The 100 Best Sunsets of Japan

Ogon Cape and Senbodai, Rumoi留萌市（黄金岬・千望台）Hokkaido

Ogon means golden: the cape was a lookout for the herring runs, and it takes its name from the shoals that flashed gold in the evening light as they surged toward the shore. The sun sets into the Sea of Japan beyond rocks that look like stacked columns, and from Senbodai, a hill 180 m above the port, you can see Teuri and Yagishiri islands and, on the clearest evenings, the cone of Rishiri.

Getting there: Rumoi has had no railway since April 2023: Engan Bus runs from Asahikawa (about 2 hours 10 min) and Chuo Bus from Sapporo (about 3 hours). The cape is 2.3 km from the former JR Rumoi Station, about 7 min by taxi.

Kamome-jima and Umasaka, Esashi江差町（かもめ島・馬坂）Hokkaido

A small island, 2.6 km around and about 30 m high, joined to Esashi harbour by a breakwater; Kitamaebune trading ships moored in its lee when the town grew rich on herring, and the sun goes down into the Sea of Japan beside its lighthouse. From Umasaka, a slope off the Inishie Kaido street of restored merchant houses, the island turns to a silhouette above the town's roofs.

Getting there: Hakodate Bus from Hakodate Station to Esashi, about 2 hours 15 min, or about 1 hour 15 min from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto; the JR Esashi Line closed in 2014.

Ikeda Wine Castle池田町（ワイン城）Hokkaido

The hilltop home of Tokachi Wine, Japan's first town-run winery, founded in 1963 and nicknamed the Wine Castle because the building looks like a medieval European castle. From the rooftop deck you look across the Tokachi plain to the ridge of the Hidaka Mountains, where the sun goes down; entry is free.

The building and its rooftop deck are open 9:00 to 17:00, and the deck can close in winter, the only season (roughly mid October to mid February) when the sun sets before closing time. On Saturdays the fourth-floor restaurant stays open until 20:00.

Getting there: JR Ikeda Station on the Nemuro Line (Limited Express Ozora, about 2 hours 40 min from Sapporo, 16 min from Obihiro); the castle is on the hill about 500 m from the station.

Senjojiki and Okazaki Coast, Fukaura深浦町（岡崎・千畳敷）Aomori

Senjojiki is a shelf of rock that an earthquake lifted out of the sea in 1792; the name comes from the story of a Tsugaru lord who had a thousand tatami mats laid on it for a banquet, and the Resort Shirakami train stops or slows here for the view. Near Fukaura town, at Okazaki, the sun sets beside Benten-jima, a small island whose shrine to Benzaiten dates from the Kitamaebune trade.

Getting there: JR Gono Line to Senjojiki Station, beside the rocks; Benten-jima at Okazaki is about 25 min on foot from JR Fukaura Station.

Nenokuchi, Lake Towada十和田市（子の口）Aomori

Nenokuchi is where the Oirase Stream leaves Lake Towada, on the north-east shore, so you look west across a caldera lake that lies 400 m above sea level and is 326.8 m deep, toward the rim where the sun goes down. It is also where the Oirase walking trail begins, and sightseeing boats cross to it from Yasumiya.

Getting there: JR Bus from Aomori Station (Mizuumi-go, about 2 hours to Oirase Keiryu Onsen) or Hachinohe Station (Oirase-go, about 1 hour 30 min), then on up the valley to Nenokuchi at the head of the stream. Our aomori guide

Cape Nyudo, Oga Peninsula男鹿市（男鹿国定公園）Akita

The north-west tip of the Oga Peninsula, a grassy terrace that ends in 30 m cliffs over the Sea of Japan, with a black-and-white striped lighthouse lit since 1898 and a stone monument marking the 40th parallel, which runs through the cape. The listing names the whole Oga Quasi-National Park; this cape at its tip is the classic place to watch.

Getting there: From JR Oga Station, the Namahage Shuttle shared taxi (book by 21:00 the day before) or a taxi, about ¥7,500; city buses run on residents' timetables. Our akita guide

Michi-no-Eki Kisakata and Kisakata Beachにかほ市（道の駅ねむの丘・象潟海岸）Akita

A roadside station on the Sea of Japan whose fourth-floor hot-spring bath faces the sunset and stays open until 21:00, with a sixth-floor observation room and the 1 km Kisakata beach alongside. Inland rise Mount Chokai and the Kujukushima, islands of the lagoon Basho came to see in 1689, left standing in rice fields since an earthquake lifted the land in 1804.

Getting there: About 25 min on foot or 5 min by car from JR Kisakata Station on the Uetsu Line.

Yunohama Beach, Tsuruoka鶴岡市（湯野浜海岸）Yamagata

A long sand beach facing west over the Sea of Japan in front of Yunohama Onsen, a hot-spring resort of 16 inns, several with baths that look straight at the sunset. A monument on the beach claims it as the birthplace of surfing in Japan, and the Kamo Aquarium, known for its jellyfish, is a few minutes down the coast.

Getting there: Shonai Kotsu bus from JR Tsuruoka Station to Yunohama Onsen, about 40 min (routes via Zenpoji or via Kamo Aquarium).

Ushiku-numa, Ryugasaki龍ケ崎市（牛久沼）Ibaraki

A marsh lake 6.5 km around, watched from the waterside decks of Ushikunuma Mizube Park on the south shore; on clear winter evenings Mount Fuji, 142 km away, stands against the sunset. The eel restaurants along Route 6 claim the lake as the birthplace of una-don, and it joined this list in 2024.

Getting there: About 1 km (15 min on foot) from JR Ryugasakishi Station on the Joban Line. Best: Winter, when Mount Fuji shows against the sunset on clear evenings.

Hojo Beach, Tateyama館山市（北条海岸）Chiba

Tateyama's town beach, about 900 m of sand, faces west across Tateyama Bay, nicknamed Kagami-ga-ura, the mirror bay, for its calm water, and in clear weather Mount Fuji, 110 km away, shows across the water. On the third Saturday of January the town has swum here in the cold every year since 1948.

