# Koshikijima Islands > Three inhabited islands about 45 km off western Kagoshima, joined end to end since 2020 by the prefecture's longest bridge but still reached only by boat, two sailings a day from each of two mainland ports. Sea cliffs, a 4 km beach bar that walls three lakes off from the sea, and Toshidon, a UNESCO-listed New Year's Eve rite held inside private homes. - Prefecture: Kagoshima - Type: Island - Address: Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Japan - Official site: https://koshiki.satsumasendai.gr.jp/ Koshikijima is a chain of three inhabited islands about 45 km off the Satsuma coast: Kamikoshiki in the north, small Nakakoshiki in the middle and Shimokoshiki, the largest, to the south. About 4,000 people lived on them at the 2020 census. Until August 29, 2020 you needed a boat to get from the upper islands to Shimokoshiki. That day the Koshiki Ohashi opened, a 1,533 m bridge from Nakakoshiki to Shimokoshiki and the longest in Kagoshima Prefecture. Kamikoshiki and Nakakoshiki were already linked by the Koshiki Daimyojin Bridge (1993) and the Kanoko Bridge. You can now drive the whole chain in one go, but you still have to sail to reach it, and only four boats a day do. On Kamikoshiki, Nagameno-hama is a bar of beach about 4 km long and 50 m wide that cuts three lakes off from the open sea: Namako-ike holds seawater, Kai-ike is brackish and Kuwazaki-ike is fresh. The name is said to come from Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the second lord of Satsuma, who praised the view. Look down on it from the Nagameno-hama lookout on the road above. Shimokoshiki is the rougher end. The Kashima cliffs at its northwest tip are banded rock straight out of the sea, best seen from below on the Kanoko cruise boat. Inland, the Seo Kannon Falls drop 55 m in three steps, with a small Kannon shrine by the pool. Off Seseno-ura on the west coast, Napoleon Rock is a sea stack named for its profile. Shimokoshiki is also where Toshidon happens. On New Year's Eve, long-nosed deities in palm fibre and cycad leaves call at homes with small children, scold them, praise them and leave a large rice cake. It is a family rite rather than a show, so read the FAQ before planning a trip around it. To eat, look for kibinago, the small silver-striped fish caught around the islands. ## FAQ ### Can I go and watch Toshidon on New Year's Eve? Not as an ordinary sightseer. Toshidon takes place on the night of December 31 inside private homes on Shimokoshiki where there are small children, and there is no public performance or published viewing schedule. It is run by local preservation societies: there are six on Shimokoshiki, but only three settlements held it at the end of 2018. Each society decides whether outsiders may come along. After the 2009 UNESCO listing the Teuchi Honmachi society began accepting researchers and other observers, so a small number of visitors is sometimes possible, but only by arrangement made well in advance through the islands' tourism office. Do not turn up at houses, and ask before taking any photograph. ### Which boat should I take, and how long is the crossing? Without a car, the high-speed boat from Sendai Port is the quicker one: on the timetable effective April 26, 2026, the 8:50 reaches Sato in 50 minutes and the 14:30 reaches Nagahama in 70 minutes, for 4,070 yen. The car ferry from Kushikino Shinko is slower and cheaper: 75 minutes to Sato and 2 hours 35 minutes to Nagahama, 2,800 yen in second class. Each runs only twice a day in each direction, and each has its own mainland port, so you cannot mix them without crossing between Sendai and Kushikino by bus. Book the high-speed boat ahead at busy times, and leave a spare day at the end of a trip in case the sea is too rough to sail. ### Can I get around the islands without a car? Partly. The city's Koshiki Jukan bus runs the length of the chain from Sato Port over the bridges to Nagahama Port and Teuchi Port, timed to the boats, with fares of 300 yen at most; on the timetable revised May 1, 2025 about six buses a day run the full way between Sato and Nagahama in each direction, and Sato to Nagahama takes about an hour. That gets you between ports and villages, but most sights, including the Nagameno-hama lookout and the Seo Kannon Falls, are a walk or a drive off the route, and the side lines must be booked an hour ahead. A rental car, booked before you sail, is the practical choice for a short stay. ### How can I see the Kashima cliffs from the sea? On the Kanoko cruise boat from Nakakoshiki Port in Kamikoshiki town. As the Koshiki Tours listing updated in February 2026 showed it, departures are at 10:20, 11:50 and 14:00, each about an hour, and the Kashima cliffs course costs 2,500 yen for adults. It runs all year, but the operator warns that waves and weather often keep it in port, and in bad weather it may switch to the more sheltered east coast. Book by phone on 09969-2-1150 (8:30 to 17:00) and ring again on the morning to check it is sailing. --- Source: Koshikijima Islands — Japan Voyage