The last big one day trip I went on in the summer was to Sakushima with my friend Mami. We were trying to decide on a place to visit where we both haven’t been before, so Mami suggested going to Sakushima, which is an island east of Nagoya in Mikawa Bay. Sakushima didn’t become a major attraction till a few years back when they installed a series of art sculptures on the island. It was part of a project called ArtPlan21 and it helped to revitalize the island and attract a younger crowd of day-trippers to visit.

I was really lucky that Mami had offered to drive, which meant it saved us the journey to Nishio by train and the bus to Isshiki Port. Once we parked by the port, we waited inside the terminal to take the ferry over to the island. There’s basically two ports you can get off at, depending on whether you want to stop at the East or West Port. If you plan to rent a bicycle to travel on the island, then it really doesn’t matter which port you disembark as you’ll eventually make your way around.

Once we got off we first made our way over to one of the restaurants for lunch. Sakushima is famous for its octopus and fugu, but I don’t think we went in season. Both of us ended up ordering a sashimi teishoku, which was super yummy. Once we finished eating, we ended up renting our bicycles from the same restaurant. After consulting our maps to plan our route, we were off!

There’s actually a lot to see and do in Sakushima. Aside from the art installations, there’s a few beaches you can go swimming in. There’s also a shrine you can cycle to and a guesthouse to rest at. Depending on the time of year you go, there are also many flowers that bloom on the island.

Some of my favourite art installations were the Hirune House, which is a big structure shaped like a three dimensional tic-tac-toe and the East House, which is a big square frame with a staircase on the side. We had to wait our turn to get our photo ops, but it was definitely a lot of fun posing with the structures!

The island doesn’t look very big on the map but there’s a lot of trails you can take to get from one side to another. I highly recommend renting a bicycle, especially if you go smack in the middle of summer like I did, because you would likely roast if you travel on foot. Even with our bikes, Mami and I had to chug two bottles of water in addition to eating a popsicle midway through the day just to cool off. (@_@;)

Overall I had a really amazing time at Sakushima. The scenery on the island is gorgeous and there’s so much to check out while you’re there. For those who have a chance to visit, make sure you check the ferry times before you go!