Getting there: 5 min on foot (300 m) from the west exit of JR Tateyama Station.

Cape Gyobu, Asahi旭市飯岡（刑部岬）Chiba

A headland about 60 m high at the southern end of the Byobugaura cliffs, looking down on Iioka fishing port and the long curve of Kujukuri Beach; the third-floor deck of its observatory is open around the clock. In late February, on clear evenings, the sun sets exactly onto the summit of Mount Fuji, 186 km away.

Getting there: Chiba Kotsu bus from JR Asahi Station toward Choshi, about 30 min, to Todai-iriguchi, then 10 min on foot; community buses from Asahi, Iioka and Higata stations stop at Iioka Todai. Best: Late February, when the sun sets onto the summit of Mount Fuji.

Nanaura Coast and Senkaku Bay, Sado佐渡市相川（七浦海岸・尖閣湾）Niigata

About 10 km of raised, rock-strewn shore south of Aikawa, the old gold-mining town, where the sun sets into the Sea of Japan behind Meoto-iwa, a pair of sea stacks 22.6 m and 23.1 m tall. North of the town, the 30 m cliffs and coves of Senkaku Bay take their name from a comparison with Norway's Hardanger Fjord, and glass-bottom boats leave from the Ageshima park.

Senkaku Bay's cliff paths are inside the Ageshima park (¥600), open 8:30 to 17:30 from May to September and closing at 17:00 or 16:30 in spring and autumn, before sunset on most days. The Nanaura coast road is open at all hours.

Getting there: Ferry or jetfoil from Niigata to Ryotsu, then about 50 min by car; by bus, change at Sawata for the Nanaura Kaigan line to Meoto-iwa-mae, which on weekends and holidays must be booked by 17:00 the day before. Our niigata guide

Miharashidai, Nozawa Onsen野沢温泉村（見晴台）Nagano

A lookout at 950 m on the road up to the Kaminotaira plateau, with the roofs of Nozawa Onsen below and, across the Chikuma valley, the five peaks of northern Shinano, Madarao, Myoko, Kurohime, Togakushi and Iizuna, on the western skyline. Nagano Prefecture also lists it as one of its Shinshu Sunset Points.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip: about 20 min by car up from the village. Nozawa Onsen itself is about 25 min by the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus from Iiyama Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

Ikuji and the Kurobe Coast黒部市（黒部海岸）Toyama

Ikuji is an old port at the seaward tip of the Kurobe River fan, where spring water wells up in public basins and a 307-tonne road bridge over the harbour mouth swings 78 degrees aside for fishing boats, the first bridge of its kind in Japan. From the Ikuji-bana lighthouse, Toyama's oldest, the sun goes down across Toyama Bay behind the hills of the Noto Peninsula.

Getting there: Ikuji Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway is about 1.7 km from the lighthouse; the point has a 30-car car park. Our toyama guide

Cape Rokkozaki and the Nie Coast, Suzu珠洲市（禄剛埼・仁江の海岸）Ishikawa

The tip of the Noto Peninsula, where the inner and outer coasts meet, so from the same cliff the sun rises out of the sea and sets into it; the white stone lighthouse, lit in 1883, became a national Important Cultural Property on September 4, 2026. Down the west coast at Nie, salt makers still spread seawater over sand fields in the agehama method, kept alive in Suzu for about 500 years.

The January 2024 Noto earthquake shattered the lighthouse's Fresnel lens (an LED light replaced it in March 2025), and the September 2024 floods buried the Nie salt fields in mud. The Suzu Enden-mura roadside station reopened its shop fully on April 25, 2026, and Route 249 past Nie reopened through the Osaka tunnel on September 18, 2026. Michi-no-eki Noroshi, by the cape car park, opens Friday to Sunday only.

Getting there: Hokutetsu express bus from Kanazawa Station to Suzunari-kan-mae, then the Suzu Bus Noroshi route to Noroshi and 10 min on foot.

Tojinbo and Mikuni Sunset Beach坂井市（東尋坊・三国サンセットビーチ）Fukui

Sheer sea cliffs up to 25 m high, built of five- and six-sided columns of pyroxene andesite and protected since 1935 as a Natural Monument and Place of Scenic Beauty, with the sun setting straight out over the Sea of Japan. Mikuni Sunset Beach, a shallow 500 m swimming beach by Mikuni fishing port, is a short way down the coast.

Getting there: Keifuku bus 85 or 97 from Awara-Onsen Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen) to Tojinbo, about 40 min. Our fukui guide

Echizen Cape越前町（越前岬）Fukui

Conglomerate cliffs up to 100 m high drop straight into the Sea of Japan along the Echizen coast, with the cape's lighthouse shining from 133 m above the water. The slopes around it and the Suisen Land garden beside it are covered in daffodils from December to February, in the middle of the Echizen crab season.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip: public transport from Fukui means a Keifuku bus and then the Hoyahoya demand taxi, which must be booked. Best: December to February, when the daffodils flower on the cliffs. Our fukui guide

Wakasa Wada Beach, Takahama高浜町（若狭和田海岸・城山公園）Fukui

A long, shallow sand beach that in April 2016 became the first in Asia to earn the international Blue Flag certification, looking west across the bay to Aobayama, the 693 m cone called Wakasa Fuji, 8 km away. The town's tourism association sends sunset watchers to the north end of the path through Shiroyama Park, on the site of Takahama Castle, to see the sun go down behind that mountain.

Getting there: About 10 min on foot from Wakasa-Wada Station on the JR Obama Line; Shiroyama Park is 15 min from Wakasa-Takahama Station.

Dogashima and Otago Coast, Nishiizu西伊豆町（大田子海岸・堂ケ島海岸）Shizuoka

Nishiizu sells itself as the town of sunsets because its whole shore faces west over Suruga Bay: at Otago the sun drops behind rocky islets, one pierced by a hole the locals call Meganeccho. Three kilometres south at Dogashima, the Sanshiro islands lie 200 m offshore, reachable over a sandbar at the lowest spring tides, next to Tensodo, a sea cave with a hole in its roof that boats sail into.

