Amakusa

Amakusa is a group of islands off western Kumamoto, joined to the mainland since 1966 by five bridges that hop across the smaller islands in the Yatsushiro Sea. Around two hundred bottlenose dolphins live year-round in the strait off the northern end near Itsuwa, resident rather than migratory, and boat operators there report sightings on the great majority of trips - which is unusual enough that it is the main reason people come. The islands are hilly, terraced, and edged with small harbours; the west coast faces the East China Sea and the sunsets are the local boast. Amakusa was a centre of Christian communities in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and later of hidden practice, and several sites here form part of the UNESCO inscription covering that history, including the church at Sakitsu in its fishing village.

What you actually see

• Resident dolphins - around two hundred living in the northern strait year-round.
• Five bridges - an island-hopping road link from the mainland since 1966.
• Sakitsu - a church in a fishing village, part of the UNESCO hidden-Christian inscription.
• West coast sunsets - the East China Sea side of the islands.

When to go

March to November for calm seas and cruises. Two days.

Honest expectations

Dolphin cruises are cancelled in swell and sightings, while frequent, are not guaranteed. The islands are large and need a car. Sakitsu church requires advance notice to enter as a place of worship. Summer typhoons hit this coast.

Nearby

Kumamoto is east across the bridges; Shimabara is north by ferry.