Michi-no-Eki Kamogawa Ocean Park

Driving the Boso coast on Route 128, it is hard to miss Kamogawa Ocean Park: a three-storey building that looks like a turban shell or a pyramid, set right on the shore at Tayuzaki between Emi and Kamogawa. The ground floor sells Kamogawa seafood, vegetables and sweets. Upstairs, the restaurant serves rice bowls with fish from the local harbors and Nagasa rice, and the top floor is an open terrace facing the Pacific.

Outside, Sennen-iso is a man-made rock pool where children can wade and poke around safely. Across in the fishermen's park there is a free foot bath fed by Kamogawa Onsen water, a better place than it sounds to sit after a long drive. In late winter and spring the station runs paid flower-picking in nearby fields, depending on how the crop is growing.

The terrace looks straight out over the Pacific, and on New Year's Day people come for the first sunrise. Shop and restaurant hours vary by facility and sources disagree on closing times, so check before you rely on a late lunch. Buses from JR Awa-Kamogawa Station stop at Tayuzaki, about a minute's walk away.