Northwest Nagasaki · SaseboNo.756★★★Open in map →
Kujukushima Islands
— Sasebo's island-studded arm of Saikai National Park
A shallow bay west of Sasebo packed with small wooded islands, protected as the northern end of Saikai National Park. A sightseeing boat and a handful of free hilltop lookouts show the same water in two entirely different ways.
- FromSasebo Station
- ~25 minBus from Sasebo Station
- Get off atKujukushima Pearl Sea Resort bus stop (Saihi Bus)
- From there
- Kujukushima Islands
Where it is
20 more notes in Nagasaki · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- The waterfront deckan open promenade at Pearl Sea Resort facing the nearest islands
- Kujukushima Aquarium Umikirarathe national park's own aquarium, built around a tank of species from this bay
- The cruise pierdeparture point for the sightseeing boat that threads the inner channels
- Ishidake Observatorya ridge lookout on the hill behind the resort, the standard vantage point for the bay
- Tenkaiho lookouta hilltop terrace further south, taking in the islands and the city in one sweep
How to actually get there
- Sasebo Station bus terminal, stand 6 → Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort (Saihi Bus, about 25 minutes, 390 yen).
- From the bus stop, walk down to the waterfront deck and the boat pier (two or three minutes).
- Take a cruise through the inner channels, then visit the aquarium beside the pier.
- Head up to the Ishidake or Tenkaiho lookout for the wide view, then return to Sasebo Station on the same bus route.
- Saihi Bus from Sasebo Station
- Sasebo Station bus terminal, stand 6, to Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort. The ordinary route bus takes about 25 minutes and the limited-stop service about 18; the adult fare is 390 yen. Buses run through the day, so there is no need to plan around a timetable.
- Returning to Sasebo Station
- The same route runs back from the resort to Sasebo Station, where the JR line and the Matsuura Railway both terminate. Return times are posted at the shelter by the stop — worth reading before you commit to a late sailing, since the service is thinner in the evening than at midday.
About the place
Kujukushima is a drowned coastline. Ridges that once ran down to the sea now stand clear of it as 208 separate islands, crowded into a shallow bay west of Sasebo. Only a few of them are lived on. Because the islands sit so close together, the water between them reads as a set of corridors rather than open sea, and the shapes rearrange completely depending on whether you are on a boat or on a hill. The mainland end of the bay is Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort, a public waterfront with a boat pier, an aquarium and an open deck.
How to enjoy it
Cruises run through the day from the resort pier, so a mid-morning sailing and an afternoon lookout fit comfortably into one visit. Late afternoon is when the climb up to Ishidake or Tenkaiho earns itself, with low light separating the channels between the islands. If the weather closes in, the aquarium and the covered deck are both indoor options on the same site.
Background & history
Saikai National Park was designated in 1955, taking in the Kujukushima bay along with the Hirado, Ikitsuki and Goto islands further south. Kujukushima forms its northern end, and the bay has been managed since then as one continuous seascape rather than as a list of separate islands. That is why the shoreline here still reads as woodland and rock while the city of Sasebo, a few kilometres east, is dense and built up.
Before you go
- Cash
- The waterfront, the deck and the car park cost nothing. The aquarium and the cruise are ticketed separately at the terminal. The bus fare from Sasebo Station is 390 yen for adults, and it is worth carrying cash for the kiosks as well as a card.
- Before you go
- Sightseeing boats work open water, so sailings depend on the weather and are worth confirming on a windy day. The aquarium and the covered deck stay open in rain. The ridge lookouts have no shelter and no lighting once the sun goes.
- Another way
- By car the resort is a short run from the Sasebo-Chuo interchange on the Nishi-Kyushu Expressway, and there is a large car park on site. The same drive continues south to the Tenkaiho lookout on the Tawaragaura peninsula.
- After you get off
- The bus sets down at the resort entrance. The deck, the aquarium and the boat pier are all within two or three minutes' walk of the stop, on the level.