WHAT TO SEE

Inasa Beach is the setting for one of the foundational legends of the “The Kojiki” that take place in the Izumo area: the Kuniyuzuri, or the transfer of the land from Okuninushi no Okami to the descendants of Amaterasu Omikami. In the modern day, it is the embarkation point every year during Kamiarizuki in the 10th month of the lunar calendar. Kami deities from all over Japan gather in Izumo and are welcomed in a solemn ceremony after sunset on the beach before being escorted to Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine.

In all seasons, people gather to enjoy the beautiful sunsets near a large boulder called Bentenjima, which hosts a little shrine on top to Toyotamahiko, the guardian deity of the seas.
This is the beach where people gather sand for the “suna-tori” sand exchanging ritual that can be completed at Suga no Yashiro, the shrine to Susano-o no Mikoto behind the honden of Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine.

～Shio-kumi Ritual 潮汲み～
Every month, on the morning of the first day, local people go to Inasa Beach to take water from ocean using a special bamboo tube and visit the shrines on the way to Izumo Taisha with the water. Afterwards, they can use bamboo leaves to sprinkle the water on their homes and family to purify them. It is a special tradition that has been passed down for generations in the Izumo Taisha area, and anyone is welcome to participate.
On Kamimukae no Michi (神迎えの道 or Deity Welcoming Street) you may notice bamboo tubes with flowers inside decorating the houses in reference to this tradition.