Getting there: By bus down the west coast from Shuzenji Station (Izuhakone Railway), or from Shimoda; by car about 1 hour 30 min from Numazu IC.

Omaezaki Sunset Lookout御前崎市（夕日と風が見えるん台）Shizuoka

A lookout at the western end of the cliff-top park on Cape Omaezaki, where the sun sets over the Enshu-nada sea beyond a statue of a woman reaching out toward the sea. The path back leads to Omaezaki Lighthouse, lit in 1874 under the British engineer Richard Henry Brunton, which you can climb for ¥300 and which Shima Rin visits in Yuru Camp△.

Getting there: Shizutetsu Justline express bus from Shizuoka Station to Sagara, then the city's Sagara-Omaezaki line to Omaezaki Kaiyo Center, 10 min on foot from the lighthouse; the lookout is further west along the cliff path.

Manyo-no-Oka, Shinojima南知多町篠島（万葉の丘）Aichi

A hill of poem monuments on Shinojima, an island 8.2 km around at the mouth of Mikawa Bay, whose view west over a scatter of islets as the sun goes down earned the island its old nickname, the Matsushima of Tokai. Its Shinmei shrine is rebuilt every 20 years with old timber from Ise Jingu, the year after the grand shrine's own rebuilding.

Getting there: Meitetsu Kaijo Kankosen high-speed boat from Morozaki, about 10 min, or from Kowa. Our nagoya guide

Kashikojima Bridge and Nishiyama, Ago Bay志摩市阿児（賢島大橋・西山慕情ケ丘）Mie

Ago Bay is a drowned coastline of wooded inlets and pearl rafts, and Kashikojima, the island that hosted the 2016 G7 summit, is joined to the mainland by the Kashikojima Ohashi, a 153 m arch Kintetsu built in 1970. From the bridge, or from the Nishiyama Bojo-ga-oka lookout 1.5 km to the south-east, the sun goes down behind the bay's islands and rafts.

Getting there: Kintetsu Kashikojima Station, the end of the line from Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, is about 300 m from the bridge.

Isobue Pass Lookout, Hamajima志摩市浜島（磯笛峠展望台・目戸山海岸）Mie

A roadside lookout on Route 260 high above the Pacific west of Hamajima, beside the Tsubasu bell, which visitors ring for luck and promotion, with the coast of the Shima Peninsula and the mountains of the Kii Peninsula to the west. The second spot, Medoyama beach, is the cove below Hamajima's seaside inns.

Getting there: Bus from Kintetsu Ugata Station toward Shukuura, 26 min, to Isobue-toge, then 10 min on foot; 10-car car park.

Hokoen Park and the Lakeshore, Nagahama長浜市（びわ湖岸道路・豊公園）Shiga

A lakeside park on the site of the castle Toyotomi Hideyoshi began in 1573, after Oda Nobunaga rewarded him with the lands of the defeated Azai clan; he renamed the village of Imahama Nagahama, borrowing a character from Nobunaga's name, and the present keep is a 1983 concrete re-creation housing the city history museum. From the park and the lakeshore road running north, the sun sets across the open water of Lake Biwa.

Getting there: 5 min on foot west of JR Nagahama Station.

Kohoku Waterfowl Park, Nagahama長浜市湖北町（水鳥公園・湖北野鳥センター）Shiga

A stretch of Lake Biwa's north-east shore where taiga bean geese, tundra swans and Steller's sea eagles spend the winter, watched through telescopes from the Kohoku Wild Bird Center (¥300, closed Tuesdays). The sun sets across the lake with the island of Chikubu-shima, 5 km out, on the skyline.

The Wild Bird Center is open 9:00 to 16:30, before sunset all year; the lakeshore park outside does not close.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip, about 15 min from the Odanijo smart IC on the Hokuriku Expressway; rental bikes are available at JR Kawake Station. Best: Autumn to winter, when the migrant geese, swans and eagles are on the lake.

Yuhigaura Beach, Kyotango京丹後市網野町（夕日ケ浦海岸）Kyoto

A long, shallow beach on the Tango Peninsula whose name simply means sunset bay, lined with the ryokan of Yuhigaura Onsen, and from spring to summer the sun goes down straight into the Sea of Japan. Kotohiki-hama, the beach whose sand squeaks underfoot, is about 8 km north-east along the same coast.

Getting there: Tankai bus from Yuhigaura-Kitsu Onsen Station (Kyoto Tango Railway), 10 min to Sotoyu Hana Yumi, then 5 min on foot; the Limited Express Hashidate runs direct from Kyoto in about 3 hours. Best: Spring and summer, when the sun sets into the sea horizon.

Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden大阪市北区（空中庭園展望台）Osaka

Two 40-storey towers joined at the top by the Floating Garden observatory, whose open-air rooftop deck, about 170 m up, looks west toward Osaka Bay; Hara Hiroshi, the architect of Kyoto Station, designed it, and it opened in 1993. It stays open until 22:30 (last entry 22:00), so the sunset is always within opening hours; adults pay ¥2,000.

Getting there: 7 min on foot from JR Osaka Station. Our osaka guide

Shitenno-ji West Gate大阪市天王寺区（四天王寺）Osaka

The stone torii at Shitenno-ji's west gate was long believed to stand at the eastern gate of Amida's Pure Land, which lies in the west, and on the equinoxes the sun goes down directly beyond it. On both days the temple holds Nisshokan at 17:20 in front of the Gokuraku-mon gate, a service of contemplating the Pure Land in the setting sun; when the temple was founded in 593 the sea lay just to the west, and now the sun sets over the city.

Getting there: 5 min on foot from Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station on the Tanimachi subway line. Best: The spring and autumn equinoxes (around March 20 and September 23), for Nisshokan at 17:20. Visitor guide · Our osaka guide

Sakishima Cosmo Tower Observatory大阪市住之江区（WTCコスモタワー展望台）Osaka

The 55th-floor observatory, 252 m up, of the former Osaka World Trade Center, finished in 1995 on the bayside island of Sakishima; the sunset view runs across the water to Awaji Island and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The tower was built 4 m taller than first planned to match the 256 m Rinku Gate Tower going up at the same time down the bay.

