasons and history of Kabushima, the sea urchinko, highlights of the area around Kabushima, and the Michinoku Sea Trail.

The biggest feature of this facility is the glass pyramid on the roof, where you can see sea cat breeding up close.

There are no sea cats at all, but you can be excited and climb the spiral staircase inside the facility and enter the pyramid.

There were none at all, just looking at the soil, but it would be good to consider that you can see the sea cat breeding up close here. Let's visit again around summer.

After this, I decided to return from Same Station to Honhachinohe Station and head to the "Oniwa Enburi" in the evening. It's probably time to enjoy Kabushima in about 3 hours round trip from Honhachinohe Station. Be sure to stop by when you go to Hachinohe.

However, there is only one train per hour, so please be careful about the timetable when going there.