Kujuku Islands

Kujukushima means ninety-nine islands, which is an old way of saying a great many rather than a count; the surveyed number is 208, packed into about twenty-five kilometres of coast north and south of Sasebo, and the density is the highest of any island group in Japan. Almost all are uninhabited, small, and covered in black pine growing straight out of the rock. The way to see the shape of it is from above: Ishidake and Tenkaiho are viewpoints on the ridge behind Sasebo, and the view from Ishidake at sunset appeared in the closing scene of a well-known film, which brought it a lot of attention. Cruise boats run out among the islands from the Pearl Sea Resort in about fifty minutes. The waters are farmed for oysters and pearls, and the whole area is within Saikai National Park.

What you actually see

• 208 islets - the densest island group in Japan, in twenty-five kilometres of coast.
• Pines on bare rock - black pine growing straight out of the islets.
• Ridge viewpoints - Ishidake and Tenkaiho giving the whole scatter at once.
• Cruise boats - about fifty minutes threading among the islands.

When to go

March to November; sunset at Ishidake. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Cruises are cancelled in swell and are busy in holidays. The viewpoints need a car or an infrequent bus. Haze softens the view for much of the summer. Sasebo itself is a working port city rather than a resort.

Nearby

Huis Ten Bosch is south; Hirado is north up the coast.