Kehi no Matsubara is counted alongside Miho no Matsubara (Shizuoka) and Niji no Matsubara (Saga) as one of Japan's three great pine groves. Approximately 17,000 pine trees line a stretch of about 1.7 km along Tsuruga Bay, forming a beautiful shoreline of white sand and green pines. Designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty, this grove has been celebrated by poets and literary figures since a…

The pine grove has ancient roots and appears in Heian-period documents. Closely connected to Kehi Jingu, it was protected as part of the shrine's sacred domain. During the Edo period Matsuo Basho visited and recorded it in Oku no Hosomichi, bringing the grove wide renown. Today it is protected as a …