West Izu · NishiizuNo.741★★Open in map →
Dogashima
— Sea caves and a tidal bar on the west Izu coast
A white tuff coast in west Izu where the sea has driven caves through the headland. The roof of the largest cave has fallen in, so light drops into it from above, and the collapse is what the place is known for.
- FromShuzenji Station
- ~1 min walk from the stopTokai Bus from Shuzenji
- Get off atDogashima (Tokai Bus, west coast route)
- On foot
- Dogashima
The sweet spot
Nothing here is hidden. Boats have been running into the cave for decades and the headland above it is a signed walking route. What most visitors do is pick one of the two, and the two are not the same experience: from above you see a shaft of water lit from directly overhead, from below you sit in the cave and watch the light land on it. Doing both takes about an hour.
Where it is
16 more notes in Shizuoka · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- The headland patha paved route leaving the coast road onto the low white promontory, a minute from the bus stop
- The skylighta fenced opening in the ground looking straight down into the cave and the boats passing through it
- Dogashima Marine pierthe ticket office and jetty in the inlet on the far side of the headland
- Sanshiro Islandsa cluster of white rocks just off the shore, worked over by seabirds
- Sehama, the tidal bara stone causeway about thirty metres wide that surfaces at spring low tide and reaches the nearest island
How to actually get there
- Mishima → Shuzenji Station (Izuhakone Railway).
- Shuzenji Station → Dogashima (Tokai Bus, west coast route toward Matsuzaki).
- Walk the headland path to the railed viewpoint over the skylight.
- Take the cave boat from the pier below, then return to the same stop.
- Tokai Bus down the west coast
- Shuzenji Station, the terminus of the Izuhakone Railway line up from Mishima, is the usual way in. Tokai Bus runs express and rapid services from there down the west coast towards Matsuzaki and calls at Dogashima. No reservation is taken and no express supplement is charged, but for the same reason no seat is guaranteed on a busy day. The stop is on the coast road directly above the headland.
- Return from the Dogashima stop
- The same coast service runs back up to Shuzenji, and other departures continue south to Matsuzaki. Buses are spread thinly through the day and the last one north leaves well before late evening, so photograph the timetable at the stop when you arrive and plan the boat around it rather than the other way round.
About the place
Dogashima is a short piece of white coast on the western side of the Izu Peninsula. The rock is tuff, ash and pumice settled when this part of Izu was still a submarine volcano, and it gives way to the sea far more readily than the black lava on the eastern shore does. What the water has left behind is a dense set of caves, arches and offshore stacks inside a walkable distance. The largest cave reaches a hundred and forty-seven metres in from the water, following a line of parallel faults through the rock. At one point its ceiling collapsed, leaving an opening to the sky.
How to enjoy it
The boat into the cave takes twenty minutes and leaves whenever it has passengers, through the middle of the day rather than on a timetable. Shizuoka's own tourism guide points to the hours around midday, when the sun is high enough to reach through the opening and turn the water inside blue. Walk the headland first so you know what you are looking up at from the water, then buy the ticket.
Background & history
The cave was designated a National Natural Monument on 27 August 1935, listed under the category for faults, caves and erosion. The national record describes it precisely: two entrances on the western side, horizontal passages joined inside, and a right-hand cavern that is broad and long, with a vertical shaft where the roof came down. A narrower, darker passage runs off to the left, recorded under the name Yoritomo's Hole. The islands offshore carry a story rather than a designation. They are named for Sanshiro of Izu, a retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and a local tale of a lost love attaches to the crossing.
Before you go
- Cash
- The headland path and the view down into the skylight cost nothing. The boat is ticketed at the Dogashima Marine office beside the pier, with a reduced child rate and a combined ticket available with the trick art museum next door. Current rates are posted at the office, and cash is the safe assumption.
- Before you go
- The boat runs at the mercy of the swell and is cancelled when the sea is up, which happens on clear days as well as wet ones. The headland is open, unlit and drops away on three sides, and the tuff crumbles at the edge. The bar out to the islands appears only around low water and goes under again as the tide turns.
- Another way
- From the south, buses come up the coast from Matsuzaki. By car, Route 136 runs past the site and there is parking on the headland including space for coaches; the town's tourism association routes drivers off the expressway at Numazu or Nagaizumi-Numazu and down the peninsula from there.
- After you get off
- From the Dogashima stop, cross to the sea side of Route 136 and take the paved path onto the headland, roughly a minute. The skylight viewpoint is signed and railed. The pier is below on the northern side of the same headland, reached by the steps down from the car park.