An Official Japan Heritage Site; Experience Beautiful Views and a Culture of Stone on Kitagishima Island

hour away from the mainland by ferry, youcan take in the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea on your way. A museumof the island’s stonecutting history, photogenic island dining, awe-inspiringviews of the old quarries and the surrounding sea; Kitagishima has been drawingboth domestic and international attention in recent years for its many charmsas a tourist site.

This time, JAL Hometown Ambassador* (forOkayama Prefecture) Miki Shimoda and Stanford University MBA student MonicaMalone, together with two coordinators for international relations working forOkayama Prefecture (Curran Stark and Karolina Wasilewska) experienced thosecharms first-hand.

*An initiative where flight attendantsrelocate to regions they have ties with, where they create products and toursutilizing local resources, and propose plans to address regional challenges.

• Table of Contents
• From Fushigoe Port to Kitagishima
• “Island of Stone”, Official Japan Heritage Site
• One-stop shop for a relaxing island experience! Tourism hub K’s LABO
• Learning about the history of the “Island of Stone” at the stone museum
• Photogenic and mouthwatering island curry using local ingredients♪
• Quarry rockfaces and still lakes come together in “Kitagi’s Guilin”
• Largest on the island! A beautiful lake rising out of the abandoned chouba
• Venetian landscape on the island?! A port made of stone offcuts
• A stunning viewpoint utilizing the island's only active quarry
• Breathtaking and thrilling scenery at the leg-shaking height of 60m!
• Hikari Theater; one of four former cinemas, showing the island’s golden age
• Picturesque scenery and the story of stonecutting on the “Island of Stone”, Kitagishima

From Fushigoe Port to Kitagishima

Their journey began at Fushigoe Port, aroughly 15 minute walk from JR Kasaoka Station. There are two ways to reach Kitagishima, byferry from Fushigoe Port or by passenger ship from Sumiyoshi Port. The four travelers, excited for the dayahead, eagerly awaited the ferry’s arrival. Fare for the ferry is paid onboard, so youwon’t find tickets being sold at Fushigoe Port.

At last, it was time to board the ship. Mikihad visited Hishima Island once before, so this was her second time visitingthe Kasaoka Islands. However, for Monica this was going to be her first timevisiting any island in Japan! They were full of excitement and curiosityfor the experiences awaiting them. Shortly after getting on board, ferry staffcame to take their fare. “It’s nice not having to wait in line!”, Monicaremarked.

The boat proceeded smoothly along its route, aided by the nice weather. The ferry offers a rare chance to see views of not only the Kasaoka Islands, but islands all throughout the Seto Inland Sea. Out on the deck, the group had fun waving at passing ships and taking photos. Monica was used to seeing bare, rocky islands in other countries, so she was particularly drawn in by the lush greenery of the islands here in Japan.　After spending an hour on the gently rocking boat and passing by Shiraishijima Island on the way, the group finally arrived at Toyoura Port on Kitagishima.

“Island of Stone”, Official Japan Heritage Site

Kitagishima is well known as the source of “Kitagi Stone”, one of the three great stones from the Setouchi region. Due to the high quality of the stone, it has been used to build many famous pieces of architecture throughout Japan. Recognizing these achievements, the island was registered as an official Japan Heritage site under the title “Did you know!? The Islands of Stone where time flows immemorial―The Setouchi Bisan Islands that built the foundations of Japan from across the sea.” Today, these “Islands of Stone” are becoming more and more well known around the world.

Did you know? The Stone Island where time flows forever | Japan Heritage Portal Site

One-stop shop for a relaxing island experience! Tourism hub K’s LABO

There are four ports on Kitagishima;Toyoura Port, Kanafuro Port, Ooura Port, and Kusunoki Port, but the majority oftourism sites are located in the area between Toyoura Port where the ferrystops, and Kanafuro Port. The group’s first destination was K’s LABO, afacility that acts as a hub for tourism on the island.

This combined facility was made byremodeling an old work site used by one of the island’s stone companies. Now itcontains a stone museum where you can learn about the history of the stoneindustry on the island, as well as a café serving both food and drinks in arelaxing environment.

You can also rent the supplies you need toenjoy various activities on the island, including cycling, and marine sportslike sea-kayaking and SUP.

Learning about the history of the “Island of Stone” at the stone museum

First off, the group went to learn about the history of the island’s quarries at the stone museum inside K’s LABO.

