Shimane · Izumo HinomisakiNo.800★★Open in map →
Hinomisaki Shrine and Lighthouse
— Vermilion shrine and stone tower on the cape west of Izumo
A cape west of Izumo Taisha where a vermilion shrine in two levels faces the sea and a white stone lighthouse stands on the headland above it. Both sit on the same short road, reached by one bus.
- FromIzumo Taisha bus terminal
- ~20 minIchibata bus from Izumo Taisha
- Get off atHinomisaki-jinja bus stop (Ichibata Bus)
- From there
- Hinomisaki Shrine and Lighthouse
The sweet spot
This is a well-signed cape with a car park and a bus route, not a secret. It stays manageable because most visitors to Izumo Taisha turn back at the great shrine, and because the bus out here runs on a country timetable rather than a tourist one.
Where it is
14 more notes in Shimane · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- The two-storey gatethe vermilion romon at the entrance, one of the designated buildings
- Hishizumi-no-miyathe lower hall for Amaterasu, lacquered red under a broad hipped roof
- Kami-no-miyathe upper hall for Susanoo, up a stone stairway on the terrace behind
- Fumishimathe uninhabited island offshore, a designated breeding ground for black-tailed gulls
- Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthousea stone tower of 43.65 metres, the tallest of its kind in Japan, open to climb
How to actually get there
- Izumo Taisha bus terminal to the Hinomisaki-jinja stop (Ichibata Bus, Hinomisaki line).
- Through the two-storey gate into the lower shrine court.
- Up the stone stairway behind it to the upper shrine on the higher terrace.
- North on the coast road to the lighthouse, passing the view out to Fumishima.
- Ichibata Bus from Izumo Taisha
- Buses on the Hinomisaki line leave the Izumo Taisha bus terminal and run out along the coast, reaching the cape in about twenty minutes. The road is narrow and winding with sea on one side, so the ride is part of the visit. Departures are spaced out through the day, so fix a return before you get off.
- Return from the cape
- The same line runs back through Izumo Taisha and on to JR Izumo-shi Station. Services thin out in the late afternoon and there is nothing else out here, so note the departures posted at the stop when you arrive rather than when you want to leave.
About the place
Hinomisaki is the western tip of the Shimane peninsula, out past Izumo Taisha where the road runs out at the sea. The shrine here is unusual in being built as two shrines at once: the lower hall, Hishizumi-no-miya, enshrines Amaterasu, and the upper hall, Kami-no-miya, stands on higher ground behind it for Susanoo. Both are lacquered vermilion in the gongen style, set against black pine and grey rock. North along the coast the land rises again, and a white stone lighthouse stands on the headland above the cliffs.
How to enjoy it
Do the shrine first and the lighthouse second, because the tower shuts over the middle of the day and again in the late afternoon. Late light suits this cape: the lower hall is named for the setting sun, and the west-facing cliffs by the lighthouse take the last of it. If the gulls are nesting on Fumishima you will hear them from the shore before you see them.
Background & history
The lower shrine is said to have moved to its present site in 948, from the small island offshore where it had stood before. The buildings you see now are later: the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu ordered the complex rebuilt, and the work was finished in 1644, in the gongen style with heavy vermilion lacquer and dense carving. The main halls, gate and corridor are designated Important Cultural Properties. The lighthouse belongs to a different century again, first lit in 1903, when the Meiji state was ringing the coast with masonry towers.
Before you go
- Cash
- The shrine grounds are free to enter. Climbing the lighthouse needs a small donation for the tour, 300 yen for junior high school age and above at the time of checking, with younger children free. Carry cash for the bus and the tower.
- Before you go
- The lighthouse interior keeps set hours, shorter in winter, and closes over the middle of the day; it is not open at all in bad weather. The cape is exposed and the wind off the Sea of Japan is strong. There is no lighting on the coast road after dark.
- Another way
- The same Ichibata Bus line starts at JR Izumo-shi Station and calls at Izumo Taisha on the way, so you can ride straight through from the station without changing.
- After you get off
- From the Hinomisaki-jinja stop the shrine gate is a couple of minutes on foot, back toward the water. For the lighthouse, keep going north on the coast road, or stay on the bus one stop further.