Aka Todai (Red Lighthouse)
Showing change over the ages
This is an excellent spot for a geotour. Down past the torii gate of the small Shinto shrine is a natural beach with many good examples of beachrock, a young sedimentary rock composed of the pebbles, shells, and other materials found here and naturally cemented together by carbonate compounds.
Across the channel is Shimayama Island. The exposed face of the island clearly shows the folding and erosion that has occurred over the millennia, as faults and the forces pulling the islands apart have caused some layers to tip upwards or downwards, while others have remained horizontal. This is perhaps the best place on Fukue Island to see continuous bands of granite, sandstone and mudstone, and the dramatic shapes caused by the massive geological forces.
The channel is dredged to allow the passage of fairly large ships. With the approach of typhoons, a common danger in the waters around Kyushu, ships head here to weather the storms. The Aka Todai (“red lighthouse”) is located where the channel opens to the sea.