Guiding everyone on the island today wasMr. Sekitani, an employee from Tsuruta Stone, the last company to continueoperating quarries on Kitagishima to this day. The four visitors examined eachexhibit panel attentively as they listened to Mr. Sekitani. After hearing thatKitagi Stone was used to build the walls of Osaka Castle, the Bank of JapanHeadquarters, and other famous landmarks, Monica, intrigued, commented howshe’d love to tour sites that used the stone in the future.

Photogenic and mouthwatering island curry using local ingredients♪

After the museum, it was time for lunch inthe café. The stylish and open interior, with its view of the port and seabeyond, was perfect for a quick break on the island. The café, along with theterrace on the second floor, can also be rented out entirely. Soon after thegroup sat down, island-themed curry was brought out, each complete with a toypalm tree.

Following a resounding “Oooh!”, each membertook their first bites of the curry and, eyes shining, remarked how deliciousit was.　“The chicken is so tasty, as expected fromKasaoka raised chicken! The balance of spice in the curry is just right too.”Miki noted. Monica was also impressed, “I really like this curry! Japanese riceis so springy and delicious!”

K's LABO

714-0301 10364-25 Kitagijima-cho, Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture

A complex facility located on Kitagijima in the Kasaoka Islands. There is a ``Stone Museum'' that introduces the history, culture, and charm of stone, a ``Museum Shop'' that sells everything from stone miscellaneous goods to high-end stone products, and a cafe where you can enjoy leisurely island time while looking out at the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and the blue sky. You can also try your hand at making stone lanterns, and rent bicycles and various marine leisure activities.

After filling up they set off for theirnext destination.　Since the island is surrounded by the sea, anothercharm of the island is being able to feel the sea breeze as you walk.Neighboring Shiraishijima island across the waves from Toyoura Port, the crystal-clearwater along the coast, fish both large and small swimming nearby; there areplenty of sights you will only find at an island like this.

Quarry rockfaces and still lakes come together in “Kitagi’s Guilin”

A 15 minute walk from K’s LABO, the nextplace Mr. Sekitani led them was the remains of a quarry, where rock was oncecut out of the hills.　Since the stone was cut out in big, squareblocks that resembled tofu, quarries are sometimes called chouba inJapanese, after the counting system for blocks of tofu: 1 chou, 2 chou,and so on.　The exposed surface of the stone where themountain had been shorn away made for an impressive sight. While quarrying hitits peak on the island in 1957, after that most of the stonecutting operationscame to an end, and ultimately the abandoned quarries filled with rainwater andturned into lakes.　Due to its resemblance to the painting-likenatural landscape of Guilin, China, the area has come to be called “Kitagi’sGuilin”.

Miki and Monica instinctively pulled outtheir phones and began taking picture after picture, awestruck by the intenserockface and serene lake.

Largest on the island! A beautiful lake rising out of the abandoned chouba

Next, the group visited the “choubalake”, a short walk away from “Kitagi`s Guilin”. At the height of production,there were as many as 127 chouba (quarries) on Kitagishima, and this issaid to be the largest of them all. As the group climbed the gentle slope, thebeautiful emerald-green surface of the lake appeared a little further ahead,eliciting cries of “Wow!” from everyone. They enjoyed the view for a while froma stage made of old oyster-rafts set up on the lake. The surrounding area hasbeen equipped with spectator seating made from leftover stone, and in recentyears it has been used for events such as live concerts and fashion shows.

Venetian landscape on the island?! A port made of stone offcuts

“Actually, we even have our own little Venice,”said Mr. Sekitani. Intrigued by his words, the four headed to a small portknown as “Kitagi's Venice.” Once used for shipping stone, the stone walls builtby stacking quarry offcuts along the waterways evoke the scenery of Venice, whichled to the nickname over time.

“It’s interesting to think that thislandscape only exists because of the stonecutting history of the island. It evenreminds me of the stonework in Machu Picchu a little,” commented Monica.　Miki also shared her thoughts, “It’s nicehow you can really tell that uniquely Japanese stone working techniques, alongwith the culture of minimizing waste went into making this view.”

A stunning viewpoint utilizing the island's only active quarry

Next, the group visited the StonecuttingValley Observation Deck, located in the only active quarry still in operationon the island. According to Mr. Sekitani, the company which manages this site, TsurutaStone, began quarrying here in 1892, digging down from the mountain top insearch of high-quality stone. Over the long years, their work created sheercliffs soaring 60 meters high, and so an observation deck was built to open upthis awe-inspiring landscape to the public.

