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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 try a
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 shelters for the cormorants
that are used for fishing 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.
LEGEND (for each no. on the guide map)
①‘Unomisaki’ Public
Hotel ② Restaurant ‘Shiosai’ ③‘Uraranoyu’
Hot Spring ④Parking ⑤
Promenade⑥ Grove ⑦Lawn
⑧Tennis court⑨Adventure
playground ⑩ Cormorant Cage ⑪Water
lily pond ⑫ Toilet
◆
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
restrooms, 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 restrooms. 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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