Nachi Coast

Two small beaches north of Nachi-Katsuura carry centuries of local legend. Akairo-no-Hama, or Red Beach, sits at the mouth of the Kujino-kawa River and is said to have been stained red during a battle involving the legendary Emperor Jimmu. Nearby, a throne-shaped boulder called Koshikake-ishi marks where he rested afterward. Shiragiku-no-Hama takes its name from Princess Shiragiku, a maidservant who, according to Kumano legend, spent her final years on the beach praying for her lord after the fall of the Taira clan. Both beaches are part of the larger Kumano Kodo sacred landscape.