okay so here's the thing about being a budget student - you don't plan trips, you just end up places. my friend sent me a random message at 2am saying "hey what if we just went somewhere cheap this weekend" and i said yes before checking my bank account like an idiot. that's how i ended up on a ferry to this place called... wait let me spell it right - it's somewhere near 33.3681, 129.5536 which according to google is in the gotō islands area of nagasaki prefecture. yeah i had to look that up too.

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Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: honestly? yeah. it's quiet in a way that makes your brain stop screaming for once. not for people who need constant entertainment.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: cheapest place i've been in japan. accommodation was like 3500 yen a night. food at local spots was under 500 yen if you knew where to look.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: anyone who needs wifi everywhere, people who hate seafood, introverts who pretend they're extroverts - wait actually introverts would love it. definitely not for anyone who hates walking.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: i'd say late april or early november. the weather right now (around 17 degrees but feels like 16 so bring a light jacket) was perfect actually.

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the ferry ride was like 2 hours from the main island and i spent most of it trying not to throw up while staring at the ocean. the water was this insane blue-green color that looked fake, like someone had turned up the saturation on real life. a random old man sitting next to me pointed at some islands and said "beautiful ne" and i just nodded because my japanese is basically tourist-level at best.

local tip: the ferry tickets are way cheaper if you book online the day before. i learned this after paying full price and then saw a couple pay half. don't be me.

so here's what nobody tells you about small japanese islands - they have this weird rhythm. nothing is open late, everything closes around 8pm, and you kind of have to just... exist with that. as someone who's used to 24-hour convenience stores and being able to get food at 3am, this was actually kind of terrifying at first. but then i realized wait, i don't have to do anything. i can just walk around and look at things.

the weather was doing something interesting while i was there. it was around 17 degrees celsius but felt like 16.6 because of the humidity which was at 50%. the pressure was super stable at 1017 hpa which is apparently really high and that explains why everything felt so... still? like the air wasn't moving but it wasn't uncomfortable. i don't know enough about weather to explain this properly but my bones didn't hurt so that's good.

i met this photographer who told me she comes here every spring because the light is "different" here. she used that word like 5 times. i asked her different how and she just said "it just is" which was not helpful at all but i think i understood what she meant after watching the sunset.

unpopular opinion: the best food i had was at a convenience store. the onigiri here use actual fish and not that weird paste stuff. fight me.

okay so here's the thing about being broke in a place like this - you get creative or you starve. i did a lot of walking. like, concerning amounts of walking. my feet hurt for 3 days after. but i found this tiny shrine that wasn't on any of the tourist sites and there was literally no one there. just me and some cats. i sat there for like an hour just because i could.

*the locals here are weirdly friendly in that japanese way where they won't talk to you but they'll nod really politely when you walk past. i think that's my favorite thing about rural japan honestly. nobody's trying to sell you anything, nobody's asking for your instagram, they're just... living.

i found out later that the population here is around 1862555 for the general prefecture area but this specific town? probably way less. like 10000 maybe. the number 1392812578 means nothing to me honestly, i think it's maybe some kind of administrative code or something but i stopped caring about looking things up after day 2.

one evening i ended up at this bar that was basically someone's living room. the owner didn't speak english, i don't speak japanese beyond basics, but we somehow talked about football for 2 hours using a translator app and hand gestures. he showed me pictures of his trip to osaka in 2019 and i showed him my terrible ramen photos. this is the only reason i travel honestly. not for sights, for these weird human moments.

the temperature dropped at night which caught me off guard because i only packed light stuff. ended up buying a 500 yen sweatshirt from a vending machine which felt extremely japan but also extremely practical. the humidity was low enough that my hair didn't become a disaster which was honestly the highlight of the trip for me personally.

silhouette of person on beach during sunset

if you're thinking about coming here, here's what you need to know: bring cash. so much cash. some places don't take cards and the atm at the convenience store ran out of money twice while i was there which was genuinely stressful. also learn at least "arigatou" and "sumimasen" because you'll use them constantly.

the pressure being at 1017 hpa made my ears feel weird on the first day but you get used to it. i read somewhere that this is good for your body or whatever, something about blood oxygen levels. i'm not a doctor so don't quote me on that.

i think the thing that surprised me most was how quiet it was. not like silent, but quiet in a way that made me realize how loud my normal life is. no traffic, no sirens, no people yelling. just waves and wind and occasionally someone's radio playing something old.

someone told me before i left that this area is "up and coming" for tourism but honestly i hope it stays small. there's something special about places that don't want to be famous. i found out about it through a reddit thread actually - some guy posted about finding "the most peaceful place in japan" and i thought he was being dramatic but he wasn't wrong.

pro tip: the ferry back to the main island fills up on sunday evenings. book early or stand for 2 hours. learned this the hard way.

would i come back? honestly yeah. not this year because i'm broke again already, but maybe next year. i want to see the cherry blossoms here apparently they're insane. a local showed me pictures on her phone and i almost cried looking at them which is embarrassing but whatever.

the closest big city is nagasaki which is about 2 hours by ferry and bus combined. i didn't go because i ran out of money but everyone says it's worth a trip if you have more time than i did. someone told me the atomic bomb museum is really well done but also really heavy emotionally so prepare for that if you're planning to go.

budget breakdown for anyone curious: ferry was 2500 yen each way, accommodation was 3500 yen per night, food was probably 1500-2000 yen per day if you're smart about it. total for 3 days was around 15000 yen which is like 100 bucks. in tokyo that would get you one meal and a panic attack.

i'm writing this from the ferry back and honestly i feel different than when i left. not in a dramatic way but in a "i sat still for 3 days and didn't look at my phone constantly" way. maybe that's the point. maybe that's why people come here.

anyway, if you need me i'll be broke again in tokyo, thinking about the ocean.

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links i actually used:*
- reddit thread that told me to come here
- ferry booking site
- the shrine i found
- that random bar - no website, just ask anyone
- nagasaki tourism
- budget travel tips for japan

I Accidentally Ended Up in This Tiny Japanese Island Town and Honestly Can't Stop Thinking About It

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