Ōsakishimojima

Ōsakishimojima (大崎下島) is an island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. Administratively, it is part of the city of Kure, Hiroshima.

Understand

The island's main attraction is the port town of Mitarai (御手洗), which during the Edo era was the Island Sea's Vegas-like pleasure palace full of brothels and drinking dens for passing mariners. The triple whammy of faster ships, improved inland road links and the post-WW2 ban on prostitution killed this industry off for good, but the town's remoteness also prevented it from getting redeveloped like so much of the rest of Japan. In 1994, central Mitarai was gazetted as an Important Preservation District, and now a steady but small tricky of tourists makes its way here to experience a tiny piece of the elusive Old Japan.

Get in

The reason the island is not inundated with tourists is that getting there with public transport is a royal pain. From Hiroshima, the nearest major city, the fastest route involves taking the JR Joban line to Shiraichi or Mihara (45-60 min), connecting to a bus to the port of Takehara (30-60 min), and then taking an all-stops Habu Shosen ferry to Mitarai or the nearby port of Ōchō (大長). This takes at least 3 hours, often more.

If you have a car, the trip is considerably easier: you can island hop across along the Akinada Tobishima Kaido bridges from Kure via the Akinada directly to Mitarai, taking about 90 min all the way from Hiroshima.

If you're traveling the Shimanami Kaido by bicycle, there are no direct bridges or ferries from any islands on route to Ōsakishimojima. However, it's possible to take one ferry from Munakata on Omishima to Kinoe on Ōsakikamijima and make your way around the island to Akashi, from where you can connect to ferries to Ōsakishimojima. To maximize confusion, Akashi has services to both the ports of Ochō (小長) and Ōchō (大長), so pay attention to the kanji!

See and do

The maze-like Edo-style warren of the Mitarai preservation district

Honorable hand washing The kanji for Mitarai (御手洗) literally mean "honorable hand wash". Nobody knows why the town is called this, although there are fanciful legends involving various famous people starting from Empress Jingu (200 AD) washing their hands here. Only one thing is certain: in modern Japanese, 御手洗 is now read otearai, which is a common euphemism for "toilet"!

• 1 Mitarai Preservation District (御手洗建造物群保存地区). The town of Mitarai grew as a port for ships waiting for rising tide or favourable winds. Today, the town includes gabled houses with sangawarabuki roofs and is dotted with Western style houses. The port area retains its historical character with groynes, stepped piers and a lighthouse, and is gazetted as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (updated May 2024)

• 2 Wakaebisuya chaya (若胡子屋跡). Dating from 1724 and once the largest chaya (brothel/geisha house) in the Inland Sea, which employed over 100 women. Famous for the gruesome legend of the Ohaguro Incident (お歯黒事件), where a courtesan called Yae Murasaki poured boiling tooth-blackening paste (o-haguro) made from iron filings down an attendant's throat. A blackened handprint left by the poor girl in her death throes is said to still be visible on the wall, and the solitary gravestone in the back commemorates Yae (but not, oddly, her victim). Briefly converted to a temple to atone for its sins, the teahouse is now a public space open to visitors. (updated May 2024)

• 3 Ippōji-san Observation Deck (一峰寺山展望台). The highest point on the island, with great views across the area on a clear day. (updated May 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Kangetsu-an Shintoyo (閑月庵新豊) (Mitarai). Lovingly restored in 2018, Oscar winning film Drive My Car was partly filmed at this classic inn that only accepts one group per night. From ¥55,200/person with two meals.