Hotoke-ga-ura is the reason most travellers make the long detour to Sai. White-green volcanic cliffs have been carved into towers, ridges, and faces along the water, with names that compare them to Buddhas and guardians. Seen from the sea, they look less like a beach than a ruined stone city dropped onto the edge of the Tsugaru Strait.
Boat trips from Sai are the easiest way to understand the scale, though road access and steps down to the shore are possible when conditions allow. Go in clear weather if you can; the colour of the water against the pale rock is half the point.