Fukue Island

Fukue (福江, Fukuejima) is the biggest and by far most populated of the Gotō Islands, located in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan.

Get in
The island of Fukue is the main gateway of the Gotō Islands. See Gotō Islands.

Get around
Except for the few interesting sights inside Fukue City, you will need a car to get around. Buses are few and far between (consider the tourist buses below), and taxis would cost you: a roundtrip to the Osezaki lighthouse and back would be about ¥20,000.

Unless you're very confident cycling, you won't be able to move around the island with a bicycle: Fukue is too big and too hilly for that.

See
Inside Fukue Town:
 * Castle remains: (Ishida castle) the feudal lord of Goto waited for around a century for the authorization to build this castle, and when if finally came, only 4 years after completion the Meiji Government emitted the Castle Abolition Order (1873). Today only the walls and pit remain, but it's well worth a visit. Now the Goto High School stands inside the walls.
 * Old houses' street (buke yashiki dōri): 2-3 min. walk from the castle you can find a street that retains the stone walls and doors from the houses of the noble families that once lived here. Regular modern houses stand inside, but there's one house with an old look. They sell souvenirs and rent bicycles (¥500 half a day).
 * Myōjindo: a small temple constructed for protection in the sea by a Chinese merchant that moved to Fukue. Off the commercial street and next to the river.

Around the island (clockwise starting from Fukue Town):
 * Onidake: the grass mount that dominates Fukue City is a good picnic spot. They also have cardboards so you can enjoy "grass skiing".
 * Camelia park (Tsubaki-en): just next to Onidake, the name says it all.
 * Abunze lava coast: a coastal lava formation.
 * Osezaki lighthouse: by far the most famous sight in Fukue, it has been featured in the film Akunin.
 * Takahama beach: a popular spot for swimming in summer.
 * Dōzaki Church: a church turned into a museum about Christianity in Goto.

Itineraries
If you find yourself car-less in Fukue, probably your best option is to book a tour with the bus tour company (Goto Jidosha) at the ferry terminal. Between the morning and evening tour they cover the main sights of the island. There are two courses, A for the morning and B for the afternoon, as well as combos: A+B and B+A next morning. Even if you don't understand Japanese, they are still the cheapest way to get around.

They usually require a minimum of four people to conduct the tour. If you can speak even a little Japanese, try to phone before noon five days before to reserve and make sure they'll do the tour: 0959-72-2173.

For up-to-date info and details check their homepage (Japanese only).

Eat
Torazushi (寅寿司) in the commercial alley at Fukue.

Stay safe
While the town area can get very dark at night due to no lighting, Fukue is as safe or more as the rest of Japan. Just exercise basic caution and you'll be fine.

Go next
You can hop to the other islands of the archipielago by ferry. See Gotō Islands.

Else you can go back to the Japanese mainland, either Nagasaki or Sasebo, by boat or plane.