Visits are limited to 12:00 – 13:00 onweekdays, and 11:00 – 13:00 on weekends and holidays, but you can drop-inwithout prior reservation.　For group visits and visits outside of thespecified times, please contact Tsuruta Stone in advance. （TEL: 0120-68-2120）

Tsuruta Stone Official Website

Breathtaking and thrilling scenery at the leg-shaking height of 60m!

To reach the observation deck, the groupfollowed the path alongside the reception area and climbed a fairly steep slopefor about five minutes. At last, after reaching the top, a cliff of about 60meters spread out before them. The thrilling height was enough to make thewhole group freeze momentarily. But more than that, they were moved by thespectacular view created by the sheer cliffs and the emerald-green surface ofthe lake. They couldn't help but shout out “Hello!” and were pleased to hearthe echo return their greetings.

Looking out at the valley, Monica beamed, “I’ma bit scared of heights, but looking down at the quarry from high up is sothrilling! The pond spreading out below us is really beautiful.”

Miki also looked thoroughly satisfied, “Ican’t imagine the precise skills needed to create cliffs cut in such aspectacular way! I also can’t help but look for bright red koi after hearingthat people from the island released them in the lakes.” she laughed.

Hikari Theater; one of four former cinemas, showing the island’s golden age

The trip was concluded with a visit to theformer cinema, Hikari Theater. This cinema provided entertainment for theisland's stonecutters during the 1940s to 1960s, when the stone industry wasflourishing on Kitagishima. From a glance at the exterior, the cinema seemedlike a normal house, but one step inside and into the small hall, they weregreeted by a movie projector and other equipment from that age, still in theiroriginal state.　According to the theater manager, theisland once had as many as four movie theaters. “It was even ahead of themainland.” she said, conveying just how prosperous and thriving the island wasat that time.

After watching a documentary about Kitagistone (with English subtitles), the four participants had a chance to try theirhands at stone splitting using a large hammer. They found themselves reflectingon the island's history and the memory of its former bustling days.　Though the Hikari Theater had once closed,a revitalization project launched about ten years ago successfully brought itback to life. It now serves as a vital hub for conveying the island's culture.

For tour inquiries, please contact the FriendsAssociation in advance. (Contact: Mr. Umakoshi, TEL: 090-7893-8862)

Picturesque scenery and the story of stonecutting on the “Island of Stone”, Kitagishima

Before long, the group`s delightful time onthe island drew to a close. For the return journey, they boarded the ferry atKanafuro Port. Though only a half-day trip, it was filled with unexpecteddiscoveries: the stunning beauty of the many Seto Inland Sea islands viewedfrom the ship, learning about the history of stone at the Stone Museum,savoring photogenic island cuisine, and touring breathtaking views and historicfacilities connected to quarrying.

Lastly, Monica and Miki both shared theirimpressions.　“All of our experiences today werecompletely unique to the island. I always thought of Kyoto when it came toJapan's historical spots, but today I realized there's more to it than that.The movie theater we visited at the end was also wonderfully nostalgic.” (Monica)　“It was my first time visiting a quarry,but I was impressed by the awe-inspiring rockfaces and the beauty of theemerald-green lakes. All of the islanders we met were also incredibly warm andfriendly.” (Miki)

At its peak, Kitagishima Island was home to6,000 people, but today its population is closer to 600. Yet the history leftby its stonecutting culture and the magnificent landscapes of its quarry sitesstill live on as the island's treasures.　Quietly, but powerfully, stories of thepast continue to echo throughout the Island of Stone. Why not go and listen?

Feature Articles:"Setouchi Island Time: An experience you can only have on an island!" - Kasaoka Islands

Kitagishima Island

714-0301 Kitagijima, Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture

It is the largest island in the Kasaoka Islands, located in the center of the Kasaoka Islands, approximately 26 km from Kasaoka Port. It has long been famous as a ``Stone Island'' known for ``Kitagi Granite,'' and during the construction of Osaka Castle in the early Edo period, large quantities of stone wall stone were sent there. After the Meiji era, stone mining became serious, and Kitagi stone was used in many buildings, including the Bank of Japan head office in Tokyo, the Mitsukoshi head office, Nihonbashi, and the Otorii gate of Yasukuni Shrine. Today, quarrying is still going on, and you can tour the quarry from the 60m-high "Ishikiri Valley Observation Deck" (for a fee). In 2019, it was designated as a Japanese Heritage Site as ``Did you know!? A stone island where eternity has passed - Setouchi Bisan Islands, which crossed the sea and built the foundation of Japan.''