Coastal Drives in Japan

Japan's coastal roads are criminally underrated. The country has nearly 30,000 kilometers of shoreline, and a surprising amount of it is accessible by car. The roads are impeccably maintained, the tunnels are engineered to withstand earthquakes, the signage is clear even if your Japanese is nonexistent, and the rental car infrastructure is reliable and easy to use. Toyota Rent-a-Car has locations in every town with more than a few thousand residents. Times Car Rental is the next most common chain. Both let you book online in English.

We've driven five coastal routes that represent the best of Japan's shoreline. Each one offers something different — rice terraces dropping into the sea, volcanic black sand beaches, basalt columns, turquoise water, or fishing villages that haven't changed in fifty years. None of them are day trips. Each route deserves at least two days, and some need four.

Before you start: you'll need an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Japan does not recognize permits from the 1968 Vienna Convention, which means if you're from a country that issues those, you need to get a 1949 version. The IDP must be obtained before you arrive in Japan — you cannot get one inside the country. Bring it with your home license. Car rental companies will check both, and they are strict about this. No IDP, no car.

Tolls in Japan are expensive. A four-hour drive on the expressway can cost 6,000 to 10,000 yen in tolls alone. The coastal routes we describe below avoid expressways where possible, sticking to national routes (kokudo) and prefectural roads that are slower, windier, and infinitely more scenic. Budget 3,000 to 5,000 yen per day for tolls if you do use expressways for parts of the journey. Gas runs about 170-185 yen per liter as of early 2026.

Best season: April through June, and October through early November. July is humid but manageable. August and September are typhoon season — the roads can be closed due to landslides, and driving along exposed coastal cliffs in a storm is genuinely dangerous. Winter (December-February) is possible on the Pacific coast but the Sea of Japan side gets heavy snow. The Noto Peninsula and San'in Kaigan are particularly treacherous in winter. If you're set on a winter drive, stick to the Izu Peninsula or Amakusa.

The Noto Peninsula — Ishikawa Prefecture

The Noto Peninsula juts north from Kanazawa into the Sea of Japan like a finger pointing at the horizon. The drive around it is roughly 100 kilometers if you stick to the coastal road, but you'll want to take detours, so budget 150 kilometers and a full day minimum. Two days is better. Three days lets you actually stop and look at things.

Start in Kanazawa. Rent your car from the Toyota Rent-a-Car near Kanazawa Station — they open at 8am, and you want to be on the road by 8:30. Head north on Route 249, which hugs the west coast of the peninsula. The first hour is pleasant but unremarkable: rice fields, small towns, the occasional glimpse of the sea. Then the road starts climbing, and suddenly you're on a cliff edge looking down at water so dark blue it almost looks black. This is the Sea of Japan side, and it's nothing like the Pacific. The water is colder, the color is deeper, and the fishing villages are smaller and more isolated.

The village of Suzu is your first major stop. It's known for noto-ware pottery, but you're here for the Senmaida — thousand-step rice terraces that cascade down hillsides directly into the sea. There's nothing else like this in Japan. The terraces were built over centuries because flat land is so scarce on the peninsula. In early summer they're flooded and reflect the sky like broken mirrors. In autumn they're golden. Any time of year, the sight of rice paddies meeting the ocean is worth the drive alone.

Push on to Wajima, the largest town on the peninsula's north coast. Wajima is famous for its morning market, which has been running for over a thousand years. It opens at 7am and wraps up by noon. The market stretches along a narrow street near the harbor — old women in rubber boots sell fresh vegetables, dried fish, lacquerware, and seaweed. The breakfast at the market is simple and spectacular: a bowl of rice, miso soup, and whatever fish was caught that morning. Expect to pay 800 to 1,200 yen for breakfast at one of the market stalls.

