Visited 16.05.2016 (Mon)
Sea. Fans of Amachan will find the coastal area near Kosode Ama Center 小袖海女センー very familiar. This is one of the main filming location in Kuji city and most importantly it is featured in the opening scene of the drama serial, every epoisde. This coastal area is Kosode Kaigan 小袖海岸 (Kosode Coast) and was badly affected by Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The former facility was washed away by the tsunami and was later replaced by the current three storey Kosode Ama Center which completed construction in Dec 2015. The ground floor is occupied by the tourism information center and shop selling agricultural products directly delivered from local farms. An exhibition on ama (woman divers), the pride of Kuji city, is held on the second floor, while light snacks are available on the third floor. There are balconies on the higher levels of the building where visitors can get an excellent overview of the iconic white lighthouse, concrete breakwater, unique coastal rock formation and beautiful emerald coloured water closer to the coast. Between July and September period, visitors can witness the live diving performances here by the courageous ama, carried out at stipulated timings on weekends and public holidays.
Word of the Year. The first thing that caught my eye was this prominent stone monument with the kantana "Je Je Je じぇじぇじぇ" engraved on it. The word "Je" is part of the local dialect in Kosode and used by the locals to express an exclamation of surprise. This phrase was commonly used by the characters in Amachan and became so popular to the point that it won the grand prize in the Words of the Year contest in 2013! The stone monument was built here to commemorate this victory since this was the place where "Je Je Je" originated from.
Run! Could not contain my excitement when I saw the white lighthouse standing brilliantly at the end of the long breakwater. In the opening song of the drama, Aki is seen running on the top deck of the breakwater towards the white lighthouse. I thought I would get to re-enact that classic scene here; however, the top deck of the breakwater is actually not accessible to visitors. Having said that, one can still see the lighthouse up close by walking along the lower deck. Also spotted the stairs which the ama would use to enter into/emerge from the waters.
Unique. The coastal rock formation of Kosode Kaigen is also one of its kind and a uniquely beautiful sight to behold. In particular, there are two eye catching rocks which were formed as a result of volcanic eruption occurring in the seabed. Named the "Couple Rock 夫婦岩", the one on the left is the male rock (keep a lookout for the torii on its summit) while the other on the right is the female rock. The highest point of the rocks are connected from one end to the other by a sacred rope. It was said that this sacred rope remained undamaged even when the surrounding area was badly affected by tsunami. Because of its symbolic meaning, couples also come to this pair of rock to wish for marriage blessings.
Out of all Amachan's filming locations visited on this trip, I like Kosode Kaigen the most for its alluring scenery!
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Kosode Ama Center 小袖海女センター
久慈市宇部町24-110-2
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs
Free admission.
http://www.kuji-tourism.jp/ama/amacenter/
Sea. Fans of Amachan will find the coastal area near Kosode Ama Center 小袖海女センー very familiar. This is one of the main filming location in Kuji city and most importantly it is featured in the opening scene of the drama serial, every epoisde. This coastal area is Kosode Kaigan 小袖海岸 (Kosode Coast) and was badly affected by Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The former facility was washed away by the tsunami and was later replaced by the current three storey Kosode Ama Center which completed construction in Dec 2015. The ground floor is occupied by the tourism information center and shop selling agricultural products directly delivered from local farms. An exhibition on ama (woman divers), the pride of Kuji city, is held on the second floor, while light snacks are available on the third floor. There are balconies on the higher levels of the building where visitors can get an excellent overview of the iconic white lighthouse, concrete breakwater, unique coastal rock formation and beautiful emerald coloured water closer to the coast. Between July and September period, visitors can witness the live diving performances here by the courageous ama, carried out at stipulated timings on weekends and public holidays.
Word of the Year. The first thing that caught my eye was this prominent stone monument with the kantana "Je Je Je じぇじぇじぇ" engraved on it. The word "Je" is part of the local dialect in Kosode and used by the locals to express an exclamation of surprise. This phrase was commonly used by the characters in Amachan and became so popular to the point that it won the grand prize in the Words of the Year contest in 2013! The stone monument was built here to commemorate this victory since this was the place where "Je Je Je" originated from.
Run! Could not contain my excitement when I saw the white lighthouse standing brilliantly at the end of the long breakwater. In the opening song of the drama, Aki is seen running on the top deck of the breakwater towards the white lighthouse. I thought I would get to re-enact that classic scene here; however, the top deck of the breakwater is actually not accessible to visitors. Having said that, one can still see the lighthouse up close by walking along the lower deck. Also spotted the stairs which the ama would use to enter into/emerge from the waters.
Unique. The coastal rock formation of Kosode Kaigen is also one of its kind and a uniquely beautiful sight to behold. In particular, there are two eye catching rocks which were formed as a result of volcanic eruption occurring in the seabed. Named the "Couple Rock 夫婦岩", the one on the left is the male rock (keep a lookout for the torii on its summit) while the other on the right is the female rock. The highest point of the rocks are connected from one end to the other by a sacred rope. It was said that this sacred rope remained undamaged even when the surrounding area was badly affected by tsunami. Because of its symbolic meaning, couples also come to this pair of rock to wish for marriage blessings.
Out of all Amachan's filming locations visited on this trip, I like Kosode Kaigen the most for its alluring scenery!
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Kosode Ama Center 小袖海女センター
久慈市宇部町24-110-2
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs
Free admission.
http://www.kuji-tourism.jp/ama/amacenter/
How to get there?
(1) By bus. From the bus stop outside Kuji Station 久慈駅, board the Kuji Kaigan line bus 久慈海岸線 and alight at Kosode Kaigan 小袖海岸. From the bus stop, it takes another 5 minutes to walk to Kosode Ama Center.
Bus schedule: https://www.city.kuji.iwate.jp/matizukurika/tiiki_g/bus_timetable.html
(2) By taxi. Round trip taxi fare between Kuji Station and Kosode Ama Center cost me 8,420 yen (4,210 x 2). Due to infrequent bus services outside of ama diving season (July to September), I had to rely on taxi to commute to and fro. When the vehicle pulled into the car park of Kosode Ama Center, I checked with the driver whether he was willing to wait here for 30 minutes, as I would like to take his taxi back to the train station after that. He agreed to wait and that resolved my transportation woe for the return trip.
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(1) By bus. From the bus stop outside Kuji Station 久慈駅, board the Kuji Kaigan line bus 久慈海岸線 and alight at Kosode Kaigan 小袖海岸. From the bus stop, it takes another 5 minutes to walk to Kosode Ama Center.
Bus schedule: https://www.city.kuji.iwate.jp/matizukurika/tiiki_g/bus_timetable.html
(2) By taxi. Round trip taxi fare between Kuji Station and Kosode Ama Center cost me 8,420 yen (4,210 x 2). Due to infrequent bus services outside of ama diving season (July to September), I had to rely on taxi to commute to and fro. When the vehicle pulled into the car park of Kosode Ama Center, I checked with the driver whether he was willing to wait here for 30 minutes, as I would like to take his taxi back to the train station after that. He agreed to wait and that resolved my transportation woe for the return trip.
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Commemorative stamps:
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