The rows of Washingtonian palm trees planted along the Nichinan coast from Aoshima to Cape Toi make this coast the West coast. I’ve never been to the West Coast. . . . Probably like this. In Japan, cars drive on the left, so it’s best to drive from north to south for a comfortable drive along the sea side. Beware of distracted driving. Here we will introduce five of the highlights, starting from the north.
1. The biggest one of Demon’s Washboards widely distributed on the Nichinan coast. If you leave Aoshima and immediately take a side street on the left from main road toward Horikiri Pass, you will find the roadside station “Phoenix” with a symbolic Phoenix trees. The view of Demon’s Washboard from here is spectacular.
west coast (1)
west coast (4)phoenix
west coast (3)mango soft serve ice cream
2. Nanatsuiwa (Seven Rocks) seen from the Inozakihana observation deck. After passing Aburatsu Fishing Port and entering a side street on a small hill, there is a parking lot that may seem a bit worrying. From here, if you continue along the sidewalk, which makes you even more worried, you will come to a wooden observation deck.
west coast (7)seven stones
hashiguiiwa in wakayama
The seven steep rocks look like the remains of magma that has erupted from cracks on the ocean floor and solidified. This is similar to Hashigui Rock at Kushimoto (Wakayama Prefecture) in the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula.
west coast (5)
west coast (6)
west coast (8)
3. The beauty of the coast seen from the roadside station Nango. No explanation needed. The handmade sweets you can get from roadside stations shop are delicious.
west coast (9)left
west coast (10)center
west coast (11)right
west coast (12)
west coast (13)road station nango
west coast (15)
west coast (14)
4. White sand beach on the Ishinami beach. It is famous as a spawning ground for loggerhead sea turtles. That’s why the coast is beautiful. Let’s watch from a distance. On the opposite shore is Kojima Island, which is home to wild monkeys.
Immediately after the low-pressure system passed, strong winds blew away the leaves of the Washingtonian palm trees planted along the road, but the 20 meter tall trunks remained motionless. It is said that the founder of Miyazaki Kotsu Co.,Ltd. started planting trees as a tourist attraction, but pruning businesses in Miyazaki City now use cranes to carry out the heavy maintenance work. Nevertheless the work can’t keep up, chunks of skin are falling all over the town.
aoshima shrine (1)
The Nichinan Coast, which is lined with Washington palm trees, is made up of layers of hard sandstone and soft mudstone that rise diagonally and have been washed by waves for long time. As a result, there are many landforms where only sandstone layers appear stacked up like plates. Due to its size, it is called the demon’s washboard, but it is a long time ago that laundry was scrubbed with a washboard by hands to remove dirt, and in the era of fully automatic washing machines, very few people were aware of this. Probably not. I think it might be a good idea to come up with a new name to replace the demon’s washboard.
aoshima shrine (8)
aoshima shrine (21)
aoshima shrine (4)soil of aoshima
There is a theory that in Aoshima, seeds that washed up from the Pacific Ocean germinated on the small amount of soil that had accumulated on this demon’s washboard, and subtropical plants flourished there. Aoshima Shrine is enshrined surrounded by these subtropical plants, and the vivid vermilion of the shrine, the vibrant deep green of the subtropical plants, and the blue of the sea that can be seen from the shrine create a color collaboration. This combination is special.
aoshima shrine (7)
aoshima shrine (9)
aoshima shrine (10)
aoshima shrine (11)
aoshima shrine (16)baseball team Giants prayer for victory
aoshima shrine (12)subtropical plants
aoshima shrine (15)
aoshima shrine (13)find special shell
aoshima shrine (14)matchmaking paper twist
aoshima shrine (17)
aoshima shrine (18)
aoshima shrine (19)
aoshima shrine (20)tuk tuk
The myths surrounding Aoshima Shrine were written in the oldest classic, the Kojiki. Yamasachihiko, who borrowed a fishing hook from his brother Umisachihiko, dropped it in the sea and ended up at the Sea Palace looking for it. After living a rich life there for three years, he came back and returned the fishing hook to Umisachihiko, but the relationship between the two did not go well and there was some quarrel. However, it is a story that doesn’t quite make sense. Most Japanese myths don’t have a punch line, so you might be left with a feeling of being empty. Similarly, Rakugo, which tells a comic story just by copying the form of the voice, has a punch line at the end of the story, but it’s not as interesting as the middle of the story.
aoshima shrine (2)
aoshima shrine (6)slab eroded as skeleton
The only thing here is to enjoy the creations of nature, not myths. To do this, check the low tide time in advance and go sightseeing around that time. Otherwise, the demon’s washboard would be submerged in the sea. Some of the sandstone slabs have structures that make you wonder how they were eroded to form such patterns. However, when I look at the neatly lined sandstone slabs, am I the only one who notices that they look like mahjong tiles stacked on top of one another?
aoshima shrine (5)sandstone slabs
Detour 1 (Botanic Garden)
aoshima botanic (3)
On the way from the parking lot to Aoshima inland, we passed a subtropical botanical garden. It really makes you feel like you’re in a tropical country. Admission is free.
aoshima botanic (9)
aoshima botanic (4)
aoshima botanic (2)
aoshima botanic (6)
aoshima cafe life (1)
aoshima cafe life (2)
Detour 2 (Chicen dishes)
Miyazaki’s specialty is chicken dishes. Charcoal-grilled chicken is cooked over a strong fire until it is charred and eaten with wasabi. Addictive taste. On the other hand, fried chicken “Nanban” is on the menu at all times of the day, and depending on the restaurant, different parts of the chicken are used, such as breast, thigh, or chicken fillet. The chicken fillet is the most recommended. Eat with special homemade tartar sauce. This makes it even more delicious. Please enjoy Miyazaki night!
miyazaki night (3)charcoal-grilled chiken with wasabi
