Ishinomaki travel guide

Ishinomaki (石巻市; -shi) is a city located in Miyagi, Japan.
As of 2003, the area that the current city occupies had an estimated population of 171,068 and the density of 308.04 persons per km². The total area is 555.35 km².
The city was founded on April 1, 1933.
On April 1, 2005, Ishinomaki merged with six towns, Kahoku, Kanan, Kitakami, Monou, and Ogatsu of the former Monou district, and Oshika from Oshika district to more than quadruple its area and added nearly 60,000 people to its population.
Before the merger, the town of Ogatsu was famous for its inkstones and had a scallop festival.
Ishinomaki has the Eastern Hemisphere's second-largest fish market.
The city also hosts a full-size replica of the Japanese warship San Juan Bautista, a ship commissioned in 1613 by Date Masamune, Daimyo of Sendai, to transport an embassy to the Pope in Rome. (...) more....