Town of Ikata
Home | Site Map | Contact Us | 日本語
Town of IkataHome | Site Map | Contact Us | 日本語
Part of the Seto Sea National Park, this chalk-colored lighthouse stands at the tip of Sadamisaki, Japan's longest peninsula. On clear days you can see all the way to Kyūshū on the other side of the Hōyo Strait.
A walking path lined with ancient trees takes you all the way to the Sadamisaki Lighthouse. It's nice and cool here in the summer, and the leaves in autumn are a sight to behold.
Near the Sadamisaki Lighthouse one can find a campground and ocean swimming area.
This is a very popular spot for vacationers during the summer, and from mid-July you can make use of vendors, showers, and bungalows.
A Prefectural Natural Park, Mt. Garan stands 413.6 m (1,350 ft) tall. From the observation deck at its peak you can look out over Kyūshū and Honshū. There are also walking trails and a wild bird preserve.
Mt. Garan is also known for its beautiful cherry blossoms, as well as its numerous Buddhist statues and natural caves.
This park is located near the peak of Mt. Garan, the tallest mountain on the Sadamisaki peninsula (413.6 m / 1,350 ft). Surrounded by a broadleaf forest and overlooking the Uwa and Misaki seas, this is a wonderful place to bask in the beauty of nature.
The facilities here span 135 acres and include a farm, management building, and a charcoal-producing furnace. You can experience all aspects of farm life, from planting to harvesting to processing crops.
There are also open areas available for outdoor barbecues and other events.
Amida Pond, located near the south shore of Misaki Bay, is a lagoon spanning about 5 hectares. Koi, eels, and striped mullets live in the pond, making it a popular spot year-round among fishing enthusiasts. This pond is great for birdwatching, cherry blossom viewing, and walks through the morning mist. In the nearby Inoura Ikejiri area you can see wind- and wave-breaking stone walls.
To the south there is a beautiful white beach, which is part of a Prefectural Park where you can go camping and swimming.
This 307 m (1,010 ft) man-made beach was built over the 8 years between 1989 and 1996. With the beach's gently curved breakwater, the rise and fall of the ocean tides make shape of the sand mimic the wax and wane of the moon.
The swimming and summer camping here can't be beat.
Boulders, shaped as if by a master artisan's chisel, the shimmering green pines, the mirror-like surface of the sea; become lost in these sights while surrounded by beach trees in this beautiful natural getaway.
The boulders here are made of limestone and aqueous rock, and were once processed into marble and used as decorative building materials.
(Town-designated Cultural Heritage Site)
It is thought that this shrine was built in the year 860, but the actual date is not known.
It is said that when its ancient torii arch toppled over during an earthquake, it was rebuilt with the one pillar that remained standing.
Until the Meiji Restoration, this shrine was held to be dedicated to the god Hachiman, who protected the 15 bays in the Misaki area. It was then changed to a more general god of protection.
It's said that off the nearby coast, a fisherman once saw something glowing in the sea. He dove down into the water and found that a giant octopus held in its tentacles a golden statue of the Buddha Amitabha. After a mighty struggle, he managed to haul the statue up to his boat, where he immediately passed out.
Upon hearing his story, the captain Chōzaemon said "This statue must have started glowing in the hopes that a holy spirit might appear in this world," and they enshrined it on Ōshima. However, since no one could make pilgrimage to the shrine during storms or high tide, after consulting with the bay area residents they decided to move the shrine to Nosaka where it has been ever since.
(Town-designated Cultural Heritage Site)
This temple of the Rinsai-Myōshinji sect is located on a raised plot behind the Kami neighborhood. The main hall is over 200 m2 (2,200 sq ft). Long ago it was called Dannaji Temple.
The subject of worship at this temple is Amitabha. It is thought to have been built specifically for members of a Misaki family to worship their ancestors. It was rebuilt in 1652, and again many times over the years.
(Registered Cultural Heritage Site)
Between the Hiraiso and Kamagi neighborhoods there is a small beach at the bottom of a steep slope. On this beach there are granite rocks piled up to make a platform, on which sits this concrete cable house.
The building itself is very small, but the arched entrance, the tiled window frames, and the stuccoed walls all echo the modernist tastes of a time long past.
This building was made in March of 1927 as a facility to hoist onto shore an undersea cable that stretched all the way from Saganoseki, Kyūshū.
In those days all telephones were wired, and these undersea cables helped greatly to provide speedy communication between the islands of Japan.
(Registered Cultural Heritage Site)
The Shōnodani Pier is 50 m (160 ft) long and 5 m (16 ft) wide, and is made of concrete and some metal. It is equipped with a device to make it resistant to damage from rough waves, and is supported by 24 pillars. This pier was built for the purpose of bringing ashore materials to build the second Tōyō Fortress Cannon Platform.
Sharing the same cliff as the Sadamisaki Lighthouse, a cannon platform built by the former Japanese military stands as a reminder of times long past.
(Registered Cultural Heritage Site)
In 1919 the decision was made to build the Toyo Fortress, and in 1921 construction began on the Sadamisaki Cannon Platform.
The first platform (4 cannons and support facilities) was finished in 1926, and the second (4 howitzers and support facilities) in 1927.
(Registered Cultural Heritage Site)
It is unknown when exactly the Misaki Metalworks was constructed, but it appears to have existed on the Doji-bana Point since before 1897. Upon inspecting the remains, it seems that the metal refining method used was a traditional one dating back to the Edo period: Mining, stamping, burning, then melting.
When it was in operation 20 to 30 people worked here, but due to various causes such as smoke damage to the environment, rapidly falling copper prices, and economic downturn, the metalworks closed at the end of the Meiji period.
There still remains today 3 brick chimneys and a few furnaces, as well as some metal waste byproducts littered about the area.
This is one of the many windbreaking stone walls you can see criss-crossing the landscape. It has long protected the local residents from strong winds and gales.
The Natori neighborhood sits upon a slope overlooking the Uwa Sea at a height of 100–150 m (330–490 ft). It is said that the settlement was formed when Hidemune Date moved from Sendai (then part of the Ōshū region) to establish the Uwajima clan in Shikoku. He brought with him men from Natori Village in Ōshū to be soldiers, placing them in their current location so that they could guard the Uwa Sea approach.
An interesting characteristic of the Natori stone walls is the variety of stones, from bluestone to limestone, used in its construction.
Also, perhaps because the ground is unstable, the method of stacking the stones is also quite unique, varying from field stacking to flat stacking, arrowfeather stacking, and so on.
As a result, the wall has become a symbol for the rich and varied culture of the area.
(Nationally-designated Natural Heritage Site)
Akō trees are a member of the mulberry family, and are subtropical evergreens.
The Misaki akō tree can be found towering above the stone walls along the road leading from Misaki Port toward the lighthouse.
As this is as far north as akō trees can grow, this particular tree was designated a Natural Heritage Site by the Japanese government in 1921.
1993-1 Minatoura, Ikata-chō, Nishiuwa-gun, Ehime-ken 796-0301, Japan
TEL: (0894) 38-0211 FAX: (0894) 38-1373 Email
All Rights Reserved Copyright © Town of Ikata
Town Profile
Town Office
International Relations
Sightseeing & Events
Local Products
Public Facilities
Emergency Info
Newsletter
Links
Privacy Policy