Islands in Chugoku, Japan

Oki Islands · 4

Dogo 240.33 km² The ferry from Sakaiminato pulls into Saigō Port after a long crossing, and the air on the dock already carries that distinct stillness of a sea-bound island.
Nishinoshima 55.5 km² The ferry from Shichirui takes the better part of a morning before Beppu Port comes into view, and by then the rhythm of the mainland has loosened.
Nakanoshima 32.13 km²
Chiburi-shima 12.96 km² The ferry from Shichirui takes its time, threading past the larger islands of the Dōzen group before finally reaching Kurii Port.

Kami-Osaki Islands · 3

Ōsakikamijima 38.09 km² Ferries arrive at the island from three directions — Takehara, Akitsu, Imabari — and once you step off, the road narrows quickly into citrus groves and the low silhouettes of shipyards.
Ikunoshima 2.24 km² A town ferry from Shiramizu Port is the only way in, and the schedule sets the pace of everything that follows.
Nagashima 1.03 km² The bridge arrives before the island does.

Aki Islands · 3

Nasakejima 16.46 km²
Atatajima 2.38 km² The ferry from Ogata leaves only a handful of times a day, and the crossing to Atata is short enough that the mainland never quite disappears behind you.
Nasakejima 0.71 km² The ferry from Agakō takes less than half an hour, three times a day, and lands you on a small granite island in the Seto Inland Sea.

Kumage Islands · 4

Iwaishima 7.65 km² The high-speed boat from Murotsu Port takes less than an hour, and yet by the time the hull settles against the pier, the mainland sense of time has thinned.
Yashima 4.14 km² The ferry from Kaminoseki port runs three times a day, more often when the swimming season comes.
Sagoshima 1.28 km²
Majima 0.73 km²

Kasaoka Islands · 6

Kitagi-shima 7.43 km² Ferries leave from Kasaoka Port for the scattered islands, and the timetable governs a different sense of distance than the JR Sanyō Line that stops at Kasaoka Station.
Manabeshima 1.46 km² The ferry from Kasaoka pulls into a small harbor where the houses lean close together, weathered wood facing the water.
Shiraishijima 1.04 km² The ferry from Fushigoe port carries you south through the Inland Sea, past the silhouette of other islands, toward a small landing where the pace immediately changes.
Ōtobishima 0.93 km²
Mushima 0.88 km²
Kotobishima 0.31 km²

Hagi Islands · 3

Mishima 7.73 km² The high-speed ferry Yuriya leaves Hagi port and crosses open water for over an hour before the silhouette of the island settles into view.
Ainoshima 2.36 km²
Hitsushima 0.74 km² A chartered boat is the only way to land at Hitsushima Port, and even that depends on the sea.

Geibi Islands · 3

Sakijima 8.67 km² The ferry from Mihara crosses a narrow strip of the Seto Inland Sea, and within minutes the engine cuts back as the hull eases toward one of the small ports — Sagi, Sunoue, or Mukaida.
Hosojima 0.7 km² The harbor sits in a pocket of the Hososhima peninsula, sheltered on the north side where the water turns flat against the docks.
Osagishima 0.42 km² The ferry from Mihara docks at Kosagi port several times a day, and on most arrivals only a handful of passengers step off, if any.

Shunan Islands · 3

Ōtsushima 4.74 km² The ferry from Tokushima Port runs only a handful of times a day, and the crossing takes you out beyond the working waters of the Inland Sea to a thin sliver of land stretching north to south.
Ushijima 1.89 km² The passenger boat *Ushima-maru* leaves Murozumi harbor three times a day, and that timetable is more or less the rhythm of the island it serves.
Nojima 0.72 km²

Hashirajima Islands · 3

Hashirajima 3.11 km²
Hashima 0.81 km² The high-speed boat from Iwakuni port runs only a handful of times a day, fewer on weekdays than on weekends.
Kuroshima 0.54 km²

Suo-Oshima Islands · 3

Ukishima 2.26 km²
Maejima 1.08 km²
Kasasajima 0.89 km²

Other Islands · 16

Ōshima 46.11 km² 山口県
Heigunjima 16.49 km² 山口県 The ferry leaves Yanai port and bears south into the Iyo-nada, and after a while a long, narrow island rises from the water, its central ridge steep enough that the terraced fields seem to climb directly toward the sky.
Ninoshima 3.82 km² 広島県 The ferry from Hiroshima Port leaves the mainland behind in roughly the time it takes to finish a coffee.
高島 3.33 km² 岡山県
Momoshima 3.12 km² 広島県 The ferry from Onomichi to Fukuda Port runs across a stretch of the Seto Inland Sea where the islands of the Geiyo archipelago thin out toward the north.
六口島 2.58 km² 広島県 Granite was once cut from these slopes and shipped out to build the walls of Osaka Castle, and later, the National Diet Building.
Maejima 2.4 km² 岡山県 The ferry from Ushimado takes only minutes, but the shift in air is immediate.
Fukaijima 2.32 km² 山口県
Hashirijima 2.1 km² 広島県 The ferry from Tomo leaves the harbor and turns southeast into the Bingo-nada, and within half an hour the engine slackens at a small island where most of the slope rises too steeply for houses.
Kojima 2.06 km² 岡山県 The ferry from Hinase port takes about fifteen minutes, and the timetable runs only a handful of times a day.
Mikadojima 0.75 km² 広島県 The triangle ferry from Kubi port on Ōsaki-Shimojima calls at the small pier, and that is the only way in or out.
Mutsurejima 0.72 km² 山口県 The municipal ferry leaves from Takezaki pier in Shimonoseki and reaches the island in about twenty minutes.
Itsukishima 0.67 km² 広島県 The ferry from Toyoshima crosses a short stretch of water before reaching the granite shore of Itsukishima.
Inujima 0.55 km² 岡山県 The ferry from Hōden port runs only a handful of times a day, and the crossing itself is brief — long enough to notice the wind dropping, not long enough to lose sight of the mainland.
Ōtabujima 0.38 km² 岡山県 The breakwater at Otabu Island still holds its original line of stones, low and patient against the Seto Inland Sea.
Matsushima 0.05 km² 岡山県 The elevator descends from the deck of the Seto Ohashi Bridge directly onto Iwakurojima, a small island in the Shiwaku archipelago.