title: Cape Ashizuri
text: # Cape Ashizuri
  
  Cape Ashizuri (足摺岬, Ashizuri-misaki) is a headland at the southernmost tip of the Japanese island of Shikoku, in the city of Tosashimizu, Kōchi Prefecture. The promontory extends into the Pacific Ocean and is situated within Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park. Above the cape is Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse [ja], which started operating in 1914, and two observatories, while a short distance inland stand Kongōfuku-ji, the thirty-eighth temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and a bronze statue of Nakahama Manjirō, who was born nearby. Due to coastal erosion, there are a number of caves around the cape, including Hakusan Cave [ja], said to be the largest granite cave in the country and a Prefectural Natural Monument.
  
  