1 day
Oarai by Bicycle
Rent a bicycle at the market, ride the shops, the beach and the shrine on the headland.
Oarai is spread out and the buses are infrequent, so the trip starts by renting a bicycle at Oarai Maiwai Market — which is also a location and the town's goods base. From there, ride the shopping streets where individual shops display their own character, out to the beach, and up to Oarai Isosaki Shrine on the headland, where the grounds are full of fan-painted ema and a torii stands in the sea below. Buy something where you photograph a panel: that exchange is what has kept the arrangement alive for over a decade.
Route
3 stops
- 1 hr
Oarai Maiwai Market
Oarai (Kashima Rinkai line) · 15 min walk
Rent the bicycle here. Confirm opening hours before travelling, as they change seasonally.
Ride out through the shopping streets.15min
- 1 hr 30 min
The character panels around Oarai station
Oarai (Kashima Rinkai line) · 1 min walk
Each shop has its own character. Buy something where you photograph a panel.
Ride on to the headland.20min
- 1 hr
Oarai Isosaki Shrine
Oarai (Kashima Rinkai line), then bus or bicycle
The torii standing in the sea below the shrine is the shot people come for. Sunrise is better, if you are staying overnight.
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