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Ise-Shima NP, Mie
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Ago Bay saw 2 pearl firsts at different spots: hemispherical cultured pearls succeeded at Shinmeiura in 1893; in 1905, Toku Island produced the world’s first perfectly spherical cultured pearl.
In January 1905, a red tide killed about 850,000 of the roughly 1 million pearl oysters at Toku Island. A family account recalls 200 ama plunging into freezing water to move oysters beyond the bloom.
Pearl rafts aren’t Ago Bay’s only crop: its sheltered waters also grow aosa seaweed. In Mie, this fragrant seaweed flavors miso soup and tempura, and is also made into tsukudani, a savory-sweet preserve.
The bay’s 50-plus islands began as hills: after the last ice age, rising seas flooded ancient river valleys about 10,000 years ago, leaving the high ground standing above the water.
Ama divers near Ago Bay’s mouth harvest shellfish and seaweed under strict local limits. Across Toba-Shima, this tradition dates back 1,200+ years; the linked ama-and-pearl system became Japan Agricultural Heritage in 2017.
Some rice fields around Ago Bay were created by reclaiming tidal flats. Later, local pearl growers helped reverse the change: opening seawater gates turned abandoned fields back into flats and helped restore the bay’s natural purification.
Kashikojima was once reachable from shore on foot at low tide; its name is said to come from “Kachikoejima,” or “island crossed on foot.” The island later hosted the 2016 G7 Ise-Shima Summit.
