Soma Odaka Shrine

Soma Odaka Shrine

This is the shrine of the guardian deity of the Soma Domain, and a ceremony site of the Nomakake ritual which takes place during the exhilarating Soma Nomaoi Festival. Somei Yoshino cherry blossom and weeping cherry trees light up the shrine grounds in spring, making Soma Odaka Shrine a popular cherry blossom viewing spot.

Venue Details

Venue Details
Websitehttp://odaka-kanko.jp/c-kankou/ (Japanese)
Contact

Minamisoma City Education Committee Cultural Asset Division Cultural Asset Affairs

(+81) 244-24-5284

Best SeasonAll Year
ParkingAvailable
Entrance FeeFree
Access Details
AccessOdaka Furushiro 13, Odaka-ku, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Pref. 979-2102
View directions
Getting there

By Car: 15 min from the Namie I.C. exit off the Joban Expressway

By Train: 5 min by taxi from Odaka Station (JR Joban Line)

Nearby

The World Glassware Hall
Nature & Scenery

Nanohana Flower Fields and Mazes

A massive field of nanohana flowers that first bloomed in Spring 2012, bringing great joy to the community. Since 2013 to today, huge flower fields and mazes are organized for the public to come and enjoy entirely for free. Children can receive prizes for completing the maze and visitors of all ages are encouraged to walk through the maze and have fun. Takayuki Ueno is a local farmer and creator of the Nanohana Flower Maze, planting the first flowers here in November 2011; eight months after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Click here to read more about his inspiring story.

The World Glassware Hall
Gourmet & Shopping

Full House Book Cafe

Full House is a stylish bookstore and cafe run by the critically-acclaimed novelist Yu Miri. It is located near the JR Odaka Station in Minamisoma City, in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.Full House is located on the ground floor of a refurbished house. The interior is wooden and elegant, and there is a selection of books in Japanese chosen by the author. The cafe serves meals like pasta and doria, as well as desserts and drinks with seasonal options.Yu Miri is famously known for her novel Tokyo Ueno Station (translated into English by Morgan Giles), which won the U.S. National Book Award in the Translated Literature category in 2019.Following 3.11, Ms. Miri has worked extensively to communicate the stories of residents of evacuated towns and villages in Fukushima’s coastal area, and has been living in Minamisoma City since 2015.When Ms. Miri moved to Minamisoma, there were no other bookstores open in the area —the few bookstores that had been there before 3.11 had closed following the evacuation—, so she decided to open her own in 2018, and named it ‘Full House’ after one of her novels.But something was missing. She quickly realized that people who traveled all the way to visit the store wanted to sit down with a warm drink, and there weren’t many restaurants or cafes nearby yet, so she decided to turn Full House into a book cafe the following year.Today, Full House is a lively and cozy hub where locals and visitors can bond over their love of coffee and literature.

The World Glassware Hall
Nature & Scenery

Kairyu no Sato Center Theme Park

Kairyu no Sato Center Theme Park is a dinosaur themed theme park in Iwaki city. Here there are three rides as well as some unique dinosaur statues including a huge long-necked dinosaur. Around late March to early April is the best time to visit if you want to see the unique sight of dinosaurs surrounded by cherry blossoms. Iwaki is well known for its excavation of fossils and most notably the discovery of the Futabasaurus dinosaur. You can learn more about the mining history of Iwaki at the Horuru: Iwaki Coal and Fossil Museum.

You might also like

Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum
History & Culture

Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum

This museum, located in sunny Iwaki City, exhibits the moving calligraphy of Shoko Kanazawa. The whole museum has been constructed while keeping in mind traditional Japanese architectural styles. As well as the calligraphy exhibition, Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum also has a Japanese tea room café on site, where you can take a rest with beautiful Japanese garden viewing. The same building also houses a kimono exhibition, while features one of the world's biggest kimono!

Bentenjima
History & Culture

Bentenjima

In a crescent shaped cove separated from the mainland on the small island known as Bentenjima Island, you will find the mysterious Bentenjima Shrine. The vermillion painted tori gate stands out against the jagged stone and the powerful waves. It is believed that the shrine was land based until an earthquake that occurred in 1410 resulted in the formation of this jagged rock island. The construction date of the original shrine is unknown. The island is also known as Wanigafuchi because, according to legend, a creature known as a “wanizame” (crocodile shark) lived on the island. Half crocodile, half shark, this creature can be seen in many old Japanese paintings. The creature may have been believed to cause the swirling water and violent waves that crashed against the rocks, sometimes resulting in people getting swept into the water. Another legend suggests that the wanizame once kidnapped a young woman from Iwaki who had wandered out to explore the island.This coast is lined with small round pebbles that shine when the water hits them. However, do not take any of these pebbles home, as legend says that anyone who takes pebbles home from this coast will suffer from eye disease. This area was once a very popular destination for tourists and the Iwaki city website linked below features many photos. Although the page is in Japanese, it's viewable using the translation function on web browsers.Hattachi-Yakushi Temple is located near the shrine and is worth visiting, but please do not park there while accessing Bentenjima as it is disrespectful to the temple monks and patrons.

Top