If you drive along Route 6, approximately 10 km north of
Hitachi city, you will come to Ishihama Vacation Area (伊師浜国民休養地) which
holds 15 hectares of extensive woodland. As you can see in the guide map
below, there are many attractions and facilities for recreation in this
area. If you are a nature lover, we recommend you to try a to try a walk
around the promenade, that
takes about an hour. While
walking, you
can enjoy a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and do some bird
watching. Also the Ishihama coast is famous for cormorants used for
fishing which are exported all over Japan to be used for a traditional
method of catching fish by using tame cormorants 〔鵜飼〕. If you are lucky,
you might see a few cormorants resting on the rocks beyond Ishihama beach.
If not, please stop in at ‘ Cormorant Paradise’(鵜のパラダイス). Here, there are 9
cormorants housed in a large cage. You may even be able to see cormorants
eating fish. Unfortunately the shed which had been used for cormorant
hunting collapsed last June, but they are going to be rebuilt in the near future. Here we would like to introduce you to the following two
spots.
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◆ The Public Hotel “Unomisaki” 〔国民宿舎 鵜の岬〕
Public Hotels (inexpensive hotels operated by local governments) have been
built with the idea of providing places for the general public to enjoy
recreation, and to hold meetings and training camps whilst staying in
pleasant surroundings. ‘
Unomisaki’ is the most popular out of all the 194 Public Hotels in Japan
and it has held the No 1 position in terms of usage over the last 12 years
thanks to its location, tasty food and warm hospitality. Above all, the
view of the ocean from the hot spring bath on the 8th floor is beyond
description. Usually, hotel reservations can be made by phone call
(0293-32-2202) but during special holiday seasons such as Dec. 30 - Jan. 5
and July 20 – Aug. 31, you are requested to apply for reservation by a
reply-paid postcard(往復はがき)and the
success of your application is decided by drawing lots.. It seems very
difficult to get a chance to stay this hotel, but you can stop in at the
coffee shop on the 2nd floor (9:30 – 18:00) and at the restaurant
‘Shiosai(しおさい)’which has an outstanding vaulted ceiling, for lunch (11:00
– 14:00). |
◆ “Urarano-Yu” Hot Spring 〔うららの湯〕
The Public Hotel ‘Unomisaki’ as already mentioned is so popular that local
people sometimes used to complain that they could never make reservations.
On these grounds, ‘Urrano-Yu’ was opened in April, 2001 as the Juo town-
run hot spring (onsen) facility, located just a little further up on the
right side of the Hotel. This facility is available to everybody without a
reservation, and you can enjoy an onsen at anytime. This type of onsen is
called a “day trip hot spring” ( higaeri-onsen). You can take a bath, take
a rest and eat something there all day long. This facility has two
bathrooms, one for men and the other for women, two
resting rooms, amusements, and Japanese style restaurant. And there are four
different types of bathtubs, such as a spacious inside bath, a bubble
bath, a dry sauna, and an open-air bath (roten- buro). From the open-air
bath, you can get a good view of the ocean, white sands and a pine grove.
In the warmer weather, you can also enjoy a cup of coffee outside in the
sea breeze after bathing, sitting down on chairs located just outside the
resting rooms. Nowadays, ‘Urarano-Yu’ is well frequented in the evenings
(after 4 pm). Many people come just to take a bath instead of using their
baths at home, because the evening admission fee is half price. People
seem to enjoy bathing here in the same way that they enjoy the atmosphere
of the “sento” public baths. There is a natural alkalinity in the water of
this onsen, which is effective in the treatment of neuralgia, muscle pains
and skin diseases. The Japanese islands lie on the site of considerable
volcanic activity, so there are many hot spring resorts each place. And
these onsen are being used for cure of a disease and healing a wound as
well as a place of recreation and relaxation.
Hours: 10:00 a.m. ~ 9:00p.m. Closed: 1st and 3rd Tues. every month Tel:
0293-32-1126
Fee: Weekday: adults 800 yen, children 400 yen, Sun. and Sat.: adults 1000
yen, children 500 yen
Night (4 p.m. ~ 9:00p.m.): adults 500 yen, children 250 yen
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