Local Tourist Spots

The sea around Takegashima Island in Muroto Anan National Park is home to a variety of coral reefs and colorful tropical fish, also called the jewels of the southern seas, and is designated as a scenic spot along the beautiful coastline on Takegashima Underwater Park. The “Blue Marine” is an underwater sightseeing boat that takes passengers on a 45-minute cruise that departs from Takegashima Port. Passengers can look through a window at the bottom of the boat, where they can take a close-up view at Shishikui's underwater world of colorful fish such as solas, sparrows, and clownfish.

The Marine Jam museum is the base facility of the Takegashima Underwater Park. Inside the museum there is a small aquarium, and outdoors there is a pool where sharks, dogfish and humpback sharks live together. Today, Marine Jam is a popular place to enjoy marine sports, and during the summer the park becomes crowded with tourists who enjoy sea kayaking tours around the island and snorkeling.

On Takegashima Island, deities have been worshiped since ancient times. People used to come to the island by boat, and a smoke signal tower was established at the top of the island, which inevitably led to the development of a shipping port. Today, Takegashima Harbor is known as a landing and departure base for tuna fishing boats, and many fishing boats of islanders engaged in fishing and hunting can be seen in the harbor. On the north side of the harbor, underwater sightseeing boats from Marine Jam also come and go, making it a multi-functional fishing port.

Takegashima Shrine was built in the northwestern part of the island near Takegashima Harbor and has long been dedicated to the three deities Kunitsune, Okuninushi, and Kotoshironushi who are the guardians of maritime safety and bring plentiful fish catches. Every year on April 16 of the lunar calendar, the festival of the underwater mikoshi is accompanied by the sound of drums. People call out "Chosaja!," while they carry the portable shrine from the shrine grounds to Uraiso in the eastern part of the island, and from there they continue to carry it into the sea. This venerable festival of the "hama-iri" for the mikoshi was canceled in 2017 due to a shortage of young people from the nearby village to carry the mikoshi.

The single-track line, with only one train car per hour, gives you a taste of Tokushima's local flavor. The elevated platform at Shishikui Station is surprisingly modern. From the station to Shishikui Beach is a little more than 600 meters, and you can see Takegashima Island from the train.

Shishikui Onsen is a roadside rest stop located directly in front of Shishikui Beach and is also known as a surfer's paradise. In addition to selling local products, the adjacent Hotel Riviera Shishikui is famous for its natural hot spring baths. The huge baths are located on the second floor of the large resort-style hotel and this place is always bustling with local guests. It is the perfect place to relax after a long journey.

Shishikui Beach in Kaiyo Town has become famous for hosting surfing competitions. Lots of Surf stores line the prefectural road, which is a big sign that the town has developed as a mecca for surfers. One of the attractions of this area is that there are surfing schools where women and children can safely practice and learn how to surf. Takegashima Island, which is also designated as an underwater park, can be seen right from the beach.

Boasting a height of 30 meters and a width of 20 meters, the Shishikuiura Fossil Ripple Sculpture is one of the largest exposed fossil areas in Japan and is designated as a national natural monument. Approximately 40 million years ago, water currents caused the sand on the seafloor to undulate, which caused the sand to harden into ripple marks. Then, the rocks were pushed out by the oceanic plates due to tectonic movement and the fossil tilted toward the land side, forming a cliff that juts out above the ground exposing the beautiful layers of ripple markings on the fossil.

The small island Futakojima is located on the west side of Takegashima. Legend has it that the Golden Bird, the Kumano Gongen of Kii-Nachi, flew there. The golden bird is enshrined as a deity at Kumano Shrine, which was built on a hill in Kouura, Toyo-cho. Kumano Shrine has no torii gate because the torii was rebuilt many times but it always fell down. Since then, it has been known as a shrine without a gate. Like Takegashima Shrine, the golden bird is enshrined as a guardian deity of ocean safety and good fishing.

Shirahama Beach is the easternmost beach in Kochi Prefecture, located in the southwestern direction of Takegashima. Surrounded by a bay, the beach is 50 meters wide and shallow, and is crowded with many beach goers during the summer. As a Kochi Prefectural Coastal Green Park, there are beach houses and campgrounds, as well as spots where people can enjoy surfing and diving. During the summer, beach huts are set up and various events are held. Shopping for locally grown products is also popular.

Along with Shishikui Beach, this beach is known as one of the best surfing beaches in Shikoku. Because the beach has a topography that naturally breaks waves that are suitable for surfing, it is often used as a venue for surfing contests, and has a long history of being a favorite beach for surfers. Toyo town has proclaimed Ikumi Beach as a dedicated surfing beach. Takegashima Island can be seen 3.5 km away from Ikumi Beach.