A Scenic Walk Along Tateishi Cape at the Tip of the Tsuruga Peninsula

Tateishi Cape Lighthouse

立石岬灯台
立石岬灯台
立石岬灯台
立石岬灯台

A Scenic Walk Along Tateishi Cape at the Tip of the Tsuruga Peninsula

Tateishi Cape is located at the tip of the Tsuruga Peninsula, at the entrance to Tsuruga Bay. Nearby, you’ll find Tateishi Fishing Port, where the road that runs north along the peninsula ends. This incredibly peaceful spot makes a great place to enjoy the dazzling view of the bay with only the occasional cries of the black-tailed gulls to break the quiet. The route along the coast of the peninsula from the main part of Tsuruga City to Tateishi Cape is a beautiful drive, passing by places like Jogu, Urasoko (which offers a view of Mizushima), Irogahama, and other quiet little villages that dot the coastline. Tateishi Cape Lighthouse is a roughly 500-meter walk beyond the end of the road. If you walk along the seashore beyond a village toward the tip of the peninsula, you’ll find a mountain trail up to the lighthouse. Climb about 300 meters for a vast, panoramic view of the Sea of Japan far below. On sunny days, the pure white of the lighthouse is radiant against the clear blue sky.Escape the din of the city, to a place where all you can hear is the rustling of the wind through the trees. You might even spot a freighter or ferry on its way into or out of Tsuruga Bay, far across the water. The Tateishi Cape Lighthouse is a mid-sized lighthouse, built from white stone in 1881; it was Japan’s first stone lighthouse to be designed and built entirely by Japanese people. Being the second lighthouse built on the Sea of Japan coast, this lighthouse has seen a great deal of history. After the Tateishi Cape Lighthouse was first put into operation in 1881, the following year saw the opening of the railway, marking a period of rapid progress for Tsuruga Port. The Tateishi Cape Lighthouse stood as the entrance to Tsuruga Port, which flourished as a major port on the Sea of Japan coast; the history of the lighthouse could be said to have developed alongside that of the port itself.
The Lighthouse in the Tsuruga City Emblem
Tateishi Cape Lighthouse is featured in the design of the Tsuruga City emblem, as a structure symbolic of Tsuruga.
Traffic access
By car: Approx. 45 min. from Tsuruga IC on the Hokuriku Expressway, then approx. 300 m climb up a mountain trail
By bus: Take the Jogu-sen line Community Bus from JR Tsuruga Station to Tateishi Bus Stop (approx. 39 min.), then approx. 300 m climb up a mountain trail
Address
Erigasaki, Tateishi, Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture
Parking
No parking available