The NPO still lists it under its old name, WTC Cosmo Tower: Osaka Prefecture took the building over in 2010. Open 11:00 to 22:00, closed Mondays (Tuesday after a Monday holiday), ¥1,200. Until October 15, 2026 the long escalator from the 53rd to the 55th floor runs one direction at a time for repairs.

Getting there: 4 min on foot from Trade Center-mae Station on the New Tram (Nanko Port Town Line). Our osaka guide

Shin-Yuhigaoka Hill, Maishima此花区・舞洲スポーツアイランド（新夕陽ケ丘・シーサイドプロムナード）Osaka

A 25 m artificial hill on the reclaimed island of Maishima, its name, New Yuhigaoka, borrowed from the old sunset-viewing slope near Shitenno-ji, with paths marking where the sun sets at the winter and summer solstices and a view to Awaji Island and Kobe port. The seaside promenade on the south shore faces the Nanko and Tempozan waterfront, and both are free and open at all hours.

Getting there: Osaka City Bus from JR Nishikujo Station to Maishima Sports Island, or the Active Bus from JR Sakurajima Station to Lodge Maishima-mae. Our osaka guide

Harukas 300, Abeno Harukas大阪市阿倍野区（ハルカス300（あべのハルカス展望台））Osaka

The observatory on the 58th to 60th floors of the 300 m Abeno Harukas tower, open until 22:00, with the city spread out west to Osaka Bay. Twice a year, from late April to mid May and from late July into August, the sun sets into the gap between the two towers that stand in the 58th-floor Sky Garden.

Getting there: Above Kintetsu Osaka-Abenobashi Station, across from JR and Metro Tennoji; tickets (¥2,200) at the 16th-floor counter. Best: Late April to mid May and late July into August, when the sun sets between the Sky Garden's two towers. Our osaka guide

Kishiwada Castle and Old Port岸和田市（旧港・岸和田城）Osaka

Kishiwada's old harbour, redeveloped around the CanCan Bayside Mall, faces west over Osaka Bay, and a kilometre inland the three-storey castle keep of 1954 replaces a five-storey original that lightning burned in 1827. Around the keep lies Shigemori Mirei's stone garden of 1953, a national Place of Scenic Beauty since 2014; the keep is open 9:00 to 17:00 for ¥300.

Getting there: 10 min on foot from Nankai Kishiwada Station to the old port; the castle is 15 min from the same station. Our osaka guide

Kansai Airport Sky View and Aeroplaza関西空港島（展望ホール・エアロプラザ・ホテル日航関西空港）Osaka

Sky View, the airport island's free observation hall, stands beside the runway at the island's eastern edge, where planes land and take off in front of a sunset over Osaka Bay toward Awaji Island. The other two viewpoints are the Aeroplaza, across the station from Terminal 1, and the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport inside it, open since 1995.

Sky View's deck and shops are open 10:00 to 17:00 with no night opening, so the sun sets there only from about mid November to late December, apart from later opening on some summer weekend evenings.

Getting there: Free shuttle bus from stop 1 outside the ground floor of Terminal 1, about 6 min. Our osaka guide

Tarui Southern Beach and Marble Beach泉南市（サザンビーチ・マーブルビーチ）Osaka

A palm-lined artificial beach at Tarui facing Kansai Airport and its bridge, reopened for swimming in 2024 after five years as part of the Sennan Long Park redevelopment. Four kilometres north-east, Marble Beach in Rinku Park is 2.8 km of white marble pebbles, and the park's fountain is laid out on the paths of the setting sun, with a Summer Solstice Stair and a Winter Solstice Grotto.

Getting there: 10 min on foot from Nankai Tarui Station; Rinku Park is 3 min on foot from Rinku Town Station (JR and Nankai). Our osaka guide

Nagamatsu Coast, Misaki岬町（長松海岸〜せんなん里海公園周辺）Osaka

One of only two stretches of natural shore left in Osaka Prefecture, both in Misaki: 850 m of gently curving coast where rock shelves and tide pools appear at low tide, with a waterside path looking to Kansai Airport, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and Awaji Island. The seawall is painted with murals, and at dusk the sunset lights up the Misaki Park lighthouse.

Tannowa's swimming beach in Sennan Satoumi Park, at the eastern end of this stretch, did not open in summer 2026; the park itself stays open.

Getting there: 10 to 12 min on foot from Nankai Misaki-koen Station; no parking. Our osaka guide

Mount Myoken, Noseとよの能勢（妙見山）Osaka

A 660 m peak on the Osaka-Hyogo border, crowned by Nose Myokensan, a major Nichiren temple for the Kansai region, whose hilltop looks west over the hills of northern Hyogo as the sun goes down. Its slopes hold one of only two native beech forests in Osaka Prefecture.

The Myoken cable car and chairlift, the old easy way up, closed for good after their last runs on December 3, 2023, and the Myoken-no-Mori area around them is off-limits. The summit is reached on foot or by car.

Getting there: No public transport reaches the top: from Myokenguchi Station (Nose Electric Railway, about 25 min from Kawanishi-Noseguchi) the Shintaki-michi trail takes about 90 min. Coming down after sunset means walking in the dark, so carry a light. Our osaka guide

Pichi-Pichi Beach, Hannan阪南市（ぴちぴちビーチ及びせんなん里海公園）Osaka

Hakotsukuri beach, nicknamed Pichi-Pichi Beach, at the Hannan end of Sennan Satoumi Park, whose artificial rocky shore has a wooden deck built for watching the sun set over Osaka Bay toward Awaji Island. The same park holds Japan's only permanent beach-volleyball stadium, with 3,000 seats.

The swimming beach did not open in summer 2026 (Hannan City); the park and its shore stay open.

Getting there: About 1 km on foot from Nankai Hakotsukuri Station. Our osaka guide

Nishikinohama Beach Park, Kaizuka貝塚市（二色の浜公園）Osaka

A 41 ha seaside park of sand and pines at the mouth of the Kogi River, which the Nankai railway opened as a beach resort in 1933 and which in 2024 became the first beach in Osaka to earn Blue Flag certification. From the shore you look west across Osaka Bay to Kansai Airport as the sun goes down.

