My Three Days Trip to Amami Oshima – Part 2

This article is continued from My Three Days Trip to Amami Oshima – Part 1. If you have not read it yet, please read part 1 first.

Cape Miyakozaki, a part of Amami Gunto National Park

After the first day of the gourmet journey, we headed for the main purpose of this trip – Cape Miyakozaki. The cape of Miyakozaki is a part of Amami Gunto National Park. We wanted to visit this spot because it was shot in the opening theme song of the history drama of Segodon. In the opening, Saigo overlooked the whole view of mountains and seas on the very corner of the Cape with hopeful expression, along with the  majestic high beating background music. It could make you feel yourself is so tiny and all of your worries seem so unworthy. I repeatedly watched the video on my way to Amami again and again. 

The background music for Cape Miyakozaki :

As we are not hard-working trip planners, on that morning we just headed to the nearest car rental service center to try to rent a car. The cars were all rented out without surprising, but the staff there was so kind that he recommended another company – Amami Lucky Rentacar. After calling to confirm, the staff said they have a vacant car and even drove to pick us up from where we called them. 

The cape all to ourselves

After about 20 minutes’ drive, we arrived at the entrance of the Cape. As there is a special bamboo planted in the mountain around the Cape which is protected by the island, it is only allowed to walk into the very corner of it. 

The entrance of Cape Miyakozaki. You still need to reach the corner of the Cape on foot. 

Maybe because we went there on weekdays, there was almost nobody there along the mountain road except us. After 20 minutes’ ups and downs of the road, finally we saw the Cape. Especially the very last few meters of the road to the Cape was very narrow, only the width of your two feet could pass. It will be very muddy and slippery if it is raining, so don’t forget to choose a sunny day to visit. 

Luckily, the Cape was empty without anyone, and we were so excited to make it our exclusive space even just for a few minutes. Sitting at the seat on the Cape, looking around the heavily shaking grass along the wind with the sea waves lashing against the cliff, it felt like traveling back to the historical time. We even played that song with the speaker to have a closer mood with the drama – another bonus from an empty Cape. Otherwise it will look so crazy in Japan. 

Distillery (Shochu) tour

In the afternoon, we visited Machida Shuzo – the distillery which made one of the most popular Kokuto Shochu brand on the island, 里の曙 (“Sato no Akebono”). They gave us a very educational distillery tour and even gave us a small sample bottle of the Shochu when we left. The free distillery tour was closed for the time being from 5th January, 2022, don’t forget to pay a visit if it is reopened. 

The homepage for the distillery tour : https://www.satoake.jp/en/tour

An amazing hotel with beautiful scenery and food

Visited two spots at a time, it was time for relaxing and eating. This time we booked the beach hotel of Native Sea Amami Adan on the Beach. 

The room was just on the side of the sea, with the view as below:

That was not even the best point. The hotel provided a very great dinner with fresh local ingredients. Pictures speak louder than words :

A full course with Ise-ebi spiny lobster and the Keihan! Of course, they still have tons of Kokuto Shochu for you to taste. 

The hotel also provides a lot of activities like beach side cycling, snorkeling and star watching on the terrace. If you are searching for a restful trip without too much moving, staying here might be a good choice. 

Again with a full stomach, I went back to the seaside room. It was a windy night, I could clearly hear the healing sound of the crashing waves and soon fell into deep sleep. 

Morning came and I couldn’t believe it was my last day of the small trip. As a foodie, it is not “professional” to not end the trip with food. I chose a restaurant on the way back to the airport. Checked “to eat” list for Abura Somen (“油そうめん”) and the Lamb soup curry. 

Abura Somen, a regional cuisine on Amami Oshima, made by dipping the thin noodles in the soup with oil, so that the noodles won’t stick together to make a refreshing taste. 

Not only the lamp soup curry, there are a lot of other lamp dishes on the island. 

Tuna bowl with sea grapes. 

The dialect of Amami Oshima is very cute, you could find the guidance of it everywhere you go. It is said even on the islands, there are different ways of saying Hello and Thank You depending on the location. ありがっさまりょーた! (Ariga-sama-ryo-ta), an Amami way of saying Thank you,was all I wanted to say when I left this beautiful island. 

You may also want to read other articles related to Amami Oshima Island:

Basic information about Japan’s tropical island of Amami Oshima

How to Enjoy Japan’s Tropical Island Amami Oshima to the Fullest

Amami Oshima | JD Photo Galleries