Plants & Animals

Ise-Shima National Park

Along the coast of Ise-Shima National Park, sturdy plants such as Hibiscus hamabo in Gokasho Bay withstand the powerful sea breezes and sand they whisk around. In the water, seagrass and seaweed beds stretch from the mouth of Ise Bay and the coast off the Shima Peninsula.

The inlets around Toba Bay and Ago Bay are excellent places to spot large flocks of black-tailed gulls and herring gulls. The sandy beaches across the park are egg-laying sites for loggerhead turtles. Japanese spiny lobsters inhabit the rocky intertidal zone of the Kumanonada Sea shore. Local tide pools also shelter sea anemone, shrimp and goby.

Plants

Hibiscus Hamabo

This species of the mallow family is found from western Japan to Jeju Island in South Korea, and as far away as Amami Oshima Island. Hibiscus hamabo is a halophilous plant, thriving in saline environments. It produces yellow flowers and is found in basins and coastal areas.

Hibiscus Hamabo

Hamayu

Hamayu (Crinum asiaticum L. var. japonicum) is of the amaryllis family and is found in coastal areas of the park. In Japanese, hamayu means "white cloth of the beach"—the flowers resemble the white cloth (yu) used in Shinto devotions.

Hamayu

Animals

Loggerhead Turtle

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are found in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. These large reptiles come ashore to lay eggs on sandy beaches at various place in Ise-Shima National Park.

Loggerhead Turtle

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