Known as 99 islands, Kujukushima is made up of a cluster of 208 islands located in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Why 99? That’s because “kujuku” sounds like ninety-nine in Japanese. There are several observatories in the area where you can view the islands but some are not easily accessible by public transit. Thus, one of the easiest way to see Kujukushima is to take a cruise the Pearl Sea Resort. This 50 minutes cruise will tour around some of the islands and provide information about Kujukushima in Japanese, English, Mandarin and Korean.
Kujukushima Excursion Boat – Pearl Queen
There are two different boats at the Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort that cruise around the islands – the excursion boat Pearl Queen or the pirate boat Mirai. The cost for the boats is the same but they run on a slightly different schedule. On our visit, we rode the Pearl Queen. It’s a beautiful boat that looks like a tall ship. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of the interior as we barely made it on the boat before it sailed off. I was so absorbed by the scenery from the boat deck that I completely forgot about the interior.
Kujukushima Islands
As the boat made its course around the islands, we learned about the birds and plants inhibiting on the islands. The clean water around the islands provides the perfect place for cultivating shellfish such as oysters and clams. Besides shellfish cultivating sites, we also saw people fishing from the islands. Take a look at the beautiful scenery from the gallery below:
Thoughts on the Kujukushima Cruise
Before going on the cruise, I thought this would be a boring excursion. I had chosen this for my in-laws as a break from the busy city environment. However, I had thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. The sights, the breeze from the ocean and the great weather really made this a nice break from exploring the city. If you are looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city then consider taking the cruise around Kujukushima.
