Jodogahama Beach

The rock here is a pale rhyolite that weathers white and splits into spires, and they stand in a broken line across the mouth of a small cove, sheltering water that is calm and clear inside them while the open Pacific works outside. A monk in the seventeenth century is said to have called it the Pure Land shore, and the name stuck. The beach itself is white pebble rather than sand. Small boats run out among the rocks and into the Blue Cave, a sea cave where the light through the water turns the interior a strong blue; larger sightseeing boats cover the coast north and south. Walking paths climb through pine to viewpoints above the cove. This coast was struck hard by the 2011 tsunami and the visitor facilities here were rebuilt; the Michinoku Coastal Trail, created afterwards along the whole shoreline, passes through.

What you actually see

• White rhyolite spires - pale rock standing across the mouth of the cove.
• Sheltered water - calm and clear inside the rocks, open Pacific outside.
• The Blue Cave - a sea cave reached by small boat, lit blue from below.
• Clifftop paths - pine-shaded routes to viewpoints above the beach.

When to go

May to October; swimming season is short in July and August. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The beach is pebble, not sand, and the water is cold. Boats do not run in swell. The area is remote and rail access has changed since 2011 - check current services. Facilities close outside the summer season.

Nearby

Miyako town is west; the Sanriku coast runs north and south.