IMAGES: IRWIN WONG; AWL IMAGES
BEST FOR: CYCLING
SHIMANAMI KAIDO
Linking Honshu
and Shikoku, the
Shimanami Kaidō is
a 48-mile road and
bridge network that
stepping-stones its way
over the Seto Island Sea.
Most people choose to
drive or take the train
across this impressive
feat of engineering,
but those looking
for more adventure and
a considerable amount
of legwork can cycle
instead. Several bike
hire companies offer one-
way options for anyone
undertaking the route,
while each of the seven
islands along the way
has accommodation and
dining options.BEST FOR: BOND FANTASIES
GUNKANJIMA
Fans of 007 will instantly
recognise abandoned
Hashima Island. Of
course, it was never
originally built to be
a supervillain’s lair
but it did the job
admirably in the 2012
film Skyfall. A genuinely
spooky place, it was once
a hive of activity — as
a seabed coal mining
facility, it was home to
over 5,000 miners and
their families — until
being abandoned in 1974.
Today, it’s a UNESCO
World Heritage Site and
makes for a fascinating
day trip, a rocky, half-
hour boat ride from the
city of Nagasaki, on the
island of Kyushu.BEST FOR: CONTEMPLATION
TESHIMA
A dozen islands in the
Seto Island Sea host
the Setouchi Triennale
art festival. While
some stage temporary
exhibitions, a few
also have permanent
art installations and
exhibitions. The latter
include the Teshima Art
Museum. Resembling a
droplet of water, the one-
room concrete space has
been designed for
contemplation and
meditation. Be sure
to save at least half a
day for a visit, perhaps
after seeing the more
traditional artworks on
permanent display on the
neighbouring island town
of Naoshima.BEST FOR: HAWAIIAN VIBES
OKINAWA
Visiting the sun-soaked,
divers’ paradise that
is Okinawa today,
it’s hard to believe it
was the site of some
of the Second World
War’s most ferocious
fighting. Comprising
more than 150 islands
in the East China Sea
between Taiwan and
Japan’s mainland, it was
once its own separate
kingdom. Today, it’s often
compared to Hawaii, with
a similarly laid-back,
ocean-focused vibe. From
its super-early cherry
blossom to its fixation
with pork, everything is
just a little bit different
down on Japan’s
southernmost territory.BEST FOR: FAIRYTALE FORESTS
YAKUSHIMA
The legendary Japanese
animator Hayao Miyazaki
was inspired to create
his 1997 classic Princess
Mononoke — a cautionary
tale of man versus
nature — after visiting
Yakushima. Many of the
island’s trees were felled
during the timber-hungry
Edo period. Today,
however, the island is
carpeted with forests,
which can be explored
via a network of misty
trails dotted with giant,
moss-covered trunks.
These are yakusugi — the
island’s most ancient
cedars (by definition
over 1,000 years old).
The oldest and largest is
Jōmon Sugi. JLJapan’s 6,852 islands offer everything from salmon-filled rivers in the far north to world-class diving in the south.
The four main islands — Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku — are home to the vast majority of the nation’s
population, but away from those behemoths, there are some fascinating optionsThe best island escapes
Naminoue Beach and Naminoue
Shrine, Naha, Okinawa
LEFT: Umi Jigoku, the blue-hued
volcanic spring in BeppuJAPANMay/Jun 2020 71