Getting there: 15 to 20 min on foot from Nankai Nishikinohama Station to the park entrance. Our osaka guide

Wakaura and Saikazaki, Wakayama和歌山市（和歌浦）Wakayama

Wakaura is the bay of Wakayama that poets have sung since the Manyoshu, made a Japan Heritage site in 2017, and its one stretch of natural coast left is Saikazaki, a fishing village stacked up a hillside that the city now markets as Japan's Amalfi. Below the Saikazaki lighthouse a sunset plaza opened in 2019 facing the Kii Channel, and on the middle day of each equinox week locals gather there for Hanafuri, the old custom of watching the setting sun seem to shower flowers over the sea.

Getting there: Wakayama Bus Saikazaki loop line from JR Wakayama or Nankai Wakayamashi Station, about 35 min to Saikazaki, then about 15 min on foot down to the port; Kataonami Park on the bay is about 30 min by the Shin-Wakaura bus to Furobashi, then 10 min on foot. Best: The spring and autumn equinoxes, for Hanafuri at the Saikazaki lighthouse. Our wakayama guide

Shirasaki Ocean Park, Yura由良町（白崎海洋公園・戸津井漁港）Wakayama

A cape of brilliant white Permian limestone, with fossil sea lilies in its old quarry faces, that the park calls Japan's Aegean; stairs through the rock climb to a lookout where the sun sets on the open horizon of the Kii Channel. A little to the north, the fishing harbour of Totsui sits below a small show cave in the same Permian limestone.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip: about 30 min from the Hirogawa IC on the Yuasa-Gobo Road. The bus from JR Kii-Yura Station (30 min) runs on Sundays and holidays only; the roadside-station car park and toilets are open around the clock. Our wakayama guide

Engetsu Island and Shirarahama, Shirahama白浜町（瀬戸・白良浜）Wakayama

Engetsu, officially Takashima, is a rock island 130 m long and 25 m high with a round sea-cut arch through its middle, and around the spring and autumn equinoxes the setting sun sits inside the hole. A kilometre to the south-east, Shirarahama's beach of white quartz sand, topped up with sand shipped from Australia since 1989, looks west across Kanayama Bay.

Getting there: About 15 min by car from JR Shirahama Station; the nearest bus stop, Rinkai, is 5 min on foot from the viewing spots. Best: Around the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the sun sets through the arch. Our wakayama guide

Daimon Gate, Koyasan高野町（大門）Wakayama

The 25.1 m vermilion gate at the western edge of Koyasan, rebuilt in 1705 at the head of the old pilgrim road and built to face west, toward Amida's Pure Land, so the sun goes down in front of it. Its two guardian kings are counted the second-largest in Japan after those of Todai-ji's Nandaimon.

Getting there: Nankai train and cable car from Osaka-Namba to Koyasan Station, then the Nankai Rinkan bus across the town to the Daimon stop, about 16 min. Our wakayama guide

Cape Shionomisaki, Kushimoto串本町（潮岬）Wakayama

The southernmost point of Honshu: a raised terrace 60 to 80 m above the Pacific with a lawn of about 10 ha where the navy once kept a lookout, next to a stone lighthouse lit in 1873 that you can climb by day. For part of the winter the sun both rises from and sets into the same ocean horizon here, which is why Kushimoto is also on the association's sunrise list.

Getting there: Bus from JR Kushimoto Station (Kisei Line) to the Shionomisaki lighthouse stop; the cape is about 5 km south of the station. Best: Winter, when the sun rises and sets over the same sea horizon. Our wakayama guide

Nigatsu-do and Suzaku-mon, Nara奈良市（平城宮朱雀門・東大寺二月堂）Nara

Nigatsu-do, the hillside hall of Todai-ji where the Omizutori fire rites are held every March, has a wooden veranda looking west over the roofs of Nara toward the Ikoma hills; the present hall, a national treasure, was rebuilt in 1669 after a fire during those same rites. The listing's other view, 4.4 km almost due west of the veranda, is Suzaku-mon, the main gate of the Heijo Palace, rebuilt in wood in 1998.

Getting there: About 30 min on foot from Kintetsu Nara Station: 20 min through Nara Park to the Great Buddha Hall, then 10 min uphill. The veranda is free to visit, and tripods are not allowed on it. Visitor guide · Our nara guide

Murotsu and Toshima, Awaji Island淡路市（室津・富島）Hyogo

Two fishing towns on the west coast of Awaji Island, strung along Prefectural Road 31, which is signposted as the Awaji Sunset Line because it follows the Harima Sea for most of the island's length. Toshima sits at the southern end of the Nojima Fault, which tore open the ground in the Great Hanshin earthquake of January 17, 1995; a stretch of it is kept under a roof in the Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park just north-east of the town, a national Natural Monument since 1998.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip along the Sunset Line; the Akashi to Toshima passenger boat that once served the town has been suspended since 2008. Our kobe guide

Keino Matsubara, Awaji Island南あわじ市（慶野松原）Hyogo

About 2.5 km of white beach backed by some 50,000 black pines on Awaji's west coast, praised in the Manyoshu and a national Place of Scenic Beauty since 1928. It faces west over the Harima Sea, with Shodoshima on the horizon as the sun goes down.

Getting there: Awaji Kotsu island buses stop at Keino Matsubara, on the route between Sumoto and the Rikunominato Seidan bus terminal. Our kobe guide

Okura Beach, Akashi明石市（大蔵海岸）Hyogo

A reclaimed beach park opened in 1998 on the Akashi Strait, with the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and Awaji Island in full view, where the sun goes down into the Harima Sea. It joined both this list and the sunrise list in May 2026, and Akashi City says it is the only spot in western Japan on both from the same place.

