Kannonzaki is a park that is not too far from where I’m staying in Japan. It is a beautiful park that is on the northeastern tip of the Miura Peninsula and offers gorgeous views of the ocean. It also has a lighthouse that is found on the top of the hill that the park is built on. This is a bit of a climb but totally worth it.
We arrived at Kannonzaki and parked in a small parking lot near a little bay. There were rescue workers that were doing some sort of a drill with what looked to be a fireboat out off the point. It made for an interesting experience as I really hadn’t heard anyone yell in Japan… until then. The day was perfect for swimming so it was probably a good day for a drill I suppose.
We slowly made our way out to the point as we looked at the ships going by and also kept our eyes open for crabs. There were fishermen enjoying the beautiful day as well. There were also people in tents that had small campfires as they enjoyed picnicking by the sea. One of them seemed to be videoing their fire that was in a unique looking grill.
After enjoying the waterfront for a bit, it was time to climb the hill and find the lighthouse. The Kannonzaki Lighthouse is at the top of a jungle-lined staircase. It goes quite a ways up. That is one thing that is fairly common, there are lots of stairs. We climbed for quite some time and eventually came out on the top of the hill where the lighthouse was found. It was simple but it was also beautiful. The original Kannonzaki Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in Japan. It also happens to be a lighthouse that you can climb up into.
We purchased our tickets and made our way into the lighthouse. The climb to the top of the lighthouse wasn’t terrible. It definitely was not made for someone my height, however. Both parts of the stairs and then the door to the balcony at the top were clearly meant for someone, not my size. However, the view from the balcony was beautiful and totally worth leaning over for the climb. Immediately it was apparent why the lighthouse was at this location as you could see all around, most of it water. It was a beautiful view and totally worth the climb.
After a few minutes of enjoying the view, we could see other people were making their way up so we descended back down. It was a bit of a trick having people go both ways but we made it happen. Finally, back on the ground we went back down the staircase to the shoreline and explored a little further the other way. There were more beautiful views to be seen and experienced. However, there was also the thought of ice cream in mind… specifically mochi balls. After all, it was a warm day and that would be a perfect treat after a hike.
The next destination was one of my favorite destinations in Japan. I will admit, I’m surprised to say this as I probably wouldn’t have two weeks ago. 7-11 in Japan is amazing. It has really good coffee, really good chicken (it might get its own article, it’s that good), and also has delicious ice cream! We stopped by a 7-11 (thankfully they are everywhere) and grabbed our ice cream before making our way home.
The trip to Kannonzaki was a beautiful day. I feel like it is probably one of those places that most American tourists probably don’t have on their radar. However, they really should. We just scratched the tip of the iceberg of this park and could easily have spent an entire day there. It was a lovely adventure and a lovely way to spend the day!
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