Horai Island

An island floating in Otsuchi Bay in Otsuchi Town. It is popularly known as ``Hyotan Island''. It is a small island with a circumference of approximately 200m, and its distinctive feature is that it is shaped like a gourd, consisting of two hills, one large and one small. During the Edo period, it was called ``Coral Island,'' but the lord of the Morioka domain, Toshishi Nanbu, ordered it to be called ``Hōrai Island'' during a patrol in 1738. Now it looks like this. Although the lighthouse was destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the hall that enshrines the statue of Benzaiten escaped being washed away. The lighthouse was rebuilt, and the island was designated as a designated cultural property (scenic spot) by Otsuchi Town in August 2013 as a symbol of recovery.