I Spent 48 Hours on a Japanese DESERT Island

The boat casts off at about 8:30 AM for the hour-long journey to Tobishima. Despite good weather, the boat can be fairly bumpy, which I found quite unpleasant. It's a good time to read up on the history of the Sea of Japan pirates, known as the Wacko Pirates, who raided the mainland from islands like Tobishima. We arrived on the glistening shores of Tobishima after about an hour.

Armed with an airport metal detector and a questionable plan, Natsuki and I headed off into the cool sea breeze on