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Yakushima NP, Kagoshima
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Approximately 30–40% of loggerheads that come ashore in Japan do so on Nagata Beach. Its 3 neighboring beaches together form the North Pacific’s largest loggerhead nesting ground.
Nagatahama’s sand begins high inland: the Nagata River carries weathered granite from 1,886-m Mount Nagata down to the coast, building this rare stretch of sandy shoreline.
In Nagata’s traditional mountain pilgrimage, the beach is a sacred starting point: people purify themselves in the sea, carry sand from the shore, and offer it at a shrine near the summit while praying for good fishing and harvests.
Turtle eggs were once eaten in Nagata—as protein and as a supposed long-life remedy—though people also left some to hatch. A 1973 local nature ordinance weakened the custom; Kagoshima banned egg collection in 1988.
At Maehama, women sing and wave decorated bamboo in “Tobiuo-maneki,” praying for flying-fish catches. The dance paused when flying fish were no longer caught in Nagata, then returned as a visitor event.
Nagata’s “Kamejo Odori” folk dance is said to follow a turtle’s journey ashore, egg-laying, and return to the sea. The village dances it to pray for community prosperity and the safety of people away on journeys.
Nagata Beach became a Ramsar wetland on November 8, 2005—but this 10-hectare protected site is sandy shoreline, not marsh. It was recognized for supporting a crucial stage of loggerheads’ life cycle.
Loggerheads still arrive at Nagata to nest into early August, while hatchlings begin returning to the sea in early July. For part of the summer, the beach hosts nesting adults and tiny new arrivals at once.
Loggerheads nesting at Yakushima feed either in coastal shallows or the open ocean. A 26-year study found that shallow-water feeders had 2.4 times the cumulative reproductive output of oceanic feeders.
In 2009, more than 10,000 people visited Nagata Beach at night to watch turtles—almost 4 times the 1993 number. Local observation rules were established to help protect the nesting beach as interest grew.
