The next adventure while in Japan was a second try to go to Sarushima Island. Thankfully, this time was successful. The wind had died down and the sun was out in force as we made our way back to the ferry terminal to take the quick ride out to this island. I should say, it wasn’t truly a full-on ferry. It was more of a catamaran that would be perhaps used for whale watching in the United States. It did have limited indoor seating but there were places to ride the boat both on the main deck and also upstairs on the top deck. Apparently, on some days this could be a bit of an adventure if the water was choppy. My sister told me about a recent adventure where waves were splashing over the front of the boat and soaking people on the second level! Thankfully, the conditions were pretty calm for our cruise.
After purchasing our tickets, we waited for under an hour to board the boat and head over to Sarushima Island. Everything was very systematic and once the boarding process began, it was very methodical. Within minutes we were underway and heading out to the island. The boat left from Mikasa Pier (right near the old battleship of the same name) and it only took about ten minutes to get to the island.
Sarushima Island is also known as Monkey Island. There is one weird thing about this name, however. There are no monkeys on Monkey Island. According to local lore, a pure white monkey guided a famous monk named Nichiren through a storm to the island. This was in 1253 and led to the island getting the second name.
It didn’t take long at all to arrive on the island. The day was completely lovely. Within minutes of disembarking from the boat, we found ourselves climbing up a trail along the side and around the island. It isn’t a huge island, however, it is a natural island. From what I have seen, it might be the only natural island in Tokyo Harbor. The rest are all made of reclaimed land. Where this island isn’t a huge one, it does seem to have a lot of stories that have been lived on it. Not only is there the one that led to it being called Monkey Island. There are also plenty of old abandoned fortifications found throughout the island. They appeared to come from different eras. Since the early 1600’s during the Tokugawa Shogunate through World War II, the island was heavily fortified. Walking up the side of the island, it was fascinating to see different old fortifications from different times.
This day on Sarushima Island was all about photography and it really was a fun and fascinating place to be taking photos! On one side of the path, there might be remnants of an old brick building. On the other side there might be old stone stairs from who knows when. A lot of this was overgrown with the jungle on the island. It was easy to imagine life going on with different soldiers through the years as we explored the tunnels and remains of buildings that were still there. There were even areas that seemed to have been built with cement that may have been turrets for fairly large guns at one point, probably during World War II.
As we continued to explore the island, we ended up going down some stairs and discovering a lovely rocky shoreline. There were people fishing here. Others were taking photos, just like we were. We spent some time hanging out here. The adults took photos while the kids climbed all over the rocks. Finally, we decided to climb further up the island and see what else there was to see.
As it turns out, Sarushima Island continued the trend that I had experienced throughout Japan of having a LOT of stairs. Along the way, a couple of people were posing for photos on these stairs that climbed up through the jungle. They seemed to be dressed as anime characters from some series…or maybe just had the style. After waiting for them to take more photos and then they stepping aside to let us pass, we continued to the top of this hill. At the top, there was an abandoned cement bunker at the edge of a clearing. The clearing had some picnic tables and an absolutely beautiful view of Mount Fuji. We spent several minutes just enjoying the view.
As the afternoon continued to wane, we realized we should probably descend down the hill and back to catch a boat back to the mainland. The ferry company made it very clear that if you missed the last boat you’d be paying for it to get back. We explored some more ruins on the way back down and came across some that we had already seen. They really were lovely. Finally, we made our way back down to the shore where the dock was, along with a small restaurant and restroom. There was also a nice beach there where guests could rent a place to sit with chairs or a table under umbrellas. They were beginning to be put away by the time we arrived. There was also a display with the word SARUSHIMA on the sand as well which was pretty cool.
After waiting about 45 minutes, the ferry returned to take us back to the mainland. The trip back was uneventful and relaxing as the sun started to hang lower in the afternoon sky. Some of the men on the boat back had fish inside coolers that they had evidently caught while out on the island. Back on land, we disembarked and made our past the battleship Mikasa (there will be a post about this later). The whole day was completely lovely and one of the more relaxing days that didn’t involve pushing too hard to get a ton into the day. The island, even though it didn’t have any monkeys on it, was completely lovely and I would love to return to it someday.
What do you think of Sarushima Island? Have you ever visited somewhere like this? Would you want to? What did you like best about it? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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