Jogasaki Coast

About four thousand years ago Omuroyama, a scoria cone inland, erupted and sent lava down to the sea; the flow cooled against the water and the coastline that resulted is columnar rock, sea caves, inlets and stacks running for roughly nine kilometres. A trail follows it, mostly at the cliff edge and mostly easy, and the two set pieces are close together at the northern end - the Kadowaki suspension bridge, forty-eight metres long and twenty-three above a chasm with the sea working underneath, and the black-and-white Kadowaki lighthouse with a free viewing deck. Away from those the path is quiet, through low windshorn scrub with the Izu Seven Islands visible offshore on clear days. The southern section around Renchakuji is the wilder half. Winter is the good season here: clear air, no humidity and no crowds.

The landscape

• A lava coastline - columnar rock, caves and stacks from an eruption four thousand years ago.
• The Kadowaki bridge - forty-eight metres across a chasm, twenty-three above the sea.
• A nine-kilometre trail - clifftop walking, quiet away from the northern end.
• The Izu islands - visible offshore on clear days.

When to go

October to May; winter for clear air and empty paths. Half a day.

Practical notes

The suspension bridge area is crowded and the rest of the trail is not - budget accordingly. The path is exposed with no shade and no water. Sections are closed by rockfall at times. Summer is humid and the coast has little shelter.

Nearby

Ito Onsen is north; Omuroyama and Izu Shaboten are inland.

Key facts