Senmaya, Iwate
Senmaya (千厩町 Senmaya-chō) was a town located in Higashiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The name translates as 'one thousand stables' although today there are no horses or stables remaining.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 13,151 and a density of 146.38 persons per km². The total area was 89.84 km².
On September 20, 2005, Senmaya, along with the towns of Daitō and Higashiyama, the villages of Kawasaki and Murone (all from Higashiiwai District), and the town of Hanaizumi (from Nishiiwai District), was merged into the expanded city of Ichinoseki.
Education
Senmaya has one high school, Senmaya High School (Senmaya Koko), which has about 600 students. There are specialty classes in each grade, one for agricultural focus and another for mechanical focus. There is a school garden where agricultural students can practice activities such as planting and harvesting rice and vegetables.
There is also a junior high school, elementary schools, and a kindergarten.
Shopping
Senmaya is home to many local, independent shops for day-to-day needs. There is also a small shopping mall, S*PIA, which includes a small department store, arcade, bakery, liquor store, hair salon, super market, dry cleaners, shoe store, Italian restaurant, 100 yen shop. Adjacent to S*PIA is Sunday Home Center, a large box store with household and farming items.
In addition, there are 3 additional supermarkets, several drug stores, a book store, 2 Pachinko parlors, a CD/DVD rental store, a Seria 100 yen shop, 2 laundromats, and several gas stations and convenience stores. Other than a few restaurants and bars, there is little evening entertainment in Senmaya. Many young people can be seen reading magazines in the Lawson convenience store at night.
Temples and shrines
There are four religious sites in Senmaya, the most unique being Meotoiwa. Meotoiwa is a Shinto fertility shrine which includes a rock formation that is said to look like a penis inside a vagina.[citation needed] There is also a large gold wooden penis statue surrounded by other phallic natural wooden formations. Couples come here to pray for a child. There are two additional shrines in Senmaya which are very small. There is also a Buddhist temple with a surrounding graveyard in the hills. Sunday morning meditation is offered at 6 am.
Transportation
There are three taxi companies which operate in Senmaya. There is also a bus route which goes into Ichinoseki city proper. There is a bus that travels between Sendai, Miyagi and Senmaya directly. There is a local train line that travels east-west but stops running after 8:30 pm each night. The closest cities are Ichinoseki (30 minutes west) and Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture (30 minutes east).