Cape Ashizuri
Cape Ashizuri
Cape Ashizuri is the southernmost point of Shikoku, located at the tip of a peninsula projecting into the vast Pacific Ocean. It’s part of the Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park. A path winds around the coastline through woodland of windswept subtropical plants and camellia. The path links the seven mysteries of the cape which include a rock shaped like a turtle’s head, a rocking stone, and a bottomless well. Drop a coin into it, and listen carefully…
The Tengu no Hana observation deck offers the best view of Cape Ashizuri with its white lighthouse. The lighthouse built in 1960 is designed to look like a rocket. Ashizuri is one of the few places where the view is so uninterrupted that you can actually see the curvature of the horizon. Here you can also see the Kuroshio Current as it passes Shikoku. Ashizuri is an excellent place to see the stars at night since there’s almost no ambient light from the land.
As you walk along the coastal path, look back towards the Tengu no Hana promontory. It looks remarkably similar to a wild boar, with visible front legs, tusks, and even the tuft of hair on top of its head.
Kongofuku-ji Temple on Cape Ashizuri is one of the largest of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. Another landmark is the statue of Nakahama “John” Manjiro, who was shipwrecked near here.
The Hakusan Domon is a huge rock arch on the shoreline with a Shinto shrine above the arch. If you look carefully at the surface of rock facing the shore, you’ll discover the profile of a slightly indignant-looking young woman.
You can also enjoy Cape Ashizuri from the sea by taking a ride on a fishing boat from the nearby port. Besides provisioning fishermen on various rocks, the boat sails right into the rocky inlets along the coast, giving you a close look at the numerous caves that penetrate deep into the peninsula. One of the caves passes under the bottomless well into which you may have dropped a coin. The wild boar of Tengu no Hana is particularly spectacular from the sea.
Information
Name in Japanese: 足摺岬
Pronunciation: ashizuri misaki
Address: Ashizurimisaki, Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture 787-0315
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