Overnight in Wajima. There are a handful of ryokans in town. We stayed at a place called Yashinomi, which is nothing fancy but has tatami rooms, a shared bath, and a dinner of local crab and sea bream that was one of the best meals of the trip. It cost 12,000 yen per person including dinner and breakfast. Wajima was hit hard by the January 2024 earthquake, and recovery is ongoing. Some roads on the peninsula's northern tip were still closed as of late 2025, so check conditions before you go. We have the latest updates on our fix list.

Day two: continue around the eastern coast of the peninsula. The east side is wilder than the west. The cliffs are steeper, the villages are fewer, and the road clings to the hillside with guardrails that look like they've been dented by a thousand minor collisions. The views are staggering. You'll pass Sosogi Coast, where waves crash through a narrow rock gap and spray water twenty meters into the air. There's a small parking area — stop and watch. Then Ganmon, a natural sea arch that you can view from a cliff-top path.

The drive back to Kanazawa takes about two and a half hours from Wajima on the east coast. Fill up in Wajima — there are almost no gas stations on the eastern side of the peninsula. The Noto drive is spectacular and also has almost no gas stations for long stretches. Fill up every chance you get.

Izu Peninsula West Coast — Shizuoka Prefecture

The Izu Peninsula is Tokyo's weekend escape, and most people head to the east coast — Shimoda with its beaches, the resort towns with their onsen hotels. The west coast is different. It's quieter, cliffier, and the black sand beaches give the whole place a volcanic, slightly ominous feel. This is the best coastal drive near Tokyo, and it works equally well in a convertible with the top down or a small kei car that handles the switchbacks.

Start in Mishima, where you can pick up a rental car near the shinkansen station. Take Route 136 west toward the coast. The road drops from mountain forest to sea level in about forty minutes, and the first view of the ocean hits you around the town of Toi. Toi has a gold mine museum that's honestly skipable, but the view from the town's small harbor — fishing boats in front of deep green hills — is worth a stop.

The highlight of the Izu west coast is Jogasaki, about 90 minutes south of Toi. Here, lava from Mount Omuro flowed into the sea 4,000 years ago and created a coast of jagged black rock, sea arches, and blowholes. There's a walking trail along the clifftop that takes about an hour and gives you views down into turquoise water so clear you can see fish swimming thirty meters below. The Jogasaki Suspension Bridge sways in the wind and crosses a narrow gorge with waves crashing through it. If you're afraid of heights, this is not your spot.

Continue south along Route 136 to Dogashima. This is a small onsen town perched on cliffs above the sea, and it's the best place to overnight on this drive. The town's main attraction is the sunset boat tour through sea caves — small boats take you into three natural caverns carved by waves, and in the late afternoon the light coming through the back of the caves turns the water an unreal shade of blue-green. Tours cost 1,500 yen and run every thirty minutes from 9am to 4pm. The town also has several ryokans with outdoor baths overlooking the sea.

The full Izu west coast drive from Mishima to Shimoda via the western road takes about three and a half hours without stops. With stops — and you should stop — it's a full day. The road surface is excellent, the guardrails are reassuringly thick, and the signage includes English at the major turns. Best driven on a weekday. Weekends bring Tokyo day-trippers and the narrow cliff roads can get backed up.

Where to eat: the harbor town of Heda, north of Dogashima, is famous for kinmedai — golden eye snapper. The fish is caught locally and served as sashimi, grilled, or in hot pot. The restaurant Marumi, near Heda Port, does a set lunch for 2,200 yen that includes kinmedai sashimi, grilled fish, miso soup with fish head, rice, and pickles. Arrive before 12:30 or the snapper runs out.

San'in Kaigan — Tottori & Shimane Prefectures

The San'in Kaigan is Japan's least-known spectacular coastline. It stretches from Kyotango in northern Kyoto Prefecture all the way to Tottori, covering roughly 75 kilometers of designated national park coast. The scenery changes constantly: sand dunes, basalt columns, volcanic caves, fishing villages, and on the clearest days, views of Mount Daisen rising behind the shore like a cone-shaped sentinel.