Getting there: 2 min on foot south of JR Asagiri Station on the Kobe Line. Best: Autumn, around 17:00, Akashi City's own recommendation. Our kobe guide

Himeji City Museum of Art姫路市（姫路市立美術館）Hyogo

Red-brick army warehouses of 1905, converted into the city art museum in 1983, in the park just east of Himeji Castle; from the front garden the white keep rises due west over the museum's roofline. The collection leans toward Belgian art, about 350 works, because Himeji is twinned with Charleroi.

The museum building is closed for repairs to its air conditioning and other systems from April 1, 2026 until the end of December 2027 (planned). The garden stays open 9:00 to 17:00, except Mondays and December 25 to January 5, so a sunset from it is possible only from about mid November to late December.

Getting there: About 20 min on foot from JR Himeji Station, or 8 min by Shinki bus to Himeyama-koen-minami / Iryo Center / Bijutsukan-mae. Our himeji guide

Shinmaiko Beach and Harima Science Garden City, Tatsunoたつの市（はりま科学公園都市・新舞子浜）Hyogo

About 1 km of sand and tidal flats on the Harima Sea, billed as the shallowest shore in Kinki and named Shinmaiko in 1923; photographers come for the flats at dawn and dusk, and the town holds a Sunset Festival here in mid July. The second viewpoint is inland at Harima Science Garden City, the hilltop research town built around the SPring-8 synchrotron, where the association's own page likens the silver dome of the Ando Tadao-designed elementary school's gym, lit by the low sun, to Gamera's shell.

Getting there: Shinki bus from Sanyo Electric Railway Aboshi Station, about 15 min to Shinmaiko.

Ako Misaki赤穂市（赤穂御崎）Hyogo

A small rhyolite headland just east of the Chikusa River mouth, lined with the inns of Ako Misaki Onsen, about half of which have outdoor baths facing the Seto Inland Sea. On the shore below, Iwatsuhime Shrine looks out to sea through its torii, and a pine marks where Oishi Kuranosuke, leader of the 47 ronin, is said to have looked back at Ako from the boat that took him away.

Getting there: West Shinki bus from JR Banshu-Ako Station toward Misaki, about 15 min.

Imagoura, Kasumi Coast香美町（今子浦）Hyogo

A cove on the Sea of Japan where a sand beach sits beside Senjojiki, a broad shelf of wave-cut tuff, with Kaeru-jima, a frog-shaped rock that Kitamaebune sailors prayed to for a safe return, just offshore. From May to mid September the sun sets straight into the sea, day lilies that open only from evening to morning flower on the slopes, and after dark the lights of the squid boats line the horizon.

Getting there: Zentan bus from JR Kasumi Station (San'in Line) to the Imago stop, 2 min from the beach; the Obiki-no-hana lookout is along the shore path to the north. Best: May to mid September, when the sun sets into the sea horizon.

Tottori Sand Dunes鳥取市（鳥取砂丘）Tottori

Japan's best-known coastal dunes, a national Natural Monument since 1955, stretch 16 km along the Sea of Japan in the widest sense, and the Uma-no-se ridge rises about 46 m from the shore; at sunset the wind ripples on the sand stand out in long shadows. There are no gates or opening hours, so you can stay on the sand until the stars come out.

Getting there: About 20 min by bus from Tottori Station (Iwami-Iwai or Sakyu lines). Our tottori guide

Shimane Art Museum, Lake Shinji松江市（島根県立美術館）Shimane

A museum by Kikutake Kiyonori, opened in 1999 on the south-east shore of Lake Shinji and designed around the sunset: the lake side is a wall of glass, there is a rooftop terrace, and from March to September it stays open until 30 min after sunset. It holds about 1,600 works by Hokusai.

Getting there: About 15 min on foot from JR Matsue Station, or 6 min by city bus to Kenritsu Bijutsukan-mae. Closed Tuesdays; from October to February it closes at 18:30, still after sunset. Our matsue guide

Washuzan, Kurashiki倉敷市（鷲羽山）Okayama

A 133 m hill at the tip of the Kojima Peninsula whose summit, named Shoshuho by the writer Tokutomi Soho, looks straight down on the Seto Ohashi bridges and the Shiwaku islands as the sun goes down over the strait. It has been a national Place of Scenic Beauty since 1930 and part of the Setonaikai National Park since 1934.

Getting there: Shimoden's Washuzan sunset bus from JR Kojima Station runs Fridays, Saturdays and the eves of holidays (daily in Obon), ¥540, with about 15 min at Sanbyakuyama and at the Washuzan lookout; otherwise the Shimotsui loop bus, about 30 min to Washuzan Daini Tenbodai, then 5 min on foot. Our okayama guide

Ushimado and Maejima瀬戸内市（牛窓町フェリー乗り場・天神社・前島＊大阪城築城残石群の展望台）Okayama

An old Seto Inland Sea port that markets itself as Japan's Aegean, watched here from the ferry landing, the hilltop Tenjin shrine and Maejima, the island 5 min across the strait. On Maejima a path climbs past the quarry where stone was cut for Osaka Castle's walls in the early Edo period to a lookout at the island's highest point, which also looks down on the Kurojima Venus Road, a sandbar that surfaces at low tide.

Getting there: Bus from JR Oku Station (Ako Line), about 20 min to Ushimado; the Maejima ferry takes 5 min.

Shiraishi and Manabe Islands, Kasaoka笠岡市白石島（白石島・真鍋島）Okayama

Shiraishi, 2.86 km² and a national Place of Scenic Beauty from shore to summit, is an island of strangely shaped rocks, hill trails and the Shiraishi Odori dance of August 14 to 16, now part of UNESCO's listing of Japan's furyu-odori. Manabe, further out, keeps an old fishing village of wooden houses and is known as a cat island.

Getting there: From Sumiyoshi port, 7 min on foot from JR Kasaoka Station, passenger boats reach Shiraishi in 22 to 35 min and Manabe in 45 to 70 min; the car ferry to Shiraishi (40 min) leaves from Fushigoe port, 1 km away. For a sunset, check the last boat back or stay the night.

Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima広島市（原爆ドーム）Hiroshima

The ruin of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, completed in 1915 to a design by the Czech architect Jan Letzel and left as it stood after the atomic bomb of August 6, 1945; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Aioi Bridge and the Motoyasu River lie just to its west, the sun goes down beyond them, and after dark the ruin is lit.

