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Unzen-Amakusa NP, Kumamoto
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From the south, Myoken Rock looks like an elephant striding into the sea—and Japan’s national park office says it still looks like an elephant from the north. One rock, two elephant views!
A small boat can pass through Myokenura’s giant sea arch: it is about 20 m high, 8.5–20 m wide and 50 m long. Waves widened two crossing faults to carve this remarkable passage.
Myokenura’s underwater scenery has its own surprises: divers find table corals on a broad rock slab, sandy patches, channels and caves. Yellowtail schools and large rays sometimes pass through, too.
Stalactites hang inside Myoken Cave, even though it formed in sandstone rather than limestone. The national heritage record suggests that calcium-rich parts of the sandstone helped create them.
At the cliff bases, a low terrace marks an uplifted former seabed. The national heritage record describes this raised coastal platform as reaching about 3 m above today’s sea.
On August 27, 1935, Myokenura was designated both a Place of Scenic Beauty and a Natural Monument—a national recognition of its striking landscape and geological value.
