Tourism
Information
Stroll along Koijigahama Beach, while listening to the sound of the waves. Taste the seasons with fruit picking.
There are plenty of sightseeing spots to enjoy nearby the Irago Ocean Resort, from Seaside watching on a ferry or sightseeing boat to strolling around famous places and historical ruins.
Enjoy Nature
Cape Irago Lighthouse
The chalky white lighthouse standing on the tip of the Atsumi Peninsula, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with the dancing Kuroshio Current, and Mikawa Bay with its calm deep-blue waves. Since it was built in 1929, the lighthouse has been keeping watch over many ships as they come and go across the ocean. Cape Irago Lighthouse was chosen as one of Japan's 50 Best Lighthouses in 1998, for its memorable beauty.
This spot is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel.
Koijigahama Beach
This is a beautiful beach curved by the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean. It stretches for about one kilometer along the Pacific Ocean coastline, between the Cape Irago Lighthouse to the Hii no Sekimon Island. Koijigahama Beach has been chosen as one of Japan's Top 100 Roads, Beaches, White sand and green pines, and Soundscapes.
This spot is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel, or you can walk there - it takes about 15 minutes.
Hii no Sekimon Island (Stone Gate of Sunrise)
Hii no Sekimon Island (Stone Gate of Sunrise) has a cave in the center of it, created by erosion from the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean. As the name suggests, the two pieces of rock on either side of the cave—the Oki no Sekimon (Open Sea Gate) and Kishi no Sekimon (Coast Gate)—frame the rising sun to create a stunning silhouette. With views to the Shima Peninsula through Kamishima Island in the west, and Katahama Jusan-ri Beach stretching out to the east, Hii no Sekimon Island is a scenic place of breathtaking views.
This spot is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel.
Irago Beach
(Coconut Beach Irago)
With a coastline that connects to Irago Port, Irago Beach feels like being in the tropics! Enjoy swimming at this popular resort beach, with its crystal clear and clean waters and white sand. In summer the beach comes alive in an array of colorful beach parasols.
This spot is about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.
Strawberry Picking
Rich red strawberries, each carefully grown inside a greenhouse using the raised bed cultivation methods. Take your time to choose and pick these strawberries, and then feast on as many as you like.
This strawberry farm set in the luscious nature of the Atsumi Peninsula welcomes locals and tourists to pick and eat their juicy and sweet strawberries. Strawberry picking is available from January to April.
This spot is about 10 to 20 minutes by car from the hotel.
Melon Picking
The Atsumi Peninsula is known for being one of Japan's leading areas for melon production. It is where you will find juicy and sweet muskmelons (cantaloupes). Take your time to choose and pick these perfectly round melons, and then enjoy eating some. Each farm offers various picking plans to choose from. Melon picking is available from May to November, and the melons are in season from June to August.
This spot is about 10 to 20 minutes by car from the hotel.
Clam Digging at Low Tide
Have fun digging for clams at low tide, while enjoying the salty sea breeze. Short-neck clams from Mikawa Bay are known for being tasty, and so many people enjoy digging for them at low tide. After you have collected enough clams, you can fully enjoy the flavor of Japanese short-neck clams such as in clam soup and steaming them in salt and Japanese sake.
This spot is about 15 minutes by car from the hotel.
Migratory Birds of Cape Irago
You can see many migratory birds in Cape Irago from around the middle of September to early November. This includes the migration of majestic hawks, which peaks around early October. Some days you can see up to 2,000 hawks flying across the cape in one day, filling the sky as they head to the Shima Peninsula on the opposite shore.
You can also see migratory birds from the resort's rooftop floor.
Chrysanthemums Grown in Artificial Light
These chrysanthemums are grown in artificial light once the season changes to autumn. By extending the hours of exposure to light using artificial light, flower growers are able to prolong the flowering period and meet the peak demand for shipping chrysanthemums during the New Year period up to the equinoctial week of spring, when many chrysanthemums are used in Buddhist services. The Atsumi Peninsula has numerous greenhouses for growing chrysanthemums in artificial light, creating a beautiful nightscape.
You can also see the nightscape from the resort's rooftop floor.
Experience History & Culture
Irago Todai-ji Temple Tile Kiln Ruins
The Irago Todai-ji Temple Tile Kiln Ruins are one of the ancient kilns in Atsumi, which was actively used in the production of tiles from the Heian to Kamakura periods. Three cave kilns are preserved at this site. These kilns were utilized to fire the tiles used during the Kamakura Period reconstruction of Nara Todai-ji Temple. Round and flat-shaped eave-end roof tiles engraved with “Todai-ji Daibutsuden Tile,” flat tiles, tiles engraved with passages from Buddhist sutras, pagoda towers made with tiles, and other religious artifacts have been unearthed.
This spot is about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.
Manyo no Kahi (Poems & Poetry) Monument
Built on the slopes of Mt. Koyama is the Manyo no Kahi (Poems & Poetry) Monument, which can be seen behind the lighthouse located at the tip of Cape Irago. Engraved on the monument is the poem, “Life's regrets are washed by the waves, cutting and eating the seaweed of the island of Irago.” This poem is from the Manyoshu and was carved in the style of Suiken Suzuki's handwriting. It is said that this poem was composed by Omi no Okimi, a member of the Imperial family of the Temmu Dynasty, when he was swept away to Irago.
This spot is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel.
