Inasa Beach, Sacred beach in Izumo, Japan

Inasa Beach is a white sandy coastline along the Sea of Japan that curves in a gentle arc. A small island called Benten sits near the shore, adding a distinctive feature to the landscape.

The beach appears in the Kojiki as Inasa-no-ohama and in the Nihon Shoki as Idata-sa-no-ohama, the shore where the land-transfer talks took place. The Nihon Shoki places the negotiations between Okuninushi and Takemikazuchi in the shelter of Byobu Rock, and the nearby Tsubute Rock is said to be stones thrown in the deities' contest of strength. The Izumo no Kuni Fudoki links the coast running south from here, Sononagahama, to the kunibiki myth as the rope joining the Shimane Peninsula to Mount Sanbe.

Inasa Beach is where Izumo Taisha's kamiari festival begins: on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month the deities are welcomed ashore at the Kamiari Festival, while the Shinto Procession Festival on 14 August carries a deity from the shrine to the beach. Benten Island in the middle of the beach once housed a Benzaiten shrine and now honours Toyotama-hiko-no-mikoto.

The beach is a long, curved stretch of sand facing west, so the shoreline is exposed to waves and currents. Swimming is prohibited in areas where rip currents and uneven seabed near the water's edge have caused accidents, and the coast guard advises against entering the water there. The sand is wet and firm near the waterline, making it walkable at low tide.

At the centre of the beach stands Benten Island, which once housed a shrine to Benzaiten and now honours Toyotama-hiko-no-mikoto. During the Shinko Festival on 14 August, salt is drawn and scraped at Shiokaki Island and offered at Izumo Taisha.