Amanohashidate

Amanohashidate is a 3.6-kilometer sandbar lined with around 8,000 pines that stretches across the mouth of Miyazu Bay in northern Kyoto Prefecture, paired in tradition with Matsushima and Miyajima as the Three Views of Japan. The signature view is the upside-down look — bend forward and peer between your legs from Kasamatsu Park or Amanohashidate View Land, and the sandbar appears to float in the sky. At the northern end stands Motoise Kono Jinja, once the highest-ranking shrine of Tango Province and home to the Amabe genealogy, Japan's oldest surviving family record and a designated National Treasure. A short cable car from there reaches Nariai-ji, the 28th temple on the 33-stop Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, founded in 704. The JR Hashidate Limited Express runs direct from Kyoto Station in 2 hours 10 minutes; the area reads as an overnight stay, with onsen ryokan including the 320-year-old Seikiro and the bayfront Monjusou.

Top-rated in Amanohashidate

Amanohashidate

4.5

viewpoint

One of Japan's three great views, a pine-covered sandbar that appears to float when viewed inverted.

Motoise Kono Jinja Shrine

4.3

shrine

Motoise Kono Jinja Shrine became the highest-ranking Shinto shrine in Tango Province (present-day northern Kyoto Prefecture) during the Nara period (710–794).

Nariaiji Temple

4.3

temple

Nariaiji is a Shingon Buddhist temple located 350 meters above sea level on a mountain overlooking the Amanohashidate sandbar.

Site of Tango Kokubunji Temple

3.9

temple

Tango Kokubunji Temple was established in 741 as one of dozens of provincial temples built under Emperor Shomu (701–756).

Nearby in Kansai