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San'in Kaigan NP, Tottori
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The 5 Natanegoto islets were once joined to shore. Waves cut caves through the rocky neck, then their roofs collapsed, leaving islands; in spring, wild rapeseed flowers bloom on just one, Nataneshima.
Iwami’s “Baba-chan” (“Granny”) is a deep-sea fish, Tanaka genge—not a person. Its odd face hides delicate flesh; once too low-value for market, it was eaten aboard fishing boats before becoming a local winter hot-pot specialty.
The pine-topped sea arch Senkan Matsushima carries a lavish local legend: lord Ikeda Tsunakiyo supposedly offered 1,000 kan of silver to anyone who could transplant the rock and tree to his garden. Today’s pine is a successor.
After the 1905 Battle of the Sea of Japan, Russian officers’ bodies washed ashore near Uradome. Tago fishermen gave them a respectful burial, and a memorial at Kamoga Iso now commemorates their act of humanity.
Mosaebi shrimp lose freshness so quickly that they are difficult to ship far from Iwami. That short shelf life helps make this locally caught, sweet, rich-flavored shrimp a treat especially associated with its home coast.
The 70-meter Oshiroi Cliff (“Face Powder Cliff”) has a surprisingly literal white coating: its pale face is said to be colored by wild birds’ droppings, not by paint or naturally white stone.
Kuroshima means “Black Island,” and it really does look darker than the pale granite coast around it. The reason is geology: the reef is made of dark tuff breccia, brought alongside the granite by a fault.
A marker at Uradome Beach commemorates its opening in 1894 as the San’in region’s first sea-bathing beach—a seaside tradition that began here more than a century ago.
Records trace Tago’s fishing community to fishermen who came from Iwami, in western Shimane, around 1590. Until a bus road opened around 1916, the ria-side settlement was isolated enough to be known as “Tago-ura.”
The lights that sparkle on the evening horizon are squid-fishing boats, not decorations. Crews usually set out before dusk, fish through the night and finish by morning; some boats work with just 1 or 2 people aboard.
At Tago’s spring Kenka (“fighting”) festival, young people drive a mikoshi and a boat-shaped float into one another in the harbor. The lively ritual prays for a good catch and safety for local families.
Before Ajiro Tunnel opened in 1912, the only link between Ajiro and Kutsui was Sakagoshi Hatcho, a narrow path clinging to steep cliffs. The village head proposed cutting a tunnel through the barrier.
After seeing the coast by boat, writer Shimazaki Tōson famously concluded, “Matsushima is Matsushima; Uradome is Uradome.” His travel essay explains that Uradome’s islands nestle close against the shore, creating a landscape all its own.
In his own travel essay, Tōson says poet Kokubu Saitō chose the name Ryūjindō for one of Uradome’s caves. It’s a neat twist on the better-known literary connection: Tōson visited, but says another poet named this cave.
The marine park waters between Oshiroi Cliff and Jōbara are reported to reach 25 meters of clarity. The Tsushima Current also carries unusual subtropical fish north, so warm-water visitors can appear among local marine life.
The glitter on Kamoga Iso’s sunny beaches has a geological source: the sand contains quartz and feldspar, minerals released as the coast’s granite breaks down. The bright grains catch the light like tiny crystals.
The tightly stacked houses of Tago began with just 5 founding homes near the shore. As the settlement grew, residents built along the stream and up the slope, creating the compact, steep-laned village tucked into the inlet today.
Near Uradome Beach, Arasago Shrine honors a guardian of the sea; look for its impressive dragon carving, which dates to the Edo period. The coast’s seaside history and its fishing community’s spiritual life meet in one small landmark.
