Chiringa-shima (知林ヶ島)

 

Chiringa-sima is an uninhabited island just inside the entrance to Kinko bay near National Park Resort IBUSUKI (Kyuka-mura IBUSUKI / 休暇村指宿).

 

An 800m long sandbar appears at low tide during the flood tide or the middle tide from March to October.

 

The sandbar appears as a little winding path in the sea, and you can cross to the island along this path.
It gives you a special feeling to walk across the sandbar from the Ibusuki side to the island. It takes about 20 minutes to the island. The longest time the sandbar appears is for five hours.

 

 

Matchmaking Island

The island is known as a matchmaking island. This place was used as a shooting location for a TV drama, and many couples visit the island.
There are several things for these people there.

 

♡ Chirin’s Heart

Two different sized objects are placed on the Ibusuki shore. Depending on the angle to see these objects, they look heart-shaped. It is a good place to take some pictures against the background of Chiringa-shima.

 

♡ Chi-kai (Chi貝)

Tie a shell on which you write your wish on a chain on the “Chikai-no Oka (誓貝の丘) at the entrance of the sandbar.
Shells (200 yen each) are sold at Ibusuki City Tourist Information Center at JR Ibusuki Station and National Park Resort IBUSUKI (Kyuka-mura IBUSUKI / 休暇村指宿).

 

he shells which are tied on the chain will be dedicated to Ryugu Shrine (龍宮神社) in Ibusuki after a while.

 

♡ Chirin’s BELL

Chirin’s BELL is located on the hill of Chirin-ga Shima. It is said if you ring the bell praying for happiness, your wish will be fulfilled. The view from this place is great, too.

 

 

Walking Across The Sea

Waking across the sea is really exciting experience.
But, it is still the sea, so you need to be careful. If anything happened, a fun day could be turned into a terrible day.

 

Please do not try to walk across to the island in bad weather.

 

The path disappears very quickly once the tide starts to come in, so check the appearance time of the path and give yourself plenty of time to across back.

 

The tide current is very fast around the sandbar, so if the sandbar isn’t visible, please do not walk across.

 

Some blue-ringed octopuses (Hyomon-dako / ヒョウモンダコ) have been seen on the shores of Ibusuki city. They are about 5cm~10cm long and they have brown patches like Panthers’. When they are agitated, iridescent blue rings or clumps of rings appear.
If you are bitten by one of them, you might not feel it directly; however, it injects a venom powerful enough to kill a human. The venom causes respiratory arrest.

Do not touch them. They live in shallow water and coastal rocks.

Sandbar Appearance Time (predicted) And The Amount of Time Visible

 

 

June 2023

 

Date		Sandbar Appearance Time	Length of Time
Jun.1	Thu	9:45 AM ~ 12:55 PM	3h10m
Jun.2	Fri	9:55 AM ~ 1:55 PM	4h
Jun.3	Sat	10:15 AM ~ 2:50 PM	4h35m
Jun.4	Sun	10:45 AM ~ 3:40 PM	4h55m
Jun.5	Mon	11:20 AM ~ 4:30 PM	5h10m
Jun.6	Tue	12:05 PM ~ 5:20 PM	5h15m
Jun.7	Wed	1:00 PM ~ 6:05 PM	5h5m
Jun.8	Thu	2:00 PM ~ 6:45 PM	4h45m
Jun.9	Fri	3:10 PM ~ 7:20 PM	4h10m
Jun.10	Sat	*The tidal range is small, so the sandbar does not appear.	×
Jun.11	Sun
Jun.12	Mon
Jun.13	Tue	8:50 AM ~ 10:30 AM	1h40m
Jun.14	Wed	9:05 AM ~ 12:00 PM	2h55m
Jun.15	Thu	9:25 AM ~ 1:10 PM	3h45m
Jun.16	Fri	9:55 AM ~ 2:05 PM	4h10m
Jun.17	Sat	10:25 AM ~ 2:50 PM	4h25m
Jun.18	Sun	11:00 AM ~ 3:35 PM	4h35m
Jun.19	Mon	11:40 AM ~ 4:10 PM	4h30m
Jun.20	Tue	12:20 PM ~ 4:40 PM	4h20m
Jun.21	Wed	1:00 PM ~ 5:10 PM	4h10m
Jun.22	Thu	1:45 PM ~ 5:35 PM	3h50m
Jun.23	Fri	2:40 PM ~ 6:00 PM	3h20m
Jun.24	Sat	3:40 PM ~ 6:15 PM	2h35m
Jun.25	Sun	5:00 PM ~ 6:20 PM	1h20m
Jun.26	Mon	*The tidal range is small, so the sandbar does not appear.	×
Jun.27	Tue
Jun.28	Wed
Jun.29	Thu	9:00 AM ~ 10:45 AM	1h45m
Jun.30	Fri	9:05 AM ~ 12:15 PM	3h10m

 

 

July 2023

 

 

Date		Sandbar Appearance Time	Length of Time
Jul.1	Sat	9:25 AM ~ 1:30 PM	4h5m
Jul.2	Sun	9:55 AM ~ 2:30 PM	4h35m
Jul.3	Mon	10:35 AM ~ 3:30 PM	4h55m
Jul.4	Tue	11:20 AM ~ 4:20 PM	5h
Jul.5	Wed	12:10 PM ~ 5:10 PM	5h
Jul.6	Thu	1:05 PM ~ 5:45 PM	4h40m
Jul.7	Fri	2:05 PM ~ 6:15 PM	4h10m
Jul.8	Sat	3:15 PM ~ 6:35 PM	3h20m
Jul.9	Sun	4:45 PM ~ 6:40 PM	1h55m
Jul.10	Mon	*The tidal range is small, so the sandbar does not appear.	×
Jul.11	Tue
Jul.12	Wed	8:20 AM ~ 9:45 AM	1h25m
Jul.13	Thu	8:55 AM ~ 11:20 AM	2h25m
Jul.14	Fri	9:25 AM ~ 12:35 PM	3h10m
Jul.15	Sat	10:00 AM ~ 1:30 PM	3h30m
Jul.16	Sun	10:30 AM ~ 2:20 PM	3h50m
Jul.17	Mon	11:05 AM ~ 3:05 PM	4h
Jul.18	Tue	11:40 AM ~ 3:40 PM	4h
Jul.19	Wed	12:20 PM ~ 4:10 PM	3h50m
Jul.20	Thu	1;00 PM ~ 4:40 PM	3h40m
Jul.21	Fri	1:45 PM ~ 5:00 PM	3h15m
Jul.22	Sat	2:30 PM ~ 5:15 PM	2h45m
Jul.23	Sun	3:25 PM ~ 5:20 PM	1h55m
Jul.24	Mon	*The tidal range is small, so the sandbar does not appear.	×
Jul.25	Tue
Jul.26	Wed
Jul.27	Thu
Jul.28	Fri	8:25 AM ~ 9:40 AM	1h15m
Jul.29	Sat	8:50 AM ~ 11:35 AM	2h45m
Jul.30	Sun	9:20 AM ~ 1:05 PM	3h45m
Jul.31	Mon	9:55 AM ~ 2:15 PM	4h20m

 

 
Map (Chirin-ga Shima)
 

 

（From Chiringa-shima）

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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