Japan
Oki Islands
Cliff-girt islands in the Sea of Japan where exiled emperors and bullfighting survive.
The cliffs drop 257 metres. The Oki Islands sit in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Shimane Prefecture, and their coastline falls away so vertically that boats approaching from the west see nothing but wall. Emperors were exiled here, bull sumo has been practised for 800 years, and the current still carries subtropical fish north into waters that should be too cold for them.
The Oki Islands were designated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2013 for their geological significance — the archipelago emerged from the continental shelf when the Sea of Japan opened 20 million years ago. Multiple Japanese emperors were banished to the islands during political upheavals, and their poetry and influence shaped local culture in ways still visible. Oki zumo — bull sumo, where cattle lock horns without riders — has been practised here for over 800 years, drawing spectators to bouts held in earthen arenas. The Matengai cliffs on Nishinoshima island rank among the tallest sea cliffs in Japan.
Solo
The islands' isolation and their layered history — geological, political, cultural — reward the kind of sustained attention a solo traveller can give.
Couple
Cliff walks, bull sumo, and the shared adventure of reaching islands that most Japanese have never visited.
- Sea cliffs 257 metres high plunge into water where the Sea of Japan current carries subtropical fish north.
- Bull sumo — where cattle lock horns without riders — has been practised here for 800 years.
- The islands were an imperial exile ground for centuries — dethroned emperors and disgraced nobles left their poetry carved in stone.
- Kuri boats, carved from single camphor logs, still launch from beaches for traditional seaweed harvesting.
Sazae turban shells grilled in their own juices on the harbour rocks.
Oki beef from cattle raised on seaweed-blown island pastures — briny and lean.
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