In 2019, the Japanese animated film "Weather Child" exceeded 10 billion yen at the box office in the 34 days of release, and Kazushima appeared in the film as one of the stages, which set off a tourism boom in Kamzu Island. "Love live!" released in 2021 The fourth game in the anime series, Love live! Superstar！！ There are also at least two episodes of the plot that take place on Kanzu Island. In addition, the "Shinoneshima" in "Rebel Ruruxiu" and the "Shinkai Island" in "Detective Conan Cyanobi's Coffin" are all based on this island, which is enough to show how attractive Kamzu Island is. Today I will take you on a tour of this popular island.
In the distance is The island of Kazu
Geography and legends of the island
Located in the Pacific Ocean 180 kilometers south of Tokyo, Kazu Island is the westernmost inhabited island in the Izu Islands, with more than 1,800 permanent residents, an area of about 18.5 square kilometers, and a bird's eye view of several active volcanoes. The highest point is the Upper Heavenly Mountain, 572 meters above sea level.
According to mythology, it is the place where the gods who built the Izu Islands gathered, hence the name "Shinjijishima", which was later probably falsely rumored to be "Kamitsu Island". Some ancient texts say "Shenji Island" as proof. The author believes that even if it is falsely called "Miracle Island" in China, it will not become "Kanzu Island", which is a joke.
Although the island is small, it is rich in sightseeing resources and convenient transportation, so it is a very good tourist destination.
Overlooking the village and port of Kazushima from the hill
Main sightseeing spots and projects
On the former coastal shore, the islands of the Izu Islands are generally surrounded by cliffs and cliffs because they are all formed by undersea volcanic activity, but After all, Kazu Island is a place where gods gather, and they do not want to become "ordinary islands". Although it is a volcanic island, it has a flat coast and even develops many natural beaches.
The former coastal shore on the west side of the island has some of the most iconic sandy beaches on the island. The beach is about 800 meters long, just a short walk south from the port of Kazushima, and there are many homestays nearby, as the residents of The village of Kazujima are mainly concentrated in this area. The clean and fluffy white sand on the beach and the pure water attract many tourists to visit here. Every year from July to September, the beach on the coastal beach is also equipped with lifeguards, and the waters are suitable for surfing all year round, except for typhoon weather.
Soft white sand beach on the front coast
The Long Marina, located on the north side of the former Marina, features a seaside barbecue. Tourists come here with a variety of ingredients to camp and barbecue, which is not busy. The long coast is also a good place to enjoy the sunset, as a tourist, sitting on the beach, holding a beer or soft drink in your hand, filling your mouth with grilled meat, the oysters on the fire rack are stirring, watching the sunset gradually disappear into the sea, the light of the sun, must have been addicted.
Long coast at sunset
The Akasaki Trail, which I think is the most interesting spot on Kazu Island, has a small cove surrounded by rocks in the northwest of the island, and the winding wooden corridor above the rocks is the Akasaki Trail, which has several platforms that extend to the cove, and escalators that extend down to the sea. What is this for? That's right, the platform on the trail is a diving platform, and people jump down and then climb up the escalator on the side. Not only are there many tourists who come to play in the water, but the children on the island also like to jump into the sea here, because there will be security officers to take care of them.
Akasaki Walk and Beach (Snorkeling Possible)
Surrounded by rocks, the cove is calm and the waters are highly transparent, and in the wonderful underwater world, there are seabream, moray eels and many colorful small fish. It is an ideal place for snorkeling and diving, and many tourists play until the sun goes down.
The underwater world of Kazu Island
Tianshang Mountain, the highest peak on the island, once erupted on July 29, 838 (Chenghe 5 July), the eruption of pyroclastic flow is very dense, difficult to flow and piled up, and finally formed a relatively flat lava dome, which is now the appearance, The Heavenly Mountain takes four or five hours to reach the summit, and in the middle of it is also through the barren area known as the "Table Desert" and "Li Desert", but the peak is full of greenery and a small heart-shaped pool.
Although the altitude is only 572 meters, because it is a mountain on an island, standing on the top of the mountain and looking into the distance, you can see other islands and even Mt. Fuji, and you will have the illusion of being in a peak of two or three kilometers.
Taksin Bay and active volcanoes in the distance: The Heavenly Mountain
Starry Sky Observation, Kazushima Village has always attached great importance to the control of light pollution, and in 2020, it was awarded the title of "International Dark Sky Park" (also known as the Starry Sky Conservation Area) certified by the International Dark-Sky Association. Only two of Japan's islands have earned this title, suggesting that the ideal dark night sky is protected and stars can be seen. The planetarium and starry sky viewing club in Kamzu Island often hold events to explain the knowledge of the starry sky to residents and visitors.
The starry sky of Kazu Island
The hot spring maintenance center, the last introduction is the island's hot springs, KazuShima has a rare island using natural rocks to build an open-air hot spring pool, the spring water here contains sodium chloride and other minerals, periarthritis, neuralgia, back pain, sticky shoulder joint cystitis, Raynaud's syndrome has a therapeutic effect. Soaking in the hot springs at night and looking up at the stars on the sea is an unforgettable experience. The hot springs on Kazushima are different from the general hot springs in Japan, requiring people to wear bathing suits to go into the water, while the general Japanese hot springs require no clothes to go into the water, and this requirement of Kazushima Onsen is the same as in China.
An open-air hot spring on Kazu Island
Kazushima travel tips
The island has both a port and an airport, so visitors can choose to get there by boat or plane. From the Takeshiba Pier in Tokyo, large night-time passenger ships take about 12 hours, and high-speed jet boats take less than 4 hours. In addition, the hot harbor and Shimoda Port on the Izu Peninsula also have routes to Kamzu Island using high-speed jet boats, which can be reached in just 2 hours.
Flights to Kamzushima are to Chofu Airport, and the airline is New Central Airlines, which takes 30 minutes.
Guests visiting the island are required to make a reservation in advance before departure.
Kazushima Airport
In fact, there are many attractions and experiences on Kazu Island, and due to the limited length of this article, I can only select the above major attractions to introduce to you. Maybe in the future I will write another long article to sort out the attractions of this small island one by one.
Kazu Island is a place for slow living, and although the island is under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, it is a very different natural scenery. Whether it is for the sake of the animation holy land tour, or to experience the style of the exotic island, whether it is men, women and children, as long as they come here, they will definitely have a full harvest.