Himakajima is a small island off the Chita Peninsula, south of Nagoya city.  The island is known for it’s fresh octopus and blowfish along with vacation hotels.

It took us about 90 min to walk around the whole island. During our walk we ate fresh octopus, saw a live Taiko band, saw the locals fishing, played in the sand, bought packaged octopus for gifts, and visited a temple where a nice lady popped out a window to hand my daughter a toy. All in all it was a good day trip that didn’t take too long to get to and wasn’t the usual Japan crowded.

While there we encountered a live performance by a Taiko band named Gokuu.  They just came by and setup a free show on the street.

If your in Nagoya it’s really easy to get to (about 90min from Nagoya) and the ferry will take you to the island.

There are Meitetsu ferry connections to Himakajima from Kowa (20 mins), Irago, Shinojima and Morozaki (10 mins).

From  Nagoya Station take a Meitetsu train to Kowa, then it is a 5 minute walk left out of the station to Kowa Port or jump on the free shuttle bus.

Himakajima beach

Himakajima fishing boats

Himakajima - Gokuu - Taiko band

Himakajima octopus

Himakajima octopus BBQ

More photos here on my SmugMug site