Nichinan coastal drive - Aoshima, Sun Messe Nichinan, Udo Jingu and Cape Toi

This is a very ambitious plan to visit all these places all in a day. So there is really a need to start the day early.

The Nichinan coastal drive is the my most anticipated place of interest. It started off well. Aoshima is very drafty. The spurt of wind will actually lift my bag off the shoulder. 

I came here as i wanted to see the geological formations along the beach. 

The Aoshima shrine next to it is just simple walk through for us. 

The pathway to Aoshima island and shrine where the strong winds blow.

Next stop is Sun Messe Nichinan housed the replicas of famous Moai figures from Easter Island carved by the Rapa Nui people. This is the only other place in the world with the statues. 

As time is of essence, we stayed an hour and left the place. We did not complete the entire park. The kids love the swings in the middle of the park. 

Udo Shrine (鵜戸神宮, Udo Jingū) is dedicated to Yamasachihiko, the father of Emperor Jimmu.

Its a steep and long walk to the temple especially if you are assigned to carparks 3 or 4. The nearest carpark is 1 about 5 minutes walk from the temple.

Here we are at the shrine entrance after 30 minutes of walking. 

To get to the temple, you need to walk steep slopes.

But the views are worth it.

The last part of the day is super rush for us. 

Cape Toi close at 6 pm. The way up is along cliffside roads with no lights. We arrived at 5 pm and most of the samurai horses are no longer grazing on the hill. 

 

Pretty views of the ocean near the lighthouse. We are lucky to see the setting sun. But we did not stay long.

This is the slope where the horses will usually graze. But the way up is quite challenging and you have to be able to climb up stairs with no support to make you way up. Its mainly slopes with indentations on the ground.