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shikine island
式根島
In three words: Onsen. Beaches. Walkable.
Recommended for: Happy campers, sea lovers, onsen fanatics and anybody wanting a quick get away from Tokyo.
Size: About 4km²
Population: About 500
Boats depart from: Tokyo Takeshiba Port and Shimoda Port.
in brief:
The smallest of the inhabited Izu islands, Shikine is compact and bubbling with natural beauty! There are three free natural hot springs, several gorgeous beaches, free camping as well as enough conveniences in the village to help you enjoy yourself. Only a quick boat ride away from Tokyo or Shimoda. This is a brilliant escape and sparsely visited especially by international tourists. This is a real treasure.
Too touristy?:
It certainly isn’t too touristy. It may get a little busier in the summer holidays and the high season. But given Shikine’s access to Tokyo, it’s shear beauty and brilliant hot springs it is a miracle that the beaches aren’t packed out and the island isn’t a huge resort. Instead it is peaceful and relaxing.
getting there:
There are a few different boats that will take you to Shikine. They generally leave from Tokyo Takeshiba and Shimoda, though sometimes they leave from Atami and Kurihama too. You can also fly to Niijima and take a boat.
The most difficult part is working out the incredibly complicated timetable which you can find here.
Speed boats take between three and four hours to get to Shikine from Tokyo. They depart in the morning and arrive at about lunch time. These are the priciest boats costing over 10,000 yen one way.
Then there are slow overnight boats which leave Tokyo late at night around 23:00 and arrive the next morning at 8:00. These are around 7,600 yen one way and will save you on a nights accommodation too.
Lastly there are the boats from Shimoda at the south of the Izu Peninsular (a great place too). They tend to leave at 9:30 and do a loop of some of the Izu Islands. The loop switches direction daily but Shikine is right in the middle. You will arrive in Shikine at 12:45 or 13:00 regardless the route. You can find all the info in Japanese here. This is the cheapest boat costing about 4,000 yen one way.
Getting there is tough to work out and it is one of the reasons so few western tourists get out there. Contact us for our information and booking service to help you get yourself on a boat.
Last is the flight option. Here is their website. After you land, you will still be left needing to get a boat transfer to Shikine, so maybe this is best left as plan B for travel to Shikine.
getting around:
Shikine is a small, quite circular island. It is flat and there is a road network taking up about half of the island where the other half has a few gorgeous walking paths through the woodlands and coastlines. You can walk it if you want. It will be a lot of walking as the village and the attractions are somewhat spread out. It takes about an hour from top to bottom. Or you could rent a bicycle. There are plenty of rental stores to choose from. Many also offer electrically assisted bicycles which help up hill. Recommended for anyone feeling unsure about their cardio levels. There are scooters to be rented and one place doing cars too. Contact us for our support and booking service.
food and drink:
On Shikine there are several places to eat. Some are really only open for a short high summer season so watch out. Restaurant Kokoro is a favourite serving large, hearty portions for a reasonable price. There is a monja yaki restaurant too (Osaka soul food). It is only open for the high season though. And overall, reliably good food can be a little tough to come by, especially at night. If you are camping, I recommend you have a BBQ. What could be better than a BBQ on the beach in any case? A lot of people get a bento in the afternoon. A few shops serve them. Another option is a wonderful bakery at Ikemura Store serving freshly made bread everyday. Not something you often get on an island of 500 people.
If you stay in a minshuku (Japanese mid-range hotel) you will be served incredible amounts of freshly caught seafood. See the photo below.
The sights:
Tomari Beach - This is the postcard beach of Shikine. A gorgeous cove that protects you from any waves and has some brilliant snorkelling and diving too. Life savers are here for the high season and you can rent shade to keep you safe.
Matsugashita Miyabi Onsen - This is a 24 hour onsen outdoor free onsen. It is spacious, offering sea views and great starry nights. It has a swimsuit only policy and is a mixed onsen, great for families and couples to enjoy.
Jinata Onsen - This onsen is only good at the hours around high tide. The onsen water at 80 degrees celsius is bubbling up straight under you and only at high tide does the hot spring and the sea water mix to make an optimal temperature. This is beautifully located and really a healing masterpiece for skin and inner bodily functions too. An absolute must.
Kanbiki View Point - There are actually a few great view points on the walk around the wild west of the island, but Kanbiki gets the fame for being in the top 100 views in Tokyo.
tours and organised activities:
There are three diving shops and one kayak tour operator too. The currents of the ‘kuroshio’ bring all kinds of amazing sea life and coral. It will not disappoint. The real beauty of Shikine is having this sub tropical sea paradise right alongside some of the best onsens in Japan. There is a 24 hour free outdoor onsen for you to enjoy at any point.
If you are interested in diving or kayaking, get in touch. They are hard to find.
accommodation
One of the great pulls to Shikine is the free camping. You just go along and register at the camping ground and the rest is free for you to use. There are also kitchen and BBQ facilities on site to boot. There are two campsites, one in the north and one in the south. The southern is closer to onsen, the Northern is closer to the best beach. Take your pick.
Camping is not for everyone. And there are several wonderful guesthouses offering amazing local seafood for dinner and breakfast as standard with your stay. Minshuku Genbei’s meals leave you stuffed full of the wonderful fish that they catch themselves. These places are very tough to find online so contact us for booking services.
a 2-3 day itinerary
Day 1 - Bring all your camping and BBQ food with you. Get to one of the campsites and set up. Swim in the sea, cycle around, get in the onsens. Have a BBQ and sleep tight.
Day 2 - Breakfast is bakery bread. Then go for a full day of diving. If you don’t have a diving license, try kayaking instead. Come back and onsen. This time check into a minshuku. Eat the gorgeous seafood they provide.
Day 3 - After breakfast at your minshuku, take a long walk all around the west of the island. It is harder than it looks on a map so be prepared.