Ikuchijima

Ikuchijima (生口島) is an island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. It's administered by the city of Onomichi, Hiroshima on the mainland.

Ikuchijima is known as "Lemon Island" due to its flourishing citrus industry. Like many of the islands here, it has a Mediterranean feel, and in The Inland Sea (1971), Donald Richie described Ikuchijima as "a smaller Sardinia, a greener Corsica".

During the Edo era, the island and its main town of 🌍 Setoda (瀬戸田) prospered as a trade hub both for the islands and traffic up and down the Japanese coast. The island has a darker past though: the characters 生口 mean "living mouth", an old Japanese word for "slave", and there is some historical evidence that the island's salt pans were once worked by slaves.

The island is on the Shimanami Kaido Bikeway, so many visitors arrive by bike. There are also hourly direct ferries from Onomichi to Setoda.

• 🌍 Kōsan-ji Temple (耕三寺). Built by an eccentric businessman to mourn the loss of his mother, this sprawling temple complex has concrete replicas of various famous Japanese buildings, earning it the nickname Nishi-no-Nikko (Nikko of the Western Japan). Other attractions include a grim replica of Buddhist hell and the dazzling white marble Miraishin no Oka (Hill of Eternal Hope). (updated May 2024)

• 🌍 Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art (平山郁夫美術館). The home museum of celebrated modern painter Hirayama Ikuo (1930–2009), who explored themes like the Silk Road and the Hiroshima bombing through classical Japanese paintings. (updated May 2024)

• Shimagoto Art Museum, 17 public artworks scattered around the island

• 🌍 Minatoya (within Soil Setoda). Fine dining with local produce in a 140-year-old warehouse. (updated May 2024)

Thanks to its location roughly at the halfway mark of the Shimanami Kaido bikeway, the town of Setoda has become a popular overnight stopover.

• 🌍 Azumi Setoda. The ultra-luxe Aman hotel group's first foray into ryokan, traditional Japanese inns. From ¥70,000. (updated May 2024)

There are two ways out: the west bridge to Omishima, or the east bridge to Innoshima.