Ishima sits off the Anan coast at the mouth of the Kii Channel. The village is packed onto a strip of flat land so tight that the only way around is on foot. Spiny lobster is the local catch; a ridge path lined with 33 stone Buddhas crosses the island, and the lighthouse on the far side was Japan’s first fully unmanned one.
- Area 1.44 km²; population 165Source: SHIMADAS (Japan Center for Island Studies), figures as printed
- About 3,900 visitors a year (FY2016)Source: SHIMADAS
- Ferry from Tōshima port (Anan) about 30 min, 3 sailings a day; no cars on the islandSource: SHIMADAS / Ishima ferry service
- Ise-ebi (spiny lobster) is the specialtySource: SHIMADAS
Photos: Ishima, Anan — LT sfm via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ishima — ブルーノ・プラス via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Getting there
JR Anan Station → bus/taxi to Tōshima port → ferry 30 min. Day trip is possible on the 3-sailing timetable; check the return time before you board.
Also in English · 繁體中文 · Español · ไทย · Bahasa Indonesia — Test yourself.
Data: GBIF occurrence records for Tokushima (GADM JPN.40_1), year 2024, as compiled on NihongoHub Wildlife.
Go deeper
Links marked PR are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Facts carry their source next to them; island figures are as printed in SHIMADAS and may predate your visit. Map: Geolonia (MIT); embedded map © Google.