Chiringa-jima (知林ヶ島)

Chirin-ga Jima 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 Chirin-ga 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, National Park Resort IBUSUKI (Kyuka-mura IBUSUKI / 休暇村指宿).

The 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 an 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 in 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

 

August, 2017

Date		Sandbar Appearance Time	Amount of Time
8/1	Tue	* The sandbar doesn’t appear.	×
8/2	Wed	8:30 ~ 10:35	2h05m
8/3	Thu	8:55 ~ 12:00	3h05m
8/4	Fri	9:20 ~ 13:10	3h50m
8/5	Sat	9:50 ~ 14:00	4h10m
8/6	Sun	10:20 ~ 14:45	4h25m
8/7	Mon	10:50 ~ 15:25	4h35m
8/8	Tue	11:25 ~ 15:55	4h30m
8/9	Wed	12:05 ~ 16:25	4h20m
8/10	Thu	12:40 ~ 16:55	4h15m
8/11	Fir	13:30 ~ 17:20	3h50m
8/12	Sat	14:20 ~ 17:40	3h20m
8/13	Sun	15:25 ~ 17:55	2h30m
8/14	Mon	16:55 ~ 17:55	1h00m
8/15	Tue	* The sandbar doesn’t appear.	×
8/16	Wed	6:15 ~ 9:05	2h50m
8/17	Thu	7:20 ~ 10:50	3h30m
8/18	Fri	8:10 ~ 12:25	4h15m
8/19	Sat	9:00 ~ 13:35	4h35m
8/20	Sun	9:45 ~ 14:30	4h45m
8/21	Mon	10:30 ~ 15:15	4h45m
8/22	Tue	11:20~ 15:55	4h35m
8/23	Wed	12:05 ~ 16:25	4h20m
8/24	Thu	12:55 ~ 16:45	3h50m
8/25	Fri	13:45 ~ 17:05	3h20m
8/26	Sat	14:45 ~ 17:10	2h25m
8/27	Sun	15:55 ~ 17:05	1h10m
8/28	Mon	*The tidal range is small, so the sandbar doesn’t appear.	×
8/29	Tue		×
8/30	Wed		×
8/31	Thu		×

 

*The sandbar appearance time will be updated as required.

（From Chirin-ga Shima）

Category : Information , text @en

Tag : Japanese Culture