The Kamaishi Unosumai Recovery Stadium is located in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture. As a symbol of Kamaishi City’s reconstruction, it is built on the land where the former Kamaishi Higashi Junior High School stood, which was damaged by the Great Tohoku Japan Earthquake of 2011.

On the day of the Rugby World Cup, shuttle buses operated from Kamaishi Station and various cities around the prefecture to the stadium. You can also get there in only 3 minutes on foot from Sanriku Railway, Unosumai Station. If traveling by car, it is still recommended to use a taxi or shuttle bus to get around Kamaishi Station, as there are no available parking lots around the stadium.

Kamaishi City is located on the southern coast of Iwate Prefecture, whose key industries are manufacturing and fishing.

It is also known as the birthplace of modern iron forging and was the first place in Japan to successfully produce iron using a Western-style blast furnace. This region is also said to be blessed with an abundance of Sanriku seafood.

There are fishing villages along the peninsula, mountain villages in the inland areas, as well as urban cities lined with residential areas and commercial facilities. Each of these spots has resources for tourists, allowing you to enjoy a wide variety of sightseeing activities.

The Kamaishi Dai-kannon Temple stands atop a hill in the town of Ohira on the Kamasaki Peninsula, overlooking Kamaishi Bay. You can go inside the 12-story Dai-kannon Temple, and see the shrines and chiseled carvings of Sanjusan Kannon, made from Aomori Hiba trees.

On each of the 2nd to 10th floors are enshrined the Seven Gods of Fortune, carved of wood. It is said that when one visits these seven gods, the seven calamities are removed and they receive seven fortunes in their place.

On the 11th and 12th floors, located in the top of the fish held by Kannon, is an observation deck overlooking Kamaishi Bay. In the distance you can see the magnificent Ria Coast of Sanriku Fukkou National Park, from Cape Mada to the Ozaki Peninsula.

The Iron and Steel History Museum is a comprehensive museum that was established to pass down the achievements of the leaders of Kamaishi’s iron and steel industry to future generations.

There are many materials on display which tell about the modernization of the steel industry in Kamaishi, from the beginning of iron culture in Japan, to its development into modern steel making. There is also a popular casting activity in which you can make your own original key holder.

There is also a theater that introduces the history of Kamaishi’s steel industry through the usage of sound, lights, and video. The focus is on a large full-size model of the No. 3 blast furnace from the ruins of the Hashino iron mining and smelting site that remains in Hashino-cho, Kamaishi City to this day.

Here, you will learn about the history of ironmaking in Kamaishi as explained by the museum’s mascot “Saitaro,” a character designed after the “father of modern steel,” Takato Oshima.

Hashino Tekkozan (Hashino Iron Mines) is the general term for the iron mine and steelworks areas that consist of the remains of iron mining sites, transportation routes, and blast furnaces.

You can even see the remains of Japan’s oldest Western-style blast furnace, which was built under the guidance of Takato Oshima, the “father of modern steel.”

This historical site, a symbol of the modernization of the steel industry in Japan and including the Hashino Iron Mines, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015 as one of the “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.”

There are many other remains in the Hashino Iron Mines including the three blast furnaces, however, it is currently unclear how they may have been used at that time.

It is recommended to visit the Information Center first, where you can get informational materials as well as audio voice guides and VR/AR apps, available in multiple languages, to further deepen your understanding of this historic site.

Text by:Takumi Miyamoto