The Cormorants of Jogashima Island

Less than an hour on the Keikyu Line from Yokohama to Misakiguchi Station and then a 15- minute bus ride brings you to the little town of Misaki, the tuna capital of Kanagawa prefecture. Miwa and I have visited this area many times just to partake of the delicious freshly caught tuna. Today’s objective was to view the Pacific Reef Heron and Japanese Cormorants on Jogashima Island. On previous visits to Jogashima, the birds had already migrated to Northern Hokkaido. They usually leave the island sometime in April and return in late October. The cliffs here are their breeding grounds.

After a short walk over the Jogashima-ohashi-bridge is the entrance to the park.

At this end of the island are many scenic lookout areas as well as the small Awazaki Lighthouse. The trails are moderate with some steep steps if you go down to the water.

Back near the entrance to the park is a path that leads to a viewing area for the Herons and Cormorants. A little further north is horseback cave or Umanose-doumon. There are several tidal pools and I enjoy searching for sea life stuck in the pools from the tide change. 

In December and January the park is alive with over 500,000 daffodils, and in summer there is a nice hydrangea display. On the north end of the Island is historic Jogashima Lighthouse, one of two surviving western style lighthouses left in Japan. It was designed and built by an expat Frenchman in 1858.

Jogashima is a great one-day trip away from the city.  The trails are easy, scenery is beautiful, and of course back at Misaki port there is the “tuna.”