By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer 16:05 JST, May 28, 2024 A walking event was held on Sunday along Tanesashi Coast in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Michinoku Coastal Trail. The nature trail traverses approximately 1,000 kilometers along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region. About 400 participants enjoyed the eight-kilometer and five-kilometer courses on the beautiful sunny day.
The Michinoku Coastal Trail is one of the long-distance trails being developed nationwide by the Environment Ministry and spans the four prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. The trail was developed as a reconstruction project following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and in June 2019, the entire route linking Hachinohe in the north and Soma, Fukushima Prefecture in the south was opened to the public. Not only can people enjoy walking and taking in the magnificent nature of Tohoku, but they can also support its reconstruction by eating and staying there while getting a close-up view of the current state of the region as it continues to recover from the disaster.
Sunday’s event was organized by the Environment Ministry and the Michinoku Coastal Trail walk committee, with support from The Yomiuri Shimbun and others, and special sponsorship from Asics and Japan Airlines Co.’s Tohoku Branch Office. The opening ceremony was held at Kabushima seaside park, the starting point for the eight-kilometer course.
Tadamori.
