Generally I don’t write a post for individual days or day trips, because if I did I’d be quadrupling the work for myself at least. However I’m going to make an exception for Fukue Island, which I visited for the day from Nagasaki. It was completely unplanned, spontaneous, and brilliant. So it gets its own post.

The story begins during my visit to the Nagasaki Prefecture Museum of Art. I’d just finished browsing the exhibitions and was headed for the cafe when a book on the shelf caught my eye. It had a beautiful piece of art on the cover that I recognised from one of my favourite films. I took a closer look and realised the book was about the art director for some of my favourite Studio Ghibli films. Turns out Nizo Yamamoto was from Nagasaki prefecture – and upon googling his name I learnt that a museum dedicated to his work existed. The only issue was this museum was to be found on Fukue Island – about 100km away.

Fukue is the largest of the volcanic Goto Island chain located west of Nagasaki. I was aware of them but wasn’t planning on visiting this time. They’re really out of the way, expensive to get to and once you’re there you need a car to see the best sites. But I couldn’t shake the feeling I had to visit this museum. I felt sure I’d regret it if I didn’t go – I mean who knows when I’d be back here next? Well clearly I decided to make the journey. I paid ¥17,540 (£96) for the return tickets for the jetfoil and at 7:40am off I went.

I made it to the museum and spent a happy hour admiring the art of Nizo Yamamoto, including his work on Castle in the Sky (my favourite Ghibli film). Repeatedly painting clouds for that film is what made him so incredible at it – to this day clouds of this style are referred to as Nizo Clouds. It led to him working on multiple other animated films, including Grave of the Fireflies, The Girl who Leapt through Time and Princess Mononoke. The museum was small – a converted house really – and predictably photography wasn’t permitted (eye roll). Nevertheless I had a great time. I had the place to myself so savoured everything, and then I bought half of the contents of the gift shop. So worth it.

I still had a fair bit of time before the boat back and the sun was coming out. So, I decided to hike to the top of a volcano. As you do. An extinct volcano I hasten to add; only about 300m tall and about an hour’s walk out of town. Yet again I astonished the locals I passed by being the only white person around, walking along the side of country roads in the middle of nowhere, enjoying myself immensely.

From the top of Onidake I got a 360° view of the island and the surrounding ocean. The scenery was jaw dropping and unlike anything I’ve seen so far in Japan. Forested mountains, the sparkling blue sea dotted with islands… for me, it’s paradise. There were no people most of the time – just me and the insects. I’ve never seen so many butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers before (in fact there might have been too many, ergh).

After returning to town sweaty and sunburnt, I grabbed a bite to eat and checked out… hmm, not sure how to translate/explain it… a former lord’s residence in the grounds of what was Fukue castle. Essentially a beautiful traditional house with a garden. The garden was even more lovely than I expected, and afterwards I had a tour around the house from a very eclectic and enthusiastic staff member. She spoke just enough English to get her points across about secret passageways and the high ceilings that allowed samurai to swing their katanas. I was in awe of the interior design – I don’t think I’ve seen a more beautiful home in Japan – I wasn’t expecting it here in remote Fukue! Thankfully this time, photos were permitted!

Without a car, I sadly was not going to be able to visit any more of the attractions Fukue had to offer. So I headed back to the ferry port to wait for the boat and digest what I’d seen. This trip had been very successful and I was so pleased. I’m thrilled I visited the museum of one of my favourite artists, glad I got to hike in such a beautiful place and finally also experience some beautiful Japanese design/culture. Fukue had vastly surpassed my expectations – days/destinations like this are exactly what I hope to experience when travelling long term. And also exactly what I hope to experience while in Japan. 嬉しい！