Get to Goto: Fukue Island abounds with refreshing hikes and eye-popping vistas


2022.12.17

NAVITIME TRAVEL EDITOR

Get to Goto: Fukue Island abounds with refreshing hikes and eye-popping vistas

If you want to get off the beaten path in Japan, there are more remote places than the Goto Islands. But Fukue Island in the small archipelago off Kyushu has some of the most spectacular hiking opportunities within relatively easy reach of major transport hubs, making it very worthwhile for travelers exploring Japan.

  • 01

    Getting to know Goto

    Part of Nagasaki Prefecture, the Goto Islands lie in the East China Sea between western Kyushu and South Korea’s Jeju Island. The name Goto refers to the five main islands of Fukue, Hisaka, Naru, Wakamatsu and Nakadori but the archipelago consists of more than 140 islands and islets.

    While Fukue is home to some 37,000 people, most of the islands in the chain are sparsely populated and many more are uninhabited. Even on Fukue, there’s a relaxed, uncrowded vibe that makes the big cities of Kyushu feel very far away even though the island is only 40 minutes by air from Fukuoka and 85 minutes by jetfoil ferry from Nagasaki City.

    In premodern times, it took longer to get to Goto and that remoteness made it a refuge for Christians who went into hiding amid shogunal repression in the 17th century. These Kakure Kirishitan or hidden Christian communities survived in secret, and some of the churches they built in the 19th century, when Japan lifted its ban on Christianity, still stand. Today, a few of these structures are included in the “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region” under the UNESCO World Heritage program. Understanding this religious heritage can make hikes in Goto more rewarding.

  • 02

    Hiking the islands

    Ideal for day hikes, the Goto landscape ranges from sandy beaches, rolling hills and moderate peaks to dramatic sea cliffs, volcanic formations and rice paddies. Its flora and fauna include camellia trees, Acropora coral, Japanese horseshoe crab, blackfin seabass, osprey, peregrine falcon and, during migration, the crested honey buzzard and Chinese sparrowhawk.

    The Goto landscape ranges from sandy beaches, rolling hills and moderate peaks to dramatic sea cliffs, volcanic formations and rice paddies

    The Goto landscape ranges from sandy beaches, rolling hills and moderate peaks to dramatic sea cliffs, volcanic formations and rice paddies

  • 03

    Mt. Onidake

    The name Mt. Onidake means ogre or demon, but this unusual domelike formation, covered in emerald-green grass, hardly looks like the abode of any malevolent creature. Only 315 meters above sea level, Mt. Onidake is the peak of a dormant volcano that last erupted some 18,000 years ago and part of a group of volcanoes including Hinodake, Shirodake, Midake, and Usudake.

    After an easy, 30-minute hike from the bottom of the trail (a roughly five-minute taxi ride from Fukue Port), you’ll be rewarded with sweeping views of Fukue Port to the north, the lava rock formations on the Abunze Coast to the south, the mountains of Fukue’s interior to the west and the East China Sea to the east.

    Mt. Onidake

    Mt. Onidake

    Mt. Onidake
    place
    Nagasaki Pref. Gotoushi Kamioduchou
    phone
    0959726111
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  • 04

    The Miiraku Coast

    The northern Miiraku coast of Fukue offers some spectacular, windswept vistas and easy walks. Miraku Nagasakihana Lighthouse, a boxy structure built in 1977, is the starting point for a roughly 7-kilometer, 90-minute walk along this stretch of coast designated as a national scenic spot. The route goes along a series of seaside roads that see little vehicle traffic.

    Midway along, you will come to Kashiwa. Now a remote hamlet, Kashiwa was once a whaling center and a departure point for missions to Tang Dynasty China. These journeys were crucial sources of continental culture and technology for Japan. They are memorialized just north of Kashiwa Shrine in the Jihongai monuments overlooking the sea. There’s a statue of the renowned Japanese monk Kukai (aka Kobo Daishi; 774–835) who studied Buddhism in China and founded the Shingon esoteric sect after his return to Japan.

    In contrast to Fukue’s jagged west coast, the shoreline here is only moderately hilly, making it ideal for a low-impact stroll. After taking in the ocean vistas at the Jihongai monuments, you can walk south and then east toward a nature trail called Takasaki Yuhodo. This culminates in a grassy, cliff-lined headland called Cape Takasakibana that provides impressive views of Hime-shima and Hisakajima islands. Aside from its role as a fishing village, Takasaki also hosted refugee Christians who had fled the Omura fief during the Edo period (1603–1868). A few more minutes’ walk to the south will bring you to Takasaki Beach, broad sandy expanse. Under sunny skies, its crystal-blue waters make for the perfect way to cool down and relax after the walk.

    Ousesaki Lighthouse

    Ousesaki Lighthouse

  • 05

    Ousesaki Lighthouse

    Located on the westernmost cliffs of Fukue Island, Ousesaki Lighthouse isn’t easy to get to, but it’s well worth the effort. A 55-minute drive from Fukue Port, the trailhead to the lighthouse is at the end of a narrow ridge road with several switchbacks and past a Japan Coast Guard radar installation. From the road, the trail leads down the mountain through forests of camellia, Japanese cheesewood, Japanese holly fern and other plants for 1.2 kilometers. Coming down the slopes to the sea, and then up the outcropping to the lighthouse, you’ll enjoy magnificent views of the craggy Fukue cliffs and the East China Sea.

    Ousesaki trailhead

    Ousesaki trailhead

    A ridgetop statue of the Virgin Mary

    A ridgetop statue of the Virgin Mary

    Ousesaki was the first and last part of Japan seen by travelers going to and from Japan during the Japanese missions to Tang Dynasty China in the 7th and 8th centuries. A lighthouse was built here in 1879, but the present structure of white tile, standing 83 meters above sea level, was erected in 1970. Today it makes for a breathtaking spot to pause and take in the gorgeous natural surroundings before heading back up the trail. Before arriving at the road, you can take a branch trail leading off to the right. It winds along the ridge and connects several observation decks overlooking the coast as well as a ridgetop statue of the Virgin Mary, a rarity in Japan, with 360-degree views of the island.

    Cape Osezaki
    place
    Shizuoka Pref. Numadushi Nishiuraenashi
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