Frequently Asked Questions
Its sea torii. The sacred Kamiiso gate, attached to Oarai Isosaki Shrine, stands on a wave-battered rock facing the Pacific. At dawn, when the sun rises exactly along its axis, photographers line up on the shore for the shot.
About fifteen minutes on foot, or a few minutes by taxi. You enter the shrine grounds by a pine-lined staircase; from the top of the steps the view runs between stone lanterns out to the Pacific.
The local trio fits comfortably into the day: Oarai Isosaki Shrine and its sea torii, the Aqua World aquarium, then the fishing port market for lunch. If you would rather leave town, swap the aquarium for Mito and Kairakuen Garden.
It is the safest bet of the day for a family. The aquarium is among the largest in the country and holds Japan's most varied shark collection, some fifty species. The sunfish tanks and dolphin shows easily fill two hours.
At the fishing port market. The stalls overflow with grilled scallops, dried horse mackerel and crab, and the restaurants next door serve rice bowls topped with fish landed that same morning.
Yes, Mito is about twenty minutes away, roughly 15 km, by taxi or local train from Oarai station. Kairakuen is one of Japan's three great landscape gardens, created in 1842, and its three thousand plum trees bloom from late winter.
It depends what you have come for. Late winter brings the plum blossom at Kairakuen; spring covers the hills of Hitachi Seaside Park with millions of blue nemophila; autumn turns the same slopes red with kochia.
At high tide or in a strong swell, when the waves burst at the foot of the rock. Sunrise along the axis of the gate is the most sought-after image, but it requires a call that starts early.
No, and you should not expect Tokyo or Yokohama. It is a seaside fishing town in Ibaraki Prefecture, facing the ocean for more than a thousand years, about two hours northeast of Tokyo. Its human scale is exactly its strength.
No. The terminal shares its water with ferries: every evening an overnight ferry links Oarai to Tomakomai on Hokkaido, sixteen hours of sailing to the north. The town lives off the sea in both directions.
