Kinkasan

Kinkasan (金華山; also Kinkazan) is a small mountainous island at the tip of the Oshika Peninsula, not far from Sendai in Tohoku, Japan.

Culture and History

Literally meaning "Golden Flower Mountain", the island was the location of a brief gold prospecting boom in the past. Today little remains except a Shinto shrine devoted to the gods of wealth, Ebisu and Daikoku.

Travel to Kinkasan - Visa Requirements

Kinkasan being an island, you'll have to take a ferry at some point, so the main question is choosing the ferry terminal.

By train

If traveling by train from Sendai, take the JR Senseki line to Ishinomaki, then change to the JR Ishinomaki line for Onagawa. From here, you can take a 35-minute ferry to Kinkasan. Ferries travel every 2 hours or so and cost ¥1600 one way, ¥3040 return.

Buses to Kinkasan

Alternatively, you can take a 90-minute bus from Ishinomaki to the whaling town of Ayukawa, from where ferries ply to Kinkasan in 20 minutes (¥900). Services from here are more frequent, as often as every half hour in season with two competing operators.

Tours and Getting around Kinkasan

Excluding a van ferrying guests up from the ferry to the shrine's ryokan, there is no motorized transport on the island and you'll have to walk. Some ferry operators in Ayukawa offers sightseeing boat tours around the island, but there are no other points to disembark.

Kinkasan tourist attractions and sightseeing

• Koganeyama Shrine (黄金山神社) is the reason most Japanese make the trip. The shrine originally dates to the 8th century, but the present buildings are much newer and not particularly noteworthy. The shrine is located up the hill 600 meters away from the ferry terminal. Legend has it that those who visit the shrine three years in a row will become rich.

Kinkasan city tours

Perhaps a better reason to visit is some fairly good hiking. Major trails head from the shrine to the summit (height 445m, distance 2.4 km) and around the entire island (~25 km). With some luck you can spot Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), troops of which roam about the island. Pick up a free map and leave plenty of time before you set off though, as the trails are not that well marked; if you get hopelessly lost, head down to the coastal trail.

Buy, Eat & Drink

• The shrine maintains a monopoly on food, drink and souvenirs on the island. Prices are not unreasonable, and many try the seafood here (yes, whale is also available).

Kinkasan cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

• Koganeyama Jinja Sanshuden (黄金山神社参集殿, tel. 0225-45-2301), a pilgrim's lodge operated by the shrine, is the sole accommodation choice on the island itself. The lodge is a large and impersonal five-story concrete building, but rooms are Japanese style with tatami and partly redeemed by the gigantic steel bathtub downstairs. Figure on ¥10000 a night per person with two meals.

• Many visitors choose to overnight in Ayukawa instead.

Stay safe

There are two endemic pests on the island: deer and leeches, both of which want to eat things you'd rather keep to yourself. When hiking, keep your trousers stuffed in your boots, and if you do spot leeches remember to use salt or fire to dislodge them, not brute force.

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