Bentenjima

What it is

• A designated Shizuoka Prefecture Natural Monument and historic site located in Shimoda Port.
• An island connected to the mainland by a breakwater road.
• The location where Yoshida Shoin attempted to board a Black Ship in March 1854.
• A geological site belonging to the Shirahama Group designated as a landmark in 1976.

What to see

• Prominent cross-stratification patterns visible in the island rock faces.
• Fossilized traces of seabed organisms preserved within the geological strata.
• A shrine where Yoshida Shoin and Kaneko Shigenosuke hid during their mission.
• Statues of the two men and a commemorative monument in Bentenjima Park.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.