Kisakata

Kisakata is a protected natural area in western Nikaho with rice fields, pine groves, and several small islands that rise from the flat land. The protected zone covers a former lagoon area along the Sea of Japan with viewpoints and marked paths between the hills.

A lagoon filled the area until 1804, when an earthquake lifted the seabed and pushed back the water. The new land was turned to farming, while the former islands remained as low hills between the fields.

The poet Matsuo Basho traveled through the region in 1689 and wrote verses about the landscape that were later included in his travel journal. His descriptions capture the bay and its islands in images that remain well known in Japanese literature today.

The viewpoints give an overview of the fields and scattered island hills, which are easiest to read in clear weather. Several paved paths connect the main lookout spots and pass through pine forests and farmland.

The eight hills that now rise from the farmland were once islands standing in a shallow bay. Their layout and spacing still show how the waterways ran between them.