Anorisaki Lighthouse

Anorisaki Lighthouse has guided ships along this stretch of the Shima coast since 1681, when a beacon was first lit here for the Tokugawa Shogunate's rice ships. The 1873 wooden replacement, designed by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, was the first lighthouse in Japan to use the Fresnel lens, an example of which can be examined at the on-site Lighthouse History Museum. The current concrete structure dates from 1948 and has an unusual square shape. Climb to the top and you can see calm Matoya Bay on one side and open Pacific on the other. On clear winter days, Mt. Fuji is sometimes visible from here.