Shiraragahama Sand Dunes

The Shiraragahama Sand Dunes cover roughly 20 hectares on Nagasaki's coast, formed over time as sea winds carried sand inland from a nearby beach. The dunes are slowly changing: pioneer grasses take root in the sand, decay and enrich the soil, and gradually make it hospitable for shrubs and forest trees from the surrounding woodland. Walking through the dunes today, you can see both open sandy stretches and places where the forest is already reclaiming the ground. Before reaching the dunes, visitors pass through Shiraragahama Man'yo Park, planted with species mentioned in the eighth-century poetry anthology Man'yoshu.