Walking straight west from Izumo-taisha Shrine for 10 minutes, you will see the ocean at the end of a downhill slope. This place, where many people watch the sea in the evening, is at the tip of the Shimane Peninsula, which extends out into the Sea of Japan. The sunset over the ocean is exceptionally beautiful. People come from all over Japan for that brief moment when the bright red sun sets.
Strangely enough, however, it is not only in the evening that people gather here. Many people visit from morning to night, and leave after about 30 minutes. One after another, they come and go, and on weekends, the number of visitors reaches several hundred. The reason for this is that this beach is the only one of its kind in Japan.
The name of this beach is” Inasa-no-hama”. This is the place where the myth of the handing over of the country, written in the “Kojiki” and “Nihonshoki,” which describe the birth of Japan, took place. In October of the lunar calendar, when the gods from all over Japan gather at Izumo-taisha Shrine, they land on “Inasa-no-hama” from the sea. It is the so-called gateway.
In fact, every year, on the night of October 10th in the lunar calendar, a ceremony called “Kamimukaesai” is held to welcome the gods and bring them to Izumo-taisha Shrine.
Many people gather at the power spot “Inasa-no-hama” as the holy place where the sun sets and the only place to welcome the gods!
