Kuroshima and Taijima

This town was independent until 2005 and continues to maintain its own identity. The scenery along the waterway that bisects the town, the Koza River, is quite picturesque.

A legendary set of rock formations that stretch out sea for about 850 meters, and is pretty much ingrained into the town's identity to both locals and visitors.

Japan's oldest stone lighthouse and is still in use. Also known for being the home of an Englishman who tended to the area, planting daffodils that continue to bloom to this day.

As the signs outside Kushimoto JR Station proclaim, Kushimoto is the official "Town of Japanese-Turkish Friendship." This proud history began in 1890, when the Turkish frigate Ertugrul crashed on the rocks off O-shima Island during a typhoon, after visiting Yokohama to conduct talks between the rising Empire of Japan and the declining Ottoman Empire. The museum is small and its information is only in Turkish and Japanese, but there is a good collection of artifacts and photographs and from an outdoor terrace, you can see the rock which sent more than 500 Turkish sailors to a watery grave. Don't miss the nearby Turkish souvenir stand, which serves delicious Turkish ice cream!

Rock formations taking on strangely recognizable shapes, such as pyramids and lion masks. Declared in 1983 by Asahi Shimbun newspaper as one of Japan's 100 Most Important Natural Treasures for the 21st Century.

A museum commemorating the first actual arrival of an American ship in Japan—the USS Lady Washington in 1791—taking place decades before Commander Perry's more famed 19th-century landing. Also houses a small collection of memorabilia of the town's American Sister City (Hemet, California). Exhibits have English-language recordings and materials.