Getting there: 1 min on foot from Genbaku Dome-mae tram stop (Hiroden lines 2 and 6); the Peace Memorial Park across the river is open at all hours. Visitor guide · Our hiroshima guide

Michi-no-Eki Kirara Taki, Izumo出雲市道の駅キララ多岐（道の駅キララ多岐・見晴らしの丘公園）Shimane

A roadside station on Route 9, opened in 1998, standing right on Kirara Beach, a long sand shore where the sun sets into the Sea of Japan; the station runs a live camera of the beach, and Miharashi-no-Oka, the listing's second view, is a rise of log cottages 200 m to the east. Izumo's Japan Heritage story is titled, fittingly, the sacred land where the sun sets.

Getting there: About 10 min on foot west of JR Oda Station on the San'in Line.

Kuniga Coast, Nishinoshima (Oki Islands)西ノ島町（国賀海岸・赤尾展望所）Shimane

About 7 km of trachybasalt sea cliffs and caves on the west side of Nishinoshima in the Oki Islands, peaking at Matengai, a 257 m cliff among the tallest in Japan, with cattle and horses grazing on the pasture above; a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument since 1938. The Akao lookout, at the end of a road through that pasture, takes in the whole coast, including the Tsutenkyo rock arch.

Getting there: Oki Kisen ferry or high-speed boat to Beppu port on Nishinoshima, then about 25 min by car to the Akao lookout; the town bus does not go there. Best: October to December, the island tourism association's pick for sunsets into the sea.

Kasayama and Kikugahama, Hagi萩市（笠山・菊ケ浜）Yamaguchi

Kasayama is a 112 m volcano on a tied island off Hagi, with a crater 30 m across at its top, and from the summit lookout the sun sets among flat-topped islands that are volcanoes of the same Abu group, 60,000 to 210,000 years old. Kikugahama, the town beach, runs from the Hagi Castle ruins toward the port, with Kasayama on the skyline to the north.

Getting there: Kikugahama is in Hagi town beside the castle ruins; Kasayama is about 4 km north by road, easiest by taxi or car, since the Maaru loop bus stops running at about 17:30. Best: Mid February to mid March, when about 25,000 camellias flower in the Toragasaki grove on Kasayama. Our yamaguchi guide

Kirara Beach Yakeno and Ryuozan, Sanyo-Onoda山陽小野田市（きららビーチ焼野・竜王山公園）Yamaguchi

The city's only swimming beach, built on the Suo-nada and opened in 1999, with a Bell of Happiness you can ring from 8:30 to 17:00, a glass studio and a hot-spring bathhouse beside it. Behind it rises Ryuozan, a 136 m hill with about 10,000 cherry trees and a view across the water to Kyushu and the Kanmon Bridge.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip.

Yuhigaoka and the Mito Peninsula, Shodoshima小豆島（夕陽ケ丘〜屋形崎・三都半島）Kagawa

Shodoshima, where olives were first grown in Japan and the second-largest island in the Seto Inland Sea at 126 km around, has its sunset side on the north-west coast, where the place name Yuhigaoka simply means sunset hill and the sun drops between the small islands offshore. The Mito Peninsula, reaching south from the middle of the island, is the second viewpoint, with open sea to the west from almost anywhere along it.

Getting there: Ferry from Takamatsu to Tonosho, about 1 hour; Yuhigaoka and Yakatazaki are on the north-west coast, realistically by car or scooter from the port. Our takamatsu guide

Yashima and Megijima, Takamatsu高松市（屋島・女木島）Kagawa

Yashima is a flat-topped lava mesa, 292 m high, above Takamatsu, where the Genpei war's Battle of Yashima was fought in the inlet below; from the lookouts on its rim you look west over the city and Megijima to the islands of the strait. Megijima, 20 min from Takamatsu port by ferry and nicknamed Onigashima after the ogres' island of the Momotaro story, has its own hilltop view above a large cave.

Getting there: Kotoden's Yashima Sanjo shuttle bus from JR or Kotoden Yashima Station, about 10 min. Extra night buses run on selected Friday, Saturday and holiday evenings (dates on Kotoden's site); otherwise come down by taxi or on the walking path. Our takamatsu guide

Kotohiki Park and the Zenigata Coin, Kannonji観音寺市（琴弾公園内の有明浜と展望台）Kagawa

Zenigata is a giant coin drawn in the sand of Ariake beach, 122 m by 90 m, copying a Kan'ei Tsuho that legend says townspeople dug in a single night in 1633, three years before that coin was first cast; residents rake it back into shape every spring and autumn, and from the lookout on Kotohiki hill the oval reads as a perfect circle. It is lit from sunset until 22:00, while the sun goes down over the Hiuchi-nada sea beyond it.

Getting there: Kannonji City's community bus from JR Kannonji Station stops at Kotohiki Park, 1.6 km away.

Chichibugahama and the Nio Coast, Mitoyo三豊市仁尾（仁尾海岸緑地・父母ケ浜海岸）Kagawa

A shallow beach about 1 km long on the Hiuchi-nada where, at low tide on a still evening, the pools left on the sand mirror the sky and anyone standing in them, the photographs that have drawn crowds since about 2017 and the nickname Japan's Uyuni. Mitoyo's tourism office says to come when low tide falls near sunset and the evening calm of the Inland Sea has stilled the wind, and its website lists the tide times.

Getting there: Mitoyo community bus from JR Takuma Station to Chichibugahama, Monday to Saturday (not Sundays or holidays); on weekends and holidays the Hearts Shuttle tourist bus (¥1,500 day pass) covers the area.

Shiudeyama and Kamo-no-Koshi, Mitoyo三豊市託間（紫雲出山山頂展望台・鴨ノ越）Kagawa

A 352 m hill on the Shonai Peninsula named purple cloud mountain after the local Urashima Taro legend, in which the smoke from his opened box drifted up and hung over it; from the summit lookout islands crowd the sea to the east, while to the west, where the sun sets, the Hiuchi-nada lies almost empty toward the Chugoku coast. Kamo-no-Koshi, the listing's second view, is the beach below where Taro is said to have rescued the turtle.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip up the summit road (60-space car park, with time-slot booking in cherry season); the trail from the foot takes about 90 min each way.

