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Saikai NPKujukushima, Nagasaki
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The Wakamatsu Strait in this panorama is also a tuna farm: bluefin grow for 3–4 years in its clear, fast-flowing waters, fed with mackerel caught around Goto. The island’s tuna is served fresh, never frozen.
Ryukanzan’s observatory was completed in 1973, 18 years before the 522 m Wakamatsu Bridge opened in 1991. The bridge linked Nakadori and Wakamatsu, where communities once depended on boats to cross.
At Kamity, a local supermarket, a 70 kg-class farmed bluefin is cut in public and shoppers can buy their chosen pieces; a rock-paper-scissors round can even win a tuna block. Strait-raised fish is part of everyday island life.
Wakamatsu Strait stretches about 15 km among more than 30 islets, and its current can reach 6 knots. From the lookout, the serene blue panorama is actually a seascape in motion.
That red roof is Kiri Church, founded in 1897—24 years after Japan lifted its ban on Christianity—as central Goto’s first parish. The present sanctuary was remodeled in 1958.
In spring, locals bring picnic lunches for hanami at Ryukanzan. Cherry blossoms frame Wakamatsu Strait’s island maze and white bridge, turning the observatory plaza into a flower-viewing spot above the sea.
Dawn can bring a surprise: the local tourism association says wild deer sometimes appear near Ryukanzan Observatory. This 138 m lookout offers the chance to spot forest wildlife as well as boats in the strait.
