Thunder Rock and Ramboya Gorge
The view of Kaminariiwa Rock (Thunder Rock) and Ramboya Gorge from the nearby observatory is one of the highlights of the Goishi Coast. Kaminariiwa Rock is a massive, 30-meter-tall formation that was thrust up from the seafloor during the Cretaceous period, some 130 million years ago. It got its name from the thunderous sound made when waves compress air in the cavities eroded in the rock face. The cliffs are home to black-tailed gulls and slaty-backed gulls, whose breeding season lasts from late spring to early summer, and Japanese cormorants, which dive for fish in the waters below.
The observatory at the rock is a short, barrier-free walk from the Goishi Coast Information Center. The rock can also be viewed close-up from one of the sightseeing boats run by local fishermen, who take a route along the coast and through the narrow channel when the weather and tides permit. From that vantage point, it is difficult to imagine that almost half of this huge rock was inundated when the tsunami from the Great East Japan Earthquake crashed against it on March 11, 2011.