Hashigui-iwa

Locally knownKnown to people who live here. Not in the international guidebooks.

Investigado y escrito por Hinato

Hashigui-iwaKushimotonatural monumentsunriserock pillars

Photo: Yudai_photography / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · original

About forty pillars of rock stand in a line across the shallows at Kushimoto, running roughly 850 metres from the shore toward Oshima island. They are the remains of a magma intrusion that was harder than the mudstone around it; the sea removed the soft rock and left the hard. The name means bridge-pillar rocks, and the folk explanation is a contest between Kobo Daishi and a demon in which the bridge was left unfinished.

It is a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument. At low tide you can walk out across the flats to Benten island partway along the line. The rocks face east, so this is a sunrise site — the sun comes up between the pillars and the whole line silhouettes. There is a large free car park and a roadside station beside it, and the highway runs past the top of the beach.

Información esencial

Horario

Open access | Sunrise is the best time

Cerrado: Open year-round

Entrada

Free | Free parking for 49 cars

Mejor temporada

Year-round | Sunrise at low tide in any season

Duración de la visita

45–60 minutes

Cómo llegar

Información de acceso

Hashigui, Kushimoto, Higashimuro District. About a short walk from JR Kushimoto Station, by car, or by Kushimoto town community bus to the Hashigui-iwa stop. Free to visit, with parking for 49 cars, 6 large vehicles and 2 accessible spaces. At low tide it is possible to walk out to Benten island partway along the line; the car park fills quickly around low tide.

Guía privilegiada

**Sunrise, and check the tide.** The rocks face east and the low-tide flats let you walk out among them. Getting both at once is the trip; the tide tables and the sunrise time are both worth checking. **The car park fills at low tide.** Forty-nine spaces, and everyone comes when the flats are exposed. Early is the only answer. **Walk to Benten island.** At low water the sand and rock flats let you reach the island partway along the line, which puts you inside the row rather than looking at it. **It is a geological feature, not a ruin.** Hard igneous rock left standing after the softer surrounding stone eroded. The folk story about Kobo Daishi and the demon is the better tale but the rock is the reason. **Combine with Shionomisaki.** The southernmost cape and its lighthouse are fifteen minutes away.

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