Kanyo-to and Sukumo Bay宿毛市（咸陽島・サニーサイドパーク）Kochi

A pair of uninhabited islets in Sukumo Bay, about 300 m off Oshima and reachable on foot at low tide, and the classic place for the daruma sunset: on cold, clear evenings from mid November to early February, vapour rising off the sea bends the light so the sun seems to sit on its own reflection, like a daruma doll. The roadside station Sukumo Sunny Side Park is the second viewpoint.

Getting there: About 3 km from Sukumo Station on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway; realistically by car or taxi. Best: Mid November to early February, for the daruma sunset.

Sakurai Futamigaura, Itoshima糸島市志摩（桜井二見ケ浦）Fukuoka

Two sacred rocks, 11.8 m and 11.2 m tall, stand in the Genkai Sea about 150 m offshore, tied by a 30 m straw rope weighing about a tonne and fronted by a white torii in the water; around the June solstice the sun sets between them. Ise's wedded rocks at Futami are known for the sunrise, so Itoshima calls this pair the sunset Futamigaura.

Getting there: Bus from JR Chikuzen-Maebaru (Noketa-Futamigaura line) or JR Kyudai-Gakkentoshi (Nishinoura line) to Futamigaura Tsuki to Taiyo Itoshima Sabo-mae, then 4 min on foot; the West Coast Liner highway bus runs from Hakata and Tenjin. Buses are infrequent. Best: Around the summer solstice in June, when the sun sets between the rocks. Our fukuoka guide

Tai-no-Hana and Neshiko, Hirado平戸市（西海国立公園鯛の鼻自然公園・根獅子）Nagasaki

Tai-no-Hana is the tip of a ridge running south from Yasumandake, Hirado's highest peak, with a lookout over the Saikai National Park toward Ikitsuki and, far out, the Goto Islands. Below it lies Neshiko, a village where Hidden Christians kept their faith through the ban, and its white beach, one of Japan's 100 best bathing beaches.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip across Hirado Island.

Ishidake Observatory, Kujukushima佐世保市（石岳展望台）Nagasaki

A lookout on the 191 m summit of Ishidake with a view all the way round over Kujukushima, officially 208 islands scattered along the coast north of Sasebo. The sunset over the islands that opens The Last Samurai was filmed from here.

Getting there: About 15 min by car from JR Sasebo Station, or about 30 min by bus (via the zoo, toward Shimofunakoshi or Kujukushima Kanko Koen) to Doshokubutsuen-mae, then about 15 min on foot. Best: October to December, Sasebo City's pick for the sun's path across the islands.

Osezaki Cliffs, Fukue Island (Goto)五島市福江島（大瀬崎断崖・渕ノ元）Nagasaki

Striped cliffs of sandstone and mudstone climb from the East China Sea to 250 m at the western tip of Fukue Island, with a white lighthouse, first lit in 1879, on a ledge 80 m up; its lighthouse scenes near the end of the 2010 film Villain were shot here. In late September and early October up to 1,500 honey buzzards a day pass overhead on their way to the continent, and Fuchinomoto, the second viewpoint, is a grassland with a Catholic cemetery on the island's north-west coast.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip, about 1 hour from Fukue port (jetfoil from Nagasaki in under 90 min); the Goto Bus to Osezaki-guchi takes 1 hour 20 min and leaves a 30 min walk.

Matama Coast, Bungotakada豊後高田市真玉（真玉海岸）Oita

A shallow shore at the base of the Kunisaki Peninsula that faces west, a rarity on Oita's east-facing coast; at low tide the ebb leaves the sand in ridges that the setting sun turns into stripes of gold and black. It is a nationally registered Monument for its scenery, and Bungotakada's tourism company publishes a tide-and-sunset calendar for it every two months.

Getting there: Oita Kotsu bus from JR Usa Station, about 35 min, to Matama.

Takabutoyama Lookout and the Amakusa Five Bridges上天草市松島町（高舞登山展望所・天草五橋）Kumamoto

A lookout on a hill of about 117 m in Matsushima, Kamiamakusa, and the place that shows all five of the Amakusa Five Bridges at once, strung across the islets of Amakusa Matsushima as the sun goes down. The bridges opened in 1966 and carry 17.4 km of road from Misumi on the Uto Peninsula to Amakusa's Kami-shima.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip, about 1 hour 30 min from Kumamoto city; large and medium-sized buses cannot use the road up.

Nishihira Tsubaki Park and Kikaigaura, Amakusa天草市天草（西平椿公園・鬼海ケ浦展望所）Kumamoto

A hillside park on the west coast of Amakusa's Shimo-shima with about 20,000 wild camellias and some 150 cultivated kinds, looking out to Ogase, a cluster of 20 m sea rocks about 1 km offshore that the sun sets behind. The Kikaigaura lookout, near Shimoda Onsen to the north, faces the open horizon of the Amakusa Sea.

Getting there: Realistically a car trip, about 2 hours 55 min from Kumamoto city (2 hours 40 min to Kikaigaura); the Kikaigaura lookout is right by the Shimoda Kokumin-shukusha-mae bus stop. Best: October to February, Kumamoto Prefecture's recommended sunset season for the park.

Okoshiki Coast, Uto宇土市（御輿来海岸）Kumamoto

A shore of the Ariake Sea, known for its huge tidal range, where the ebb leaves crescent-shaped ripples of sand drawn by wind and waves. Uto's tourism association counts only about ten superb-view days a year, when a tide of 50 cm or lower falls within an hour of sunset, mostly from late February to early April, and on those evenings hundreds of photographers fill the lookout.

Getting there: 30 min on foot from JR Ouda Station on the Misumi Line, following the route posted at the station, to the Okoshiki Coast lookout on the hillside above. Best: Late February to early April, when most of the low-tide sunset days fall. Our kumamoto guide