Miyako

Miyako is a fishing city on the Sanriku Coast of Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, where cliffs and coves alternate along a dramatic Pacific shoreline. Its centerpiece cove was named by a monk who compared it to paradise, and the description has stuck for three centuries.

Jodogahama, the Pure Land Beach, lines up jagged white rocks in clear green water, and small sappa boats run from the beach to a shoreline grotto locals call the Blue Cave. Memorial sites around the city tell the story of the 2011 tsunami and the rebuilding since.

Order sea urchin in summer, when local divers bring it in fresh, and walk sections of the Michinoku Coastal Trail in either direction. The Sanriku Railway and buses link Miyako along the coast, and the city pairs naturally with the cliffs of Tanohata to the north. Summer seas are calmest.