Yashi-no-Mi (Coconut) Poetry Monument
In 1898, the folklorist Kunio Yanagita found a coconut on the beach at Irago, where he was staying for about a month and a half. He told his good friend the writer Shimazaki Toson about his discovery. This find became the inspiration of an ode to the coconut, which started with “A coconut, drifting to the shore from some nameless island, far away...”
This spot is about 5 minutes by car from the hotel.
Basho no Kuhi (Poetry) Monument
This is a stone slab with a Basho haiku poem written on it, located near the entrance of Irago Seaside Golf Club. In November 1687, Matsuo Basho visited his favorite pupil, Tokoku, who had secluded himself in Hobinosato. He wrote this haiku poem while he was on a trip to Cape Irago with Tokoku.
This spot is about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.
Tahara Municipal Museum
The Tahara Municipal Museum features exhibitions of many historical and precious objects, including materials related to Watanabe Kazan, a pioneer of the end of the Edo Period and a retainer in the Tahara Domain, who achieved fame as a painter and scholar of Western culture. The museum displays numerous items that easily introduce the life of Kazan, including the sword he used to end his own life, his suicide letter, other related paintings and calligraphic works, personal belongings, and other Important Cultural Properties.
This spot is about 40 minutes by car from the hotel.
Tahara City Atsumi History Museum
The museum features permanent exhibitions of archaeological materials excavated from ruins such as the Irago Todai-ji Temple Tile Kiln Ruins and Ikawazu Shell Mound, as well as folklore materials from the Taisho to Showa periods.
This spot is about 15 minutes by car from the hotel.
Atsumi Peninsula Festivals & Events
Gosendara Fire Festival
This fire festival is held at the Irago Shrine, from New Year's Eve to New Year's Day. Participants pray for a peaceful and safe new year, as the flying embers of the fire wash over them.
This spot is about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.
Onzo Festival
This is a venerable festival with a long history. It is said that the festival originates from a ceremony to dedicate silk cloth produced in the Mikawa province to the Ise Jingu Shrine as taxation in ancient times.
This spot is about 10 minutes by car from the hotel.
Atsumi Peninsula Nanohana Festival
Each year from early January to late March, the Atsumi Peninsula is awash in the vibrant yellow of over 10 million nanohana (field mustard) flowers. Various events are held during the flowering season, including nanohana (field mustard) picking, markets selling special produce from the area, and illumination of the nanohana (field mustard) fields.
This spot is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel.
Irago Triathlon
This is a popular triathlon event in Irago, where participants run through a scenic quasi-national park. The Irago Triathlon has been held every year in early September since 1987, and it attracts a wide range of participants, including professional athletes and others who are invited to take part. Tahara City residents also volunteer at the triathlon, which has become a major annual event in the area.
This spot is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel
Sightseeing Cruise from
Cape Irago
Ise Jingu Shrine
Ise Jingu Shrine consists of 125 shrines, including Kotaijingu (Naiku)—the Imperial Grand Shrine (Inner Shrine), dedicated to the revered deity Amaterasu-Omikami, the ancestral deity of the Imperial Family and great ancestral deity of the Japanese people—and Toyo'ukedaijingu (Geku), the Toyouke Grand Shrine (Outer Shrine), dedicated to Toyo'uke-no-Omikami, the guardian deity of clothing, food, housing and other industries.
It takes about 100 minutes from the hotel to reach Ise Jingu Shrine, by the Ise Bay Ferry and car.
Toba Aquarium
Toba Aquarium is one of Japan's largest indoor aquariums with 12 themed zones, and a collection of about 1,200 species and 30,000 marine life. The Sea of Mermaid is where the dugong (sea pig) lives, and it is one of the aquarium's popular zones.
It takes about 60 minutes from the hotel to reach Ise Jingu Shrine, by the Ise Bay Ferry and car.
Mikimoto Pearl Island
Kokichi Mikimoto established Mikimoto Pearl Island, which was the first place in the world to successfully develop cultured pearls. The island features a Pearl Museum with displays of artworks featuring pearls, as well as the Kokichi Mikimoto Memorial Hall and the Pearl Plaza store. A must-see is the diving demonstration of the Ama female divers wearing traditional Isogi white diving outfits.
It takes about 60 minutes from the hotel to reach Ise Jingu Shrine, by the Ise Bay Ferry and car.
Shino Island
Shino Island is located in the Mikawa Bay Quasi-National Park. It is only about a 4 km journey by boat from Morozaki Port, at the tip of the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. It has been called “Matsushima of the East Sea” since ancient times. The rich and varied coastline runs for 6 km around the island, and comprises several islands of varying sizes to create a scenery that is truly a work of art created by nature.
The island is about 30 minutes from the hotel, by the Meitetsu High-speed Boat.
Himakajima Island
Himakajima Island is only about a 2.4 km journey by boat from Morozaki Port, at the tip of the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. With a circumference of around 5.5 km, you can leisurely stroll around the island in about two hours. Himakajima Island is a great place to enjoy delicious and fresh seafood, such as octopus and pufferfish.
The island is about 40 minutes from the hotel, by the Meitetsu High-speed Boat.
Kamishima Island
Kamishima Island is located at the inlet of Ise Bay. It has a circumference of 3.9 km and an area of 0.76 km2, and it is administered by Toba City in Mie Prefecture. Known as the setting of Yukio Mishima's novel The Sound of Waves, Kamishima Island has been used five times as the movie location. It is a great place for a half-day trip from the hotel, as it is close to Irago and also has plenty of seafood to enjoy.
The island is about 20 minutes from the hotel, by the Meitetsu High-speed Boat.