S P O T ／ SPOT-320
Sea Torii of Oouo Shrine
大魚神社の海中鳥居おおうおじんじゃのかいちゅうとりい
On the tidal flats of the Ariake Sea in Tara Town, Saga Prefecture, three vermilion torii gates stand in a line out from the offshore islet of Okinoshima. The Ariake Sea has one of the largest tidal ranges in Japan — up to roughly six meters — so at high tide the gates sink into the sea until only their upper beams float on the surface, while at low tide the bared mudflats let you walk right out and pass beneath them. The defining feature is this radical transformation of the same scene from hour to hour; Tara Town brands itself as "the town where you can see the pull of the moon." The gates belong to Oouo ("Great Fish") Shrine, whose origin legend tells of a tyrannical magistrate saved from a drowning islet by a great fish; in gratitude he founded the shrine and erected torii in the sea. Honored as a guardian of the sea, the shrine still observes a custom of rebuilding one torii every thirty years.
H I G H L I G H T S
Highlights
- 01Three vermilion torii aligned across the Ariake shallows, submerging into the sea or rising from the mudflats with the tide
- 02A tidal range of up to about six meters — among Japan's largest — turns the same place into an entirely different scene hour by hour
- 03At low tide you can walk right up to the gates and pass beneath them
- 04A living tradition of rebuilding one torii every thirty years
A C C E S S ／ M E T A
Essentials
- Location
- Saga Prefecture Tara Town, Fujitsu District
- Address
- 佐賀県藤津郡太良町多良1874-9（沖ノ島地先）
- Fee
- 無料
- Hours
- 見学自由（干潮時のみ徒歩接近可・潮汐表確認必須）
- Status
- 現存
- Nearest
- JR長崎本線「多良駅」
- Walk
- 20 min
- Parking
- あり・無料（道の駅太良・周辺の見学者用駐車スペース）
- Time
- 30分〜1時間