Toba, Mie — Island Hopping
Toba Marine Terminal is about a 15-minute walk from GUEST HOUSE ARASHIMA. Sakate-jima, Sugashima, Toshijima, Kamishima — four islands with four different faces, and only a boat ride away.
Four Islands
Being close together has not made them alike. The lighthouse island, the festival island, the one you ride around by bicycle, the one a novel was set on. Choose by how long you want to be on the water, or by which island appeals.
The closest island to Toba. It has ties to the writer Edogawa Ranpo and the painter Shimatani Shizen, and in May and June rabbit-ear irises fill the pond. The lanes between the houses run like a maze, and island time moves slowly.
Home to the oldest brick lighthouse in Japan. The Shirongo festival, held sacred by the ama divers, takes place in early summer. In winter the red boxwood of Mount Oyama spreads across the slopes, and sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. A quiet island.
The largest of the four, with around 1,590 residents. The Toshijima Skyline, running the length of the island from Momotori to Wagu, is a ridge walk with the Pacific laid out below. This is also the island with by far the best choice of inns.
The remote island where Yukio Mishima set The Sound of Waves. Long believed to be home to a god, it has drawn the faith of fishermen for centuries. A lighthouse and one tightly packed fishing village, and little else — it feels like the end of the line.
Ferry Access
The Toba municipal ferries run from Toba Marine Terminal, a 7-minute walk from Kintetsu Toba Station. From ARASHIMA to the terminal is about 15 minutes on foot. If you want the first boat of the day, staying the night before is the surest way to catch it.
A pass covering Toshijima, Sugashima and Kamishima together, valid only on the day it is bought. If you plan to visit two islands or more, it works out cheaper.
Activities
Walk, paddle, eat, make something. Ways to meet the islands as an extension of daily life rather than as a sight to be seen.
A ridge trail from Momotori to Wagu, with the Pacific on one side and Ise Bay on the other. Two to three hours, and better suited to experienced walkers.
Inns on the island rent out bicycles. Fishing harbours, beaches and viewpoints, all at your own pace.
Sit around the hearth while seafood grills over charcoal. There are special courses with spiny lobster and abalone. Time spent talking with the fishermen and ama divers themselves, which you will not find anywhere else.Booking required via Shima no Ryosha。
Make a strap, earrings or a necklace from sea glass polished by the waves. It is indoors, so it works on a wet day.Book via Shima no Ryosha。
From the Momotori district of Toshijima you can arrange a crossing to a nearby uninhabited island, or head out fishing with a working fisherman. Your inn can often book it for you.
Before You Go
We are not going to pretend these are islands with growing visitor numbers. The opposite is true: shops and eating places close year by year. Which is exactly why it helps to know before you go.
Island Stay
A dinner of fish landed that morning, and the quiet of an island at first light. Neither is on offer if you stay on the mainland. The number of inns falls every year, so if there is an island you want, book early.