Akiya Coast by the beautiful emerald-green sea
Akiya Coast can be reached by car in 20 minutes from Port Hishiura. The ocean takes on an emerald-green color due to the white sands at the bottom of the sea, and the contrast between the reddish-brown cliffs and the bizarre rocks makes for a scene that cannot be seen anywhere else. There is a legend about the goddess of the island having been born here, and the supposed birth site of Tarai Rock as well as the sheer cliffs can be seen from the sea. In the summer, the swimming beach and the campground are open. The rocky swimming area is popular with people from both the island and abroad.
The Heart Rock popular as a matchmaking spot
When you walk on the nature trail along the coast, you will see a very tall rock. At a low position on its rugged crimson face, there is a heart-shaped hole which has been carved out of it. Known as the Heart Rock, it’s popular as a matchmaking spot and a place for good luck. The area along the trail has bare cliffs consisting of red rock walls hardened from spatters of molten rock due to volcanic activity 2.8 million years ago and black cliffs from hardened lava where you can touch the actual rocks which were spewed from the volcano. The tall rocks were also once part of the island’s rock walls, a landscape created from nature which will amaze you.
The Ama tour
There is a tour called the “Gurutto Ama Tour” (All Around Ama Tour) on which you can get a condensed look at the history, culture and nature of the town of Ama which includes the Akiya Coast. Leaving Port Hishiura at 10:00am, the course lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes in which you can get a complete tour of the famous sites such as Oki Shrine, Gotoba-in and Mt. Kinkoji. If your schedule allows it, why not include this tour which takes place from April 1st to November 20th?