Kikai
Discover Kikai
Kikai Island, or Kikaijima (喜界島), is a small island located in the Amami Islands, just to the east of Amami Oshima. While it is a part of Kagoshima, due to a long and varied history of being conquered, culturally Kikai is a blend of Okinawan, Amami, and Kagoshima traditions. Kikai only has two direct connections to the outside world, Kagoshima and Amami Oshima. Going to Kikai from anywhere will require you to go through one of those two places.
Taste of Kikai...
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Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsKikai only has two direct connections to the outside world, Kagoshima and Amami Oshima. Going to Kikai from anywhere will require you to go through one of those two places. A one-way ticket from Kagoshima will cost you approximately ¥24300. A round-trip ticket is approximately ¥44200 total, or about ¥22100 each way, making it slightly cheaper, but still pretty expensive. Purchases made far in advance on the Japanese JAL website may allow you to obtain a ticket for as little as ¥16400 each way. The journey takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Bouncing out of Amami is possible, though no cheaper. A normal flight from Amami Oshima will cost ¥9500 for a one-way ticket and as little as ¥6400 if purchased far enough in advance. It's still fairly expensive if you consider that flight is only 10 minutes. Kikai only has one ferry route which is operated by A"LINE Ferry....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Make no mistakes, Kikai is small. The coastal road surrounding the island can be walked in 6 to 8 hours depending on your pace, meaning that getting to any specific point on the island will probably take no more than 2 or 3 hours on foot. This of course assumes that you have a specific point that you are trying to get to. Most of Kikai outside of the main town is endless sugar cane fields. If you need to get somewhere specific and don't feel like walking for hours (especially in the summer heat), there is a bus service (air-conditioned) operated by Amami Air. There are 2 bus routes on the island: 北中央線 (north line) and 南中央線 (south line) follow the coast road clockwise and counter-clockwise respectively. It takes 90 to 120 minutes for a round. The bus is populated mostly by 70- to 90-year-old women either going to, or returning from, the hospital. If you're looking for a place to hear some of the island's endangered language, the bus is a great place to do it.