Shirasaki Coast: Japan's Aegean, and the Cafés of Yura

Overview

Yura sits about midway down the Wakayama coast, twenty to thirty minutes from the Hirogawa interchange, and it is the white rock that people come for. At Shirasaki Ocean Park a wall of pale limestone meets a cobalt sea, a contrast striking enough to have earned the coast the nickname 'Japan's Aegean'. The stone is Permian, laid down more than 250 million years ago from coral and shell compacted into calcium carbonate, and fossil fusulinids and crinoids still turn up across it. From the viewpoint you can pick out Awaji Island and, on a clear day, Tokushima. HYDE of L'Arc-en-Ciel, a Wakayama native, filmed a music video here.

The same limestone runs underground at Totsui Cave, a short drive away. It is a modest thing — roughly 100 metres end to end — but the formations stand within arm's reach, and the walk through the dim chambers has the feel of a small expedition. Note that it closes at weekends and on public holidays.

Yura's other draw is a run of cafés along the Ena shore. BOAT CAFE Ena Marina is built from shipping containers joined together, its white terrace facing nothing but open water; go towards sunset. BALORICCO occupies a vintage warehouse and fires its pizza in a wood oven, the dough kneaded by hand with the mix adjusted to the day's temperature and humidity. Fitam builds its burgers on original buns raised with Japanese natural yeast, and many people carry them out to the seawall. Toge Chaya Cafe is a handmade log house on the heights above the Kii Strait, serving Hawaiian plates. Each keeps its own closing day and the park's shop and kitchen work to staggered hours, so check the official channels before you set out.