Toi Cape is located at the southernmost tip of the Nichinan Coast Quasi-National Park. It features a white lighthouse that was the first of its kind in Kyushu to be designated a Tangible Cultural Property. This lighthouse is also the only one in the area whose interior is open to the public.
The cape is home to a herd of wild horses, a native Japanese breed designated as a Natural Monument. They are known as Misaki Uma—literally, “Cape Horses.”
Native Japanese horse breeds are defined as those brought to Japan in ancient times and never crossbred with Western breeds. Eight such native breeds exist today. The Misaki Uma is one of these, designated as a Japanese Natural Monument.
Compared to Western thoroughbreds, native breeds like the Misaki Uma are stockier, with a rounder body and shorter legs. While samurai in historical films and television shows are often depicted riding large, modern horses, the horses used in the Edo period would have been these smaller, sturdier native Japanese breeds, presenting a more historically accurate image.