Kamen Riding off the beaten path and onto the rocky shoreline, we reach our second destination of our Shimane Prefecture trip: its westernmost region.
Welcome back to this instalment of the Kamen Riding travel blog! When we last left off, we took a deep dive into the history of the Shimane Prefecture, the filming location of the upcoming Kamen Rider Gotchard: The Future Daybreak movie, and Izumo’s City famous sports dome.
RELATED: Kamen Riding Across the Shimane Prefecture, Part One
Today, our trip takes us out of the city and towards the west end coastline of Shimane, about a 20 minute drive from the dome, bringing us to the beautiful Hinomisaki cape.
The collaborative Gotchard and Shimane travel guide website details this as a special spot for shooting “impressive motorcycle scenes”, featuring Kamen Rider Daybreak, but also mentions the long standing stone lighthouse and the Hinomisaki Shrine treasured in the area.
Hop on your Rider Machines and come along with me, as we travel through the seaside of the Shimane Prefecture, the next stop in Gotchard: The Future Daybreak’s movie locales.
Hinomisaki Cape
Facing the Sea of Japan in the westernmost part of Shimane, this place is famous for its sunsets; so beloved, that they’re even considered sacred, to the point where the half-island has become an official Japanese Heritage site. In one of the recently released trailers for the film, you can even see Daybreak gazing at one of these special regional sunsets.
Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse
Standing at 43.65m high, the Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse is Japan’s tallest lighthouse and is considered one of the top 100 most beautiful lighthouses in the world. Situated atop a cliffside looking over the isle’s shoreline, perfect for a view of the sun setting over the ocean horizon, it comes as no surprise that the masonry lighthouse holds such a prestigious title.
Hinomisaki Shrine
This dazzling vermillion shrine, just an eight minute walk away from the Hinomisaki Lighthouse, was built in honour of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, and Susanoo, the Goddess of seas and storms. Hinomisaki Shrine is believed to be the protector of Japan’s twilight hours, warding off evil spirits, which is an important duty considering how significant sunsets are in Hinomisaki. Strangely, at this shrine, and the larger Izumo area overall, Amaterasu is a symbol of the setting sun, instead of her typical representation of the rising sun. The shrine has also taken on the name “Hishizuminomiya” shrine, which can loosely be translated to “Shrine of the Sinking Sun”.
Setting Suns
Coming here for the Gotchard movie certainly gives the opportunity for stunning cinematography. Daybreak’s name itself also holds a significant relationship to the sun cycle, which makes him a suitable candidate to be walking around a region entranced with its sunsets.
To look a little deeper, Hinomisaki, like the rest of Japan, is fascinated with its rich history and its preservation. Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse’s construction in 1903 makes it a historic landmark of the peninsula, and as The Future Daybreak is so revolved around the importance of historical preservation and time itself, the western-most cape makes for a harmonious inclusion in the film with its centuries old architecture.
Beyond that, there’s something important about coming to film this particular movie in Hinomisaki. The character of Kamen Rider Daybreak is one ridden by grief and self hatred, a future incarnation of Gotchard who blames himself for not being able to do more; and, ultimately, wants to find a place to die.
Sunsets signify more than just the end of the day: they also represent the finality of life itself. It’s a core belief so heavily related to Daybreak’s desire of finding a place of rest. Remember that our first look at Daybreak in the recent trailer is him stood beneath a radiant sunset, at the ocean front, on a little island; key identities of Hinomisaki.
Hinomisaki builds shrines, preserving its history, and writes prayers dedicated to protecting the sun falling and Kamen Riders themselves are forever protectors of life and peace. It is also naturally a region that accepts the fleetingness of something such as the morning light. It’s a special spot to bring a character like Daybreak to; this contrast between the protection of their history and the end of the day. A Kamen Rider who constantly time travels to protect his past yet wants nothing more than to find somewhere to die. Could Hinomisaki be that very place?
The sun has set on the second part of this blog, the halfway stretch! Join me next time for a more light hearted, less existential, trip to Shimane’s historical steam engines.
Kamen Rider Gotchard: The Future Daybreak premieres in Japanese theatres July 26th.
Are you interested in taking a trip to Hinomisaki in the Shimane Prefecture? Will you be on the lookout for its landmarks in the Gotchard movie? Let us know in the comments below!
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