One of the 34 National Parks in Japan.

The Esa Shima National Park encompasses the Shima Peninsula.

Located on the pacific coast to the east of Osaka and south of Nagoya.

It's an area renowned for its natural beauty with a deeply forested interior surrounded on three sides by a long winding stretch of coastline scattered with small islands.

Aside from its incredible scenery, the area is best known as the home of S Age England, one of the most important shinto shrines in all of Japan.

In addition to its stunning ocean vistas esa Sheamus coast is known both for the quality of its seafood and its iconic free diving fisher women known as Mama.

More recently it became the birthplace of pearl cultivation, easily accessed by train from kyoto Osaka or Nagoya.

The area is best experienced with an overnight stay.

My name is matt Evans and in this video I'll explore some of S Oshima's scenic and cultural highlights as a two day trip.

Yeah, mm Yeah.

Mhm.

Here's the plan on day one, I'll explore the Usa Jingu shrine's and stay overnight at a seaside rio can.

Then on day two I'll make my way down the peninsula by train to Cash Kojima where I'll take a cruise of the ago bay, hike to an observation deck and enjoy a meal at an ammo hut where I'll meet some active, traditional amma divers.

Yeah, day one.

Stupid.

I begin my journey in s a city gateway to the essay.

Shima National Park and home to most of the 125 shrines that together make up essay, jingu of these.

The two most important argue cu and ni ku it's customary to start by visiting Goku located just a few minutes walk from the station.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Mhm Incredibly.

Every structure here is rebuilt from scratch every 20 years, a tradition that has continued for approximately 1300 years allowing the skills of traditional craftsmanship to be passed from generation to generation.

The climax of this unique event, the moving of the deities from the old building to the new Will next take place in 2033.

The gate behind me is as close as we can come to the main sanctuary which is off limits to most visitors and can't be photographed as you can see.

The main buildings are only just visible.

But over to my left you can see the empty lot where the next building will be constructed with every rebuild.

It alternates between these two spaces within the grounds of Goku several smaller secondary shrines like this one can also be found.

Mm hmm.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Visitors may be limited to just a glimpse of the main building, but here at the single khan museum, you can get a sense of it.

Let's take a look built to mark the occasion of the shrines last rebuilding and to explain the tradition behind it.

This museum contains a detailed model of the main sanctuary, A partial 1-1 reconstruction of the main building itself and various exhibits on the expert craftsmanship that goes into the construction process.

After exploring Goku, I make my way to Nicu, located a few kilometers out from the center of town as the most important shrine in all of Japan.

Nike has attracted a constant stream of visitors for many centuries and the bustling town of restaurants and shops has grown along its approach called Schoharie machi and then, yeah.

Mhm.

This is the local specialty shogan.

It's one of the softest types of udon noodles in japan and traditionally cooked very fast to keep up with the large numbers of visitors.

You could call it a kind of traditional fast food.

It's very good.

It's definitely a bit softer than usual.

Comes in this lovely sweet sauce.

After lunch, I passed through Okada Yukiko, a small part of a hurry machi with buildings reconstructed in the style of the Edo period.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Mhm.

After exploring the area's many shops and restaurants.

I cross over the bridge into Ni ku Yeah, from simple gravel pathways to its structures built entirely from natural materials.

All the elements here feel perfectly in harmony with the surrounding forest Following centuries.

Long tradition, I wash my hands in the water of the Isuzu River before making my way to the main sanctuary.

Mhm.

At the top of these stone steps is the main sanctuary where the sun goddess Amaterasu um economy, the most important shinto dirty and mythological ancestor of the imperial family is enshrined behind me is a secondary shrine dedicated to a wind god.

It's made up of the same design elements that we can see at the main buildings but on a much smaller scale.

Like all the shrine buildings here, it's built in a style called Shimizu khoury originating from the architecture of ancient store houses.

These distinctive finals cresting the front of the roof are called chigi at Nicu.

They are cut horizontally while the ones over at Goku are cut vertically.

The short decorative logs laid across the length of the roof are called Katsuragi.

The main hall at Nike who has 10 of these and this building being less important, has six.

After exploring the shrines.

I make my way just outside the city to the seaside town of TOBA where I'll enjoy a seafood dinner at a traditional, in with its vast stretch of coastline.

It's no surprise that the Shima peninsula is home to some of Japan's most celebrated seafood.

Well, this is a real treat tonight I'm going to be trying three of the areas most famous dishes, all highly sought after.

Not only here, but throughout Japan mas.

Mhm this is S.

H.

B, a small spiny lobster from the lab.

Mhm mm That's amazing.

This is Matsuzaka beef.

One of the finest varieties of wagyu from nearby Matsuzaka city.

It really is just amazingly soft.

There's no crunchiness to it or anything just mm hmm, perfect day two from TOBA station.

I take the train down the peninsula to the ago bay, a vast coastal inlet dotted with islands, arriving into Kashikojima station at the end of the kintetsu line, I changed to a sightseeing boat to explore the bay with its many small islands.

The bay is one of several areas along the peninsula famous for pearl cultivation.

It's here that mickey moto Kakiuchi, one of japan's greatest inventors, became the first man in the world to cultivate pearls in 18 93 his company was one of the first japanese brands to achieve international recognition and still exists today.

Mhm After the cruise, I take a train and bus to the sleepy seaside village of has a call from where I'll be walking one small section of the kinky nature trail.

The trail is an extensive network of walking routes spanning over 3000 km through nine prefectures.

There are many nice stages to hike, but I've chosen this one leading up to a wooded hill where various observatory's can be found.

Mm Yeah.

Mhm Yeah.

Having been recently renovated.

The Yokoyama viewpoint sports a spacious deck made of japanese Cyprus.

Yeah.

From the deck, we get this amazing panoramic view across the full length of the ago Bay.

It's amaze of around 60 small islands, looking almost like the branches of a tree.

The waters are sheltered from the sea, making them wonderfully calm and peaceful.

Mm.

Mm from the viewpoint.

I walked down the hill to Shima Yokoyama station and take the train to matter.

Then change to a bus for my final stop at assad cycle right all right here at a traditional um a hot tourists can learn more about these women of the sea and their ancient tradition of free diving for oysters, abalone and other seafood.

Mhm.

Appearing in poetry from as early as the eighth century.

It's a unique and even romantic way of life, but one that now faces an uncertain future.

So what happened with your muscles at the um a hot, I have the chance to meet some of these extraordinary women and try some delicious local seafood.

Yeah.

Um a huts like this are traditionally where divers would return after a long shift at sea to warm themselves and get a bite to eat here.

I'm treated to a meal of scallops, molluscs and horse mackerel hand cooked over an open fire.

Mhm.

And with that my time in the S.

A Seaman National Park is drawing to an end from atmospheric shrines and ocean views to local cuisine steeped in tradition.

It's been a fun and hugely inspiring couple of days.

I hope you've enjoyed this video and that you'll find some ideas here for your next trip.

For more information about this trip or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to Japan guide dot com.

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