The lighthouse lens, installed in 1876, is still in use: the oldest active one in Japan.
A free 1,780-metre bridge, opened on 3 November 2000 after seven years of work, links the Shimonoseki mainland to the island of Tsunoshima across water that shifts from turquoise to dark blue depending on the seabed; it was the setting for car advertisements for years and was voted the most beautiful bridge in Japan on TripAdvisor in 2015. At the northern tip of the island, the lighthouse was first lit on 1 March 1876, the last work of the Briton Richard Henry Brunton, the ‘father of Japanese lighthouses’: its original Fresnel lens, one of only five of that size ever installed in Japan, still works today, the oldest active lens in the country. In 2020 it became the first lighthouse still in service to be designated a national Important Cultural Property.
The island has an area of 4.1 km² and 17.1 km of coastline, with a population of 726 at the 2015 census; the highest point is at 66 metres. After the bridge opened it became a recurring location for films and television series, and it has white-sand beaches that are busy in summer.
ℹ️ Bridge open at all times, speed limit 40 km/h, no toll. Lighthouse open to visitors (tower 29.62 metres, light 44.66 metres above sea level) with a 300 yen ticket for junior high students and above, free for children; specific opening hours to be checked with the individual facilities.
🚉 灯台公園前 · 6 min walk
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