Saikai National Park Kujukushima was added to Your Favorites!
Sasebo, Nagasaki
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
Kujukushima means "Ninety-Nine Islands," yet surveys count 208 islands within its famous seascape.
Only four of Kujukushima's 208 islands are inhabited.
Almost all honey buzzards breeding in Japan converge around Fukue Island before beginning their autumn migration toward continental Asia.
Only seventeen Christian families lived at Nokubi when they pooled their resources to build a brick church after generations of hidden worship.
Japanese horseshoe crabs still inhabit tidal flats around Hirado and Kujukushima, continuing a lineage that reaches back hundreds of millions of years.
Nozaki Island once supported around 650 residents and today is essentially uninhabited.
Shinto and Hidden Christian communities once occupied separate settlements on the same small island of Nozaki.
A roughly 24-meter-high natural rock formation resembling a giant stone torii rises behind Okino-Kojima Shrine on Nozaki Island.
Former Gorin Church survived with help from local residents that included members of the island's Buddhist community.
Cape Osezaki's lighthouse stands above dramatic wave-cut cliffs reaching roughly 150 meters above the sea.
The original Osezaki Lighthouse was designed by an English engineer and completed in 1879.
Mount Onidake is a grass-covered cinder-cone volcano that last erupted approximately 18,000 years ago.
Sixty species of reef-building coral have been recorded around the Goto Islands.
More than 80 percent of Kujukushima's nearly 300 kilometers of shoreline remains natural.
Kujukushima's sheltered channels create tidal flats and eelgrass beds that function as nurseries for marine life.
Ikitsuki's largest historical whaling organization employed around 3,000 people at its peak.
Historic whaling communities found uses for whale oil, baleen, tendons and bones, creating an economy that involved much of the animal.
Some Hirado communities created memorials for whales, preserving a spiritual connection with animals that supported local livelihoods.
Ito-rakkyo is associated with an Ice Age plant lineage and survives naturally in limited rocky areas of Hirado.
Some of Saikai's sweeping island grasslands remain open because communities continue the traditional practice of controlled burning.
Kujukushima is described by local tourism authorities as having the highest density of islands in Japan.
Kujukushima oysters grow in sheltered waters enriched by nutrients flowing from the surrounding land.
Goto udon is traditionally made with camellia oil, helping give the noodles their distinctive smooth texture.
Goto udon can be eaten jigokudaki-style, with diners taking noodles directly from a vigorously boiling pot.
The Goto Islands are one of Japan's important camellia-growing regions, and the plant's oil became part of both island food and everyday life.
Goto udon noodles are traditionally coated with camellia oil while being stretched, giving them a smooth texture.
Camellia seeds from the Goto Islands yield oil used in local food, cosmetics and traditional crafts.
Colorful Baramon kites from the Goto Islands are associated with children's growth and courage.
Hirado was an early center of Dutch trade in Japan before the trading post moved to Nagasaki's Dejima.
Kujukushima's sheltered coves and eelgrass habitats support fish and other marine life.
Cape Osezaki is a notable autumn departure point for migrating honey buzzards.
Some Goto villages preserve stone walls built to protect homes and fields from strong coastal winds.
The Goto Islands' camellia flowers provide a colorful seasonal link between local plants and food traditions.
