Namiita Lab Community Center and Boat House Namiita
The Namiita Lab Community Center, constructed using local materials and applying the principles of universal design, won a Good Design Award in 2016. Equipped with spacious meeting rooms, restrooms, a shower and bath, a fully furnished kitchen, and bedrooms, the facility can be reserved for events or as lodging for hikers. The center also runs workshops at which local artisans teach participants how to make traditional Ogatsu slate crafts. Slate is used to make the elegant hand-carved inkstones for which the area is known—which are sold at the center—as well as roofing tiles and even tableware.
Near the shore just down the road is Boat House Namiita, which includes an exhibit of a small boat named the Daini Katsumaru. Like many buildings and boats in Ogatsu, the Daini Katsumaru was washed away by the 2011 tsunami. But in 2015, after being missing for over 1,500 days, it was found off the coast of Hawaii and returned to Ogatsu. It is now the centerpiece of a display detailing its incredible 6,000-kilometer journey, a heartwarming tale of hope in the aftermath of disaster.
