Jun 13, 2019 - 1 min read

Beautiful Ojika Island

Ojika Island is a hidden treasure in the Sea of Japan

By Victoria Simkovic

Community writer

You can feel the kindness of the locals wherever you are

You will be showered by kindness should you decide to do a homestay. They insisted on me calling them mommy and daddy.

If you are a sea lover like myself, then you will be spending a lot of time at Kakihohama beach.

You'll even spend time at this magnificent place called Goryo Cliffs.

What makes Ojika so special are its kominka, aka Japanese folk houses. You can rent out the whole house for yourself.

While these houses are over 100 years old they have been renovated, fusing modern and traditional designs and they are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.

Stunning view of the harbor from the bedroom window.

The old town is magical. I love how the sea is peeking out from the background everywhere you go.

My thirst for 'narrow Japanese streets' was finally quenched.

I loved seeing locals going about their business on these streets..

Alleys were dotted with Jizo statues. You can see that locals care for them a lot.

Once you have explored the old town, grab an electric bike at a ferry terminal and set off on your island adventure.

You will find some ancient shrines that are thousands years old.

The views from Madara Island are especially stunning.

It's connected to Ojika Island by a bridge and can be reached in 30 minutes by bike from Ojika Ferry Terminal.

From there you can see the most beautiful sunsets.

I especially loved the scenery around the lighthouse.

The whole island is dotted in cows #cutenessalert.

Ojika Island with its people, its nature, its history embodies all the best Japan has to offer.

I love Ojika Island. There, I said it.

With its old town, kominka folk houses, breathtaking nature, warm people and delicious sea food is a truly a traveller's paradise. Far away from the hustle and bustle of mainland Japan, here in Ojika you can take a break from the commercials, shopping, and scheduled sightseeing.

You can soak in the sunshine and kind smiles of the locals. You can travel back in time while wandering through the streets of the old town or while swimming in the turquoise waters of the surrounding sea. You can rent out an ancient Japanese folk house and explore the natural paradise around you.

This is Ojika Island and it is beautiful.

You can reach Ojika Island via night ferry from Hakata in Fukuoka. You can also take the day ferry from Sasebo in Nagasaki. Conveniently, there are also speed boats travelling from Sasebo reaching Ojika in only 90 minutes.

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By Victoria Simkovic

Community writer

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Sherilyn Siy 5 years ago

I'd love to do a homestay too! How did you arrange for it?

Victoria Simkovic Photographer 5 years ago

You can get all the info from the local tourism office: yoyaku@ojikajima.jp
They will match you with a family depending on the things you want to do. So for example if you want to go fishing they will find u a fisherman's family, or if you want to learn how to cook some local dishes they will match you with a family where the mom is a cooking goddess. I wanted to do cooking so I stayed with Yoshiko-san and her hubby (elderly couple in the photo). She is AMAZING (and he is very cute haha).