Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse
Perched on a rocky cliffside overlooking the Sea of Japan, the Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse is a majestic ornament to the Shimane coastline. Rising 43.65 meters from the ground and 63 meters above sea level, it is the nation’s tallest stone lighthouse. Built in 1903, the lighthouse has guided ships along the peninsula for over a century.
The white walls have withstood Japan’s many earthquakes, likely thanks to innovations by the “father of Japanese lighthouses,” Richard Henry Brunton (1841–1901), who built over two dozen lighthouses in Japan. The Hinomisaki Lighthouse was modeled after Brunton’s lighthouses both in its reduced height—though it could have been taller, it would have been less stable—and its unusual two-layer design of an inner brick structure covered by an exterior of white stone.
Hinomisaki Lighthouse is registered as both a National Cultural Asset (2013) and as one of the world’s top-100 historic lighthouses (1998). Its canvas-like white walls reflect changes in the sea and sky, and its tower is stunningly silhouetted by the sunsets for which the region is famous.