Kashiwajima

Stand on the bridge to Kashiwajima on a calm day and you can count the fish below you. The island sits at the tip of the Otsuki Peninsula, where the Kuroshio Current meets water from the Bungo Channel, and there is no big river nearby to cloud it. A 1996 survey found around 1,000 fish species here; the count is now put above 1,150. That makes it one of Japan's busier dive spots, and local shops take beginners out with a guide. Snorkeling straight off the beach works too. The catch is distance. From the Sukumo-Wada interchange it is still about a 40-minute drive on narrow coastal road, and by bus you change at Fureai Park Otsuki. In July and August the island, home to roughly 400 people, fills up: summer no-parking zones cover the roads, so use the paid lot at the tourist information center and arrive early.