Sugashima Lighthouse

Sailors of old so feared the shoals and currents where the waters of the Pacific converge with those from Ise Bay that they nicknamed this spit of land Oni-ga-saki, or “Devil’s Cape.” The lighthouse, designed and constructed by British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, was first lit on July 1, 1873, becoming one of Japan’s first modern lighthouses. The striking brick structure was styled after the round tower of a European castle. Saigo Takamori (1828–1877), on whose life the 2003 Hollywood film The Last Samurai was loosely based, attended the lighting ceremony. The lighthouse is closed to visitors except on the day of the Shirongo Matsuri festival in July.