Kitayamazaki

KitayamazakiSanrikusea cliffssappa boatTanohata

Iwate · Tanohata

39.9752°N, 141.9411°E

Kitayamazaki is eight kilometres of cliff on the Sanriku coast, two hundred metres straight down to the water, and it is usually called the Alps of the sea. There are three viewing platforms. The first is level with the car park and reachable by wheelchair; the second and third are down flights of steps; and if you take all 736 steps to the bottom you look up at the whole thing from sea level, which is a different experience and a serious climb back.

The other way to see it is from a sappa — the small open boat Sanriku fishermen use for urchin and abalone. A fisherman takes you along the base of the cliffs for an hour, through a rock arch and into a sea cave. It is ¥3,800 for junior high school age and above, minimum two adults, and the visitor centre at the top is free.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Viewpoints open at all times | Visitor centre and boat trips keep their own hours

Closed: Viewpoints open year-round | Boat trips seasonal and weather-dependent

Entrance Fee

Free viewpoints and visitor centre | Sappa boat ¥3,800 junior high school students and above, ¥3,000 elementary school children

Best Season

Late April–October for the boat | Year-round for the viewpoints

Visit Duration

90 minutes | Half a day with the boat

Getting There

Access Information

Kitayama, Tanohata, Shimohei District, on the Sanriku coast. Car recommended, or by Sanriku Railway to Tanohata Station and taxi. The viewing platforms and the Kitayamazaki Visitor Center, which has a free high-definition theatre and natural history displays, are free. The first platform is step-free from the car park; the second and third are reached by steps, with 736 steps in total down to sea level. Kitayamazaki Sappa Boat Adventures runs 60-minute trips at ¥3,800 for junior high school students and above and ¥3,000 for elementary school children, minimum two participants aged junior high and above, with 20 parking spaces. Inquiries to the Tanohata tourist information centre, 0194-33-3248.

Insider Guide

Premium

**736 steps to the bottom.** Going down is easy and coming back is not. The second platform gives most of the view for a fraction of the effort. **Book the sappa boat.** Sixty minutes at the foot of a two-hundred-metre cliff in an open fishing boat, through a rock arch and into a cave. It needs two participants of junior high age or above. **The first platform is step-free.** Level with the car park and usable with a wheelchair or pushchair, which is rare on this coast. **The visitor centre theatre is free.** Worth ten minutes before walking out, particularly if the weather has closed the view. **The Michinoku Coastal Trail passes here.** The long-distance path along the whole Sanriku shore runs through Kitayamazaki, and the section either side is among its best.

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