Michinoku Coastal Trail Summay

Our Michinoku Coastal Trail, in one post

The Michinoku Coastal Trail runs about 1,025 km (637 miles) down Japan’s Pacific coast, from Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture to Soma in Fukushima Prefecture. The complete route opened in 2019 as part of the region’s recovery after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It is still a quiet trail: 60 people reported finishing the entire route in 2025, whether in one journey or over several trips. We walked a selection of its northern sections. (mct-a.org, mct-a.org, thetrailsmag.com, mct-a.org)

Our days took us through fishing towns, quiet woods, rice fields, shrines, cliffs, beaches and more stairs than our legs would care to count. The trail was rarely just a walk beside the sea. One hour we were watching the waves; the next we were climbing through forest or passing someone’s vegetable garden. The great seawalls were a striking reminder of the tsunami. The older shrines along Hashikami’s Prayer Walk offered another layer of history.

We approached it as a series of day hikes. We stayed several nights in one place, took local trains to our starting points, and used a taxi when it helped us spend more time on the trail. We stored our extra luggage in Kuji before moving farther south. Each evening brought a small puzzle: where to walk tomorrow, how far our legs could reasonably go, and which train would get us back. When a river was too high to cross, we backtracked and changed the plan.

That flexibility suited us. We saw the coast at walking speed, with time to notice the gardens, farms, villages and people between the dramatic viewpoints. Some days were harder than expected, but we’re glad we walked this stretch—and quite glad to give our legs a rest now.

For maps and more about the trail: Michinoku Coastal Trail Association.Read more