Michi-no-Eki Futami

Futami is built around one thing: the sun going down over the Iyo Sea. The station shares its grounds with Futami Seaside Park, a white sand beach where the stepped seawall doubles as rows of seats facing west. Route 378 runs past along the coast, and the stretch from Futami toward Nagahama carries the nickname Yuyake Koyake Line for exactly this view.

At the middle of the beach is Koibito Misaki, a spot marked by a monument with a hole in it. Around the spring and autumn equinoxes the setting sun drops right into the hole, and photographers line up for it. A 2021 renovation brought Mondo Bleu, a restaurant looking out to sea, a produce stand and Agemono Ichiban selling jakoten fish cakes fried on the spot.

Time your visit by the sunset, not the shop hours. The tenants close around 17:00, earlier than sunset for much of the year, and the station has been listed as closed on the third Tuesday of each month outside July and August. It is about 20 minutes by car from Iyo IC, or five minutes on foot from JR Iyo-Kaminada Station.