Shionomisaki Lighthouse 潮岬灯台

Okaayy.... Back to the 3rd day of my Jap trip...

After getting past all the spiders and being scorched by the sun, we finally reached the light house. Entrance free is 150yen (~Sin2 bucks). And here is the sight the behold us - the Shionomisaki Lighthouse 潮岬灯台. The white Shionomisaki lighthouse standing on the cliff at 80m above sea level has been protecting ships heading out to sea for over 100 years since the 6th year of the Meiji era. Lighthouse height 19.55m, light power 130 kandera, max distance of light seen 19 nautical miles.


There is an exhibition hall at the ground floor of the lighthouse, showing the different types of lamps used to light the sea over the years, and also pictures of the lighthouse through the ages. There is another entrance that leads to a stairway. We climbed up 68 steps to reach near the top of the lighthouse. There was this steep rusty ladder that went up further. We precariously made our way to the top and came out to the barred area near the top as seen in the photo. The magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean laid before our eyes. It was breathtaking. We tried to walk around the top, but some parts were too squeezy to go through. As much as I like the view, I didnt want to risk falling to my death, so I gave up and took pics from 270deg of the lighthouse. Haahaa~... Here's part of the Pacific Ocean view from the lighthouse... A little small when posted here, but you can click on it to see it bigger... Will post some more shots later...


This is the interior of the lighthouse... I think it is very nicely done up and safe to walk... A little dark though, wonder what kind of wood they use to make the walls. It was nice to walk up the steps... There was a little window to look out when we climbed. But we got a little dizzy going round and round. 68 steps to climb, got a little breathless around the halfway mark. Think its the shape of the stairs and the steepness... But still ok.


But I cant say the same for the ladder and the opening to climb out. Obviously its built for the small Japanese people and whose feet are small enough to step on the rungs... Look at how steep it was and how small the steps are! Almost fell to our deaths coming down...