Hanabushi Jinja Shrine

This small shrine sits at the tip of Hogasaki Cape, surrounded by trees and overlooking Matsushima Bay. Local legend says it was founded 2,400 years ago on the spot where the deity of Shiogama Shrine descended from the heavens. Every July, fishermen sail out to a reef to offer abalone to the shrine's deity, commemorating a story of two fishermen whose sinking boat was miraculously plugged by a giant awabi during a storm. They return afterward and distribute cooked abalone to those who gather at the shrine, a ritual that has continued for generations along this stretch of coast.