Ise-Shima National Park: The Coast That Once Fed the Imperial Court
The park covers most of the Shima Peninsula: 55,544 hectares of bays, islands, shrines and fishing villages warmed by the Kuroshio Current. A guide to its viewpoints and its calendar.
Ise-Shima National Park covers most of the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture, an area of 55,544 hectares. The region was historically known as Miketsu Kuni, the providers of food to the imperial court. The warm Kuroshio Current gives it a mild climate, and the landscape reflects satoyama and satoumi, the management of land and sea that balances human needs with nature. Cliffs, caves, sandy beaches and islands line the coast, where cormorants, ospreys and turtles live.
At its heart is Ise Jingu, which the Japan National Tourism Organization calls Japan’s most venerated Shinto site: a complex of 125 shrines with a history of about 2,000 years, dedicated to the sun deity Amaterasu Omikami. Its two main shrines are the Naiku and the Geku. Oharaimachi, a street of wooden buildings, leads to the Naiku, the Isuzu River flows to the inner shrine, and the sacred Kyuikirin forest rises behind it. Nearby forests supply the timber used to rebuild the shrine every 20 years. The calendar includes the Kannamesai festival in October and Kagura dance performances in April and September.
To the south, Ago Bay is bordered by the Sakishima Peninsula, dotted with small islands and aquaculture rafts, and is best seen by kayak, canoe or sightseeing cruise. Tomoyama Park has a viewpoint and a campsite over the bay, while Yokoyama, on the north side, has several viewpoints; Miharashi Observatory is the highest, with azaleas that bloom in summer. At Toba, the Toba Observatory on Pearl Road overlooks the bay’s islands, and Toba Bay has four inhabited islands, including the karst rocks of Kamishima.
Osatsu, a fishing community on Matoya Bay, has more ama divers than any other town in Japan, and its Ama Hut Experience lets visitors meet divers and eat fresh seafood. More than 600 ama still work in Mie. At Futami, the Meoto Iwa wedded rocks are joined by a sacred rope, with a torii on the larger rock, and the sun rises between them from May to July.
Further south, in the Shima area, the Kinki Nature Trail begins at Cape Anorisaki. Ichigohama is a nesting site for loggerhead turtles, Cape Daiosaki and the Kumanonada Sea coast are habitats for seabirds, and Goza-Shirahama is a swimming beach. The Shiokake Festival at Wagu, held every June, is about 800 years old and celebrates fishing. The park’s highest peak, Mount Asama, rises to 555 metres, and its observatory looks across Ise Bay towards Mount Fuji. The park has visitor centres at Yokoyama and Toba; check them for current information on events and access.
Sources
Japan National Tourism Organization, Explore Ise-Shima National Park.
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