Start in Tottori City. Yes, the city with the famous sand dunes — but don't stop there yet. Head west on Route 9, which runs along the coast. The first section is flat and agricultural, but once you pass the town of Iwami the road starts climbing and the views open up. The Uradome Coast is a series of small bays with white sand beaches and clear water that looks more like Okinawa than mainland Japan. There are boat tours from the harbor at Uradome that take you through the bays and under natural rock arches. Tours run from April to November, cost 1,300 yen, and take about 40 minutes.

Continue west to Iwami Town, which has one of the best public onsen facilities on this coast — Iwami Onsen has an outdoor bath with direct views of the sea. Entry is 600 yen. Bring your own towel or rent one for 200 yen. The water is sodium chloride type, mildly salty, and the combination of hot spring and sea breeze is the kind of thing you can't bottle.

The stretch from Iwami to Hamasaka in Hyogo Prefecture is the most dramatic part of the drive. The road cuts through tunnels carved into basalt cliffs, emerges onto bridges spanning narrow inlets, and winds past fishing villages where dried squid hangs from every eave. This is the Japan that most travelers never see — rural, aging, deeply tied to the sea, and staggeringly beautiful.

Overnight options are limited. The town of Hamasaka has a few business hotels. Better: stay at a ryokan in Iwami or drive inland to Yonago and stay there, using it as a base for the coast. Yonago has better food and more accommodation choices. The drive from Yonago to the coast is about 40 minutes.

If you have time, add the Oki Islands to this trip. Ferries leave from Sakaiminato (also worth a stop — the crab capital of Japan) and Shichirui. The Oki Islands are a volcanic archipelago 60 kilometers off the coast with sea cliffs, ancient forests, and a pace of life that makes the mainland feel frantic. Ferry schedules vary by season; check the Oki Kisen website for current times. The crossing takes about two and a half hours and costs roughly 3,500 yen one way.

Amakusa Islands — Kumamoto Prefecture

The Amakusa archipelago off the west coast of Kyushu is connected to the mainland by the Amakusa Five Bridges — a chain of bridges that hop from island to island across turquoise water that doesn't look real until you see it with your own eyes. This is the best island-hopping drive in Japan, and it's criminally under-visited by foreign travelers.

Start in Misumi, on the west coast of Kumamoto Prefecture. Misumi is accessible by train from Kumamoto City (about 50 minutes on the JR Misumi Line). Rent a car at the Toyota Rent-a-Car near Misumi Station. Head west on Route 28, which becomes the bridge chain almost immediately. The first bridge, Misumi Bridge, is 360 meters long and crosses a narrow strait. Then Reihoku Bridge. Then Ooe Bridge. Each crossing gets you to a new island, and each island has its own character — fishing villages, Catholic churches (Amakusa was a center of hidden Christianity during the Tokugawa period), and viewpoints over water so blue it looks photoshopped.

The fifth bridge lands you on Amakusa Shimoshima, the largest island. The town of Amakusa (formerly Hondo) is the administrative center and has the most accommodation. But the better overnight stop is Sakitsu, a small village on the west coast that's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sakitsu was a hidden Christian village for centuries, and the Catholic church there — a modest wooden structure built in 1934 by Japanese carpenter Tetsukawa Yosuke — sits on a hillside above a bay of fishing boats. The contrast between European Christianity and Japanese coastal life is striking and strangely moving.

The full drive from Misumi to the southern tip of Amakusa Shimoshima is about 80 kilometers and takes roughly two and a half hours without stops. With stops for photos, church visits, and a long lunch of local seafood, it's a full day. The road is mostly two lanes, well-maintained, with excellent views at every bridge crossing. The bridges themselves are architectural achievements — each one is different, and the engineering required to span those straits in an earthquake zone is genuinely impressive.

What to eat: Amakusa is famous for taichazuke — sea bream over rice with hot tea poured over it. It's simple, delicate, and perfect after a day of driving. The restaurant Kotsuro near Sakitsu Harbor does an excellent version for 1,500 yen. Also try the local shochu — Amakusa produces a distinctive sweet potato shochu that's softer than the Kagoshima versions.

Getting back: you can return the car in Amakusa town and take a ferry back to Kumamoto (2 hours, 2,500 yen) or drive back across the bridges. The ferry is more interesting but has limited schedules — usually two departures per day. Check times in advance. If you drive back, budget an extra half day.

Oshima Island — Tokyo Prefecture

Oshima is the largest of the Izu Islands, and it's technically part of Tokyo — though you'd never know it from the black sand desert, the volcanic caldera, and the complete absence of anything resembling a metropolitan area. The island is a 1 hour 45 minute ferry ride from Takeshiba Terminal near Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo. The ferry costs 4,500 yen one way for a regular seat, 8,200 yen for a private cabin. Book online through Tokai Kisen.

You'll want a car on Oshima. The island is too big to cover by bus in a day, and the best spots are spread out. There's a Toyota Rent-a-Car at Motomachi Port where the ferry arrives. Book in advance — they have limited cars and sell out on weekends. A compact car runs about 8,000 yen per day.

The coastal drive circumnavigates the island on a single main road that's about 45 kilometers in a loop. Start by heading counterclockwise from Motomachi toward Habu Minato, a small fishing port on the southwest coast. The road climbs immediately, and within ten minutes you have views of the Pacific on one side and the green interior of the island on the other. Habu Minato has a small harbor and a restaurant that serves island-caught fish grilled over charcoal. Lunch here costs about 1,500 yen.

Continue to the island's most dramatic feature: the Urasabaku Desert. This is a field of black volcanic sand and rock created by the 1777 eruption of Mount Mihara. It's called a desert but it's really a lava flow — a vast expanse of black grit and sharp rock that looks like the surface of Mars. There's a parking area and a walking trail that takes you into the middle of it. The contrast between the black desert and the blue ocean visible beyond it is one of the most striking sights in Japan. Plan on 45 minutes to walk the trail and take photos.

Mount Mihara itself is an active volcano with a trail to the summit. The hike takes about two hours round trip and gives you views into the crater — a blackened bowl with fumaroles smoking at the bottom. The trail is steep and exposed, so bring water and sun protection. If you don't want to hike, the view from the lower observatory is still impressive.

The northern coast of the island has the best coastal scenery. The road drops down to sea level at several points, passing black sand beaches where you can swim in summer (the water is surprisingly warm). The town of Okata has a small onsen facility with outdoor baths that look toward the ocean — entry is 700 yen, and it's a perfect way to end a day of driving.

Overnight: there are several ryokans and minshuku (family-run guesthouses) on the island. We stayed at Habu-no-yu, a ryokan near the desert with tatami rooms, a shared bath, and an excellent dinner of island seafood. It cost 11,000 yen per person with meals. The ferry back to Tokyo leaves at 2:30pm daily, so you'll want to depart the hotel by 1pm to return the car and check in.

What to Pack for a Coastal Drive

A few practical notes from someone who has been caught out more than once. Bring cash — rural gas stations and harbor restaurants often don't take cards. Fill up whenever you see a gas station, especially on the Noto Peninsula and San'in coast where stations can be fifty kilometers apart. Download offline maps (Google Maps works offline if you download the area in advance) because cell coverage drops out in the tunnels and mountain passes. Bring a phone charger — you'll be using your phone for navigation, and the battery drains fast when it's constantly searching for signal.

Wear layers. The coast is windier than inland, and the temperature drops when the sun goes down. If you're doing an overnight in a harbor town, bring a warm jacket for the morning market. Bring sunscreen — the reflection off the water is real, and you will burn. And bring an appetite. The food along these coasts is the best in Japan, and you'll want to eat everything.

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