Yuge Island

Yuge Island in the Seto Inland Sea is the administrative centre of the Kamijima archipelago. It forms part of the Yumeshima Kaidō, a cycling and driving route connecting several smaller islands by suspension bridges. You can ride or walk along the perimeter roads, which track the rocky shoreline and provide access to terraced citrus groves on the lower slopes. The terrain features a mountainous spine peaking at Mount Tate, while the eastern coastline includes Matsubara Beach, where white sand meets a dense grove of black pine trees growing directly along the high-tide line.

The main settlement occupies the central-western bay around the primary ferry harbour. When you head inland from the water, the roads narrow into tight residential streets passing timber houses, concrete breakwaters, and local shrines. On the northern plateau, a hot spring facility sits on a high bluff, drawing heated seawater into its bathing pools. The southern peninsula is more isolated, with single-lane roads cutting through the forest and emerging at small fishing ports. Yuge has an eclectic selection of accommodation, including a resort-style hotel, and several characterful guesthouses serving delicious homemade food.

During the late Heian and Kamakura periods, Yuge operated as a private estate for Tō-ji, a major Buddhist temple in Kyōto. The island’s primary function was the production of salt to pay taxes to the temple authorities. Residents manufactured seaweed salt by burning dried marine plants and boiling the ash in seawater to extract the minerals. Excavations near the coastal flatlands have uncovered thousands of pieces of ancient clay pottery and stone hearths used in this medieval industrial operation. One salt maker continues to make sea salt on the island using an evaporation method. The island is also home traditional crafts such as pottery and temari, elegantly embroidered balls.

Yuge is located along the primary shipping channels of the Inland Sea, meaning the island maintained its maritime importance through the Edo period. Local sailors navigated the complex, fast-moving tidal currents to move cargo between Kyūshū and Honshū. That nautical tradition continues today; there’s a national college of maritime technology on the island, and you can observe training vessels anchored offshore as students practise navigation and ship engineering.

Unlike many rural islands that have become quiet retirement communities, Yuge retains a youthful atmosphere thanks to the presence of the maritime college and high school. Students living away from home bring a sense of activity that is noticeable in the cafés, shops and harbour area. The result is an island that feels lived-in rather than preserved, a working community where maritime traditions, education and everyday island life continue side by side.