Article Ito City

The entry point to the city is a joint bus and train station. In the immediate vicinity there are many narrow streets full of shops and small restaurants.

The largest concentration of shops starts about 300 meters from the station in an indoor shopping center. In the off-season (June – September) it is almost empty in the morning.

At the end of the mall is an intersection that resembles a well-known intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo with marked transitions. However, up to 2,500 people pass there at peak times on one green light. We are alone here.

This 100-year-old ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) was converted into a hostel as well as a historical and cultural site open to the public in 2001. You can get a room with a private onsen (hot bath) and they are said to be welcoming to those with tattoos, which not very common in Japan.

We continue along the Itoo River towards the ocean. It can be seen from here that the city is immediately surrounded by mountains from the west.

This park was opened in 1977. The information board states that the park is maintained to symbolize the desire of the citizens of Ito City for peace and happiness.

Many works are on display in the park, most notably the „family“ collection of works by local sculptor Kenji Shigeoka.

We continue along the coast where new life and amenities blend admirably with what is already history.

A short distance from the coast in the hill is a large cemetery. Cemeteries here are not on the outskirts of cities, they are part of them. In Buddhist culture, death is understood as rebirth, and funeral rituals are therefore adapted to this view of dying. Today, burial „by fire“ – cremation – is common. But Buddhism knows burial „in the wind“ – the body is dismembered, or burial „in the water“ – thrown into a river or lake.

This Buddhist temple is closely related to a priest named Nichiren Shonin who was exiled here. Nichiren Shonin was born on February 16, 1222 in Kominato, in present-day Chiba Prefecture. At the age of eleven, his parents sent him to study in a monastery. From an early age, he began to wonder why there were so many schools of Buddhism, while the Buddhism expounded by Buddha Shakamuni was only one. He was ordained a priest at the age of 15. The temple is also known as the place where a small statue of Shakamuni Buddha rests.

Here, everything revolves around fish and seafood. Japan is a food lover's paradise, sourced from the depths of the sea. And the locals try their fishing luck right on the shore.

This port can accommodate up to 220 vessels. It offers facilities for water supply, land-based electricity equipment, refueling equipment, a pub and a restaurant.

You can also rent a boat here and go fishing, for example. According to the local offer, such a Yamaha FAST23 for 3 hours costs from 9100 yen (working days) to 15900 yen on holidays.

We return along the coast to the city center. The volcanic peak of Mount Omuro can be seen beautifully on the horizon.