Inubosaki Lighthouse

Where the Boso Peninsula runs out into the Pacific, the land ends in a windy headland topped by a tall white tower: the Inubosaki Lighthouse, standing at one of the easternmost points of mainland Japan since 1874.

Why It’s Interesting

Because it faces so far east, Cape Inubo catches one of the earliest sunrises on the Japanese mainland — a fact that turns New Year’s morning here into a pilgrimage. Climb the lighthouse’s spiral of 99 steps and the reward is a vast, uninterrupted ocean horizon so wide you can almost sense the planet curving. Below, waves smash the dark rocks, and the little cape town serves seafood and, of course, rice crackers.

Best Time to Visit

Year-round for the views; dawn for the famous sunrise, and New Year’s Day for the crowds chasing the first light of the year.

Getting There

Take the wonderfully ramshackle Choshi Electric Railway to Inubo Station and walk to the cape — the journey is half the fun.