How to Enjoy the Hiking Passport
We’ve created the “Michinoku Coastal Trail Hiking Passport” to chronicle the days you’ll experience as you hike the Michinoku Coastal Trail.
You can plan your trip, write in your journal, collect stamps along the way, and even tuck in beautiful fallen leaves.We’ve also created stamps designed to serve as a way to connect with local residents, and we’ve placed one in each municipality.If you collect three stamps—including the unique ones found at shops and guesthouses—you’ll receive a pin badge representing the municipalities you visited along the way. This is a special perk exclusive to the Hiking Passport.
Please take a copy with you as a companion on your walking journey.
Collecting Municipal Stamps
We created municipal stamps featuring the distinctive characteristics of the 29 municipalities through which the Michinoku Coastal Trail passes, and placed one stamp at each municipality’s facility.
You can stop by facilities with municipal stamps, collect the stamps in your passport, and keep a record of your journey on foot.
Municipal stamps can be applied to documents other than passports.
Collect stamps to get a commemorative pin
The “Michinoku Coastal Trail” is a walking tour that takes you through 29 municipalities*1 along the Pacific coast of Tohoku.We’ve prepared pins for all 29 municipalities.
If you collect the municipal stamp and at least two other stamps*2 on the relevant municipality page in your Hiking Passport*, you can purchase this pin as a souvenir of your journey.*4
As you walk and collect stamps, try collecting pin badges from the municipalities that hold special memories for you. By the time you finish the trail, you’ll have collected all 29 without even realizing it. It’s sure to be a deeply moving experience.
*1 In March Reiwa 5, Kakuda City joined the operation of the Michinoku Coastal Trail.
*2 Original stamps from facilities near the trail, as well as personal seals from shop owners or people who have helped you along the way, are also acceptable. Enjoy meeting the people along the trail as you collect a variety of unique stamps.
※3 Example: On the Natori City page, affix the Natori City municipal stamp plus at least two other stamps from locations within Natori City. However, in Kakuda City only, you can purchase the trail by using only the municipal stamp.
※4 Pin badges are available at TRAIL GATE (Natori Trail Center / Online Shop) and at each satellite facility.
Stamp Points
Here is a list of “stamp points”—facilities that provide stamps for your Hiking Passport.
Click here to see the locations of municipal stamps and other stamps.
Please note that facility hours and closure dates are subject to change, and some facilities may be closed. We ask that you check this information yourself in advance when planning your hike.
A Request to Our Users
The stamps have been placed with the cooperation of the staff at each facility along the trail. To ensure that the staff at these facilities will want you to visit again, please keep the following points in mind.
- Please be aware of the opening hours for each facility. (Please avoid visiting or making inquiries on closed days or outside of opening hours.)
- Along with collecting the stamps, be sure to enjoy the services offered at each facility.
- Please be considerate of both the facility staff and other visitors by, for example, brushing off any dirt from your shoes before entering, so that everyone can enjoy their time here.
- For inquiries regarding this program, please contact the Michinoku Trail Club.
Placing a Stamp (To Local Residents)
Would you be willing to provide a stamp that hikers can use to commemorate their journey?
Anyone can participate in this initiative.
You don’t need to create a new stamp—a store stamp or a personal stamp is perfectly fine.
Our goal is for it to eventually become the norm to find stamps at shops, lodgings, and cafes near the trail.
Purchasing a Hiking Passport
Hiking Passport
This pocket-sized notebook can be used both as a travel journal and a stamp album. It is available for purchase at our online store and at the reception desks of our satellite facilities.
*5% of the sales price will be donated to support “trail maintenance” and “map updates.”
Size: 16.5 cm × 9.5 cm / Pages: 80 / Weight: 92 g
Price: 990 yen (tax included)
How to Purchase Pin Badges
Pin badges are available for purchase via email and at the reception desks of our satellite facilities.
Municipal Pins (29 varieties total)
These pin badges feature the distinctive landscapes, history, and culture of the 29 municipalities through which the trail passes. *20% of the sales price will be donated to support “trail maintenance” and “map updates,” among other initiatives.
Size: 2.8 cm (H) × 2.2 cm (W) / Weight: 4 g
Price: 440 yen (tax included)
Please email us a photo of your stamps, and after we verify them*, we will send you an email with payment instructions. *Municipal stamp + at least two other stamps. However, in Kakuda City only, you may purchase using the municipal stamp alone.
- Please take a photo of the page in your guidebook where you have stamped the municipality, and email us the type of pin badge you would like (municipality name) along with the photo.
To: info@mct-a.org (NPO Michinoku Trail Club)
Email Subject: Pin Badge Purchase - We will send you a payment confirmation email within one week of receiving your email.
- Please enter your shipping and payment information via the URL provided in the email.
- We will ship the item within one week of order confirmation.
Please show the page with the municipal stamp at the service counter of a satellite facility; you may make your purchase after the staff verifies the stamp* at the counter.
*Municipal stamp + at least two other stamps. However, in Kakuda City only, you may make a purchase with just the municipal stamp.