Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For a much safer alternative, try Ikei Beach. It's at the bottom of the island, just past the
bridge when coming from Miyagi. It's on the west side, that is, the Kinbu Bay side of the is-
land. It costs a few hundred Yen to park here, but they have all the water sports equipment
and other facilities that you could wish for, including a good cafeteria style restaurant.
6
MIYAGIJIMA
宮城島
Turning around and heading south from Ikei, we'll re-cross the Miyagi-Ikei Bridge and have
a look at Miyagijima (
宮城島
; Miyagi-jima). It's more or less an oval about 1.25 miles (2 kilo-
meters) across and a bit less than 1.75 miles (3 kilometers) from north to south. Its total area
is 2 square miles (5.52 square kilometers). Circling most of its perimeter, one gets the impres-
sion that it's a very rugged little island, comprised mostly of steep hills, which leads one to
think that there cannot be much agriculture. But if you take one of the tiny one-lane roads
and drive up the hills to the island's center top, you'll find that it is, in fact, a little plateau,
almost completely covered in sugar cane fields.
Miyagi's best beach is at the island's northern end.
Miyagi has several small villages, the largest of which, Tobaru (
桃原
; Tōbaru), is a decent
sized port. Tobaru's on the island's southern end, along a sea channel that separates Miyagi
from Henzajima. Because of the channel, the port has equal access to both the Pacific and
Kinbu Bay. There are a couple of small beaches along Miyagi's eastern side but they're well
off the beaten track and hard to get to. The best beach is at the northern end, a little before
the bridge to Ikei. It's on the island's western side, on Kinbu Bay. Like Ikei Beach, it has nice
public facilities and you'll pay a few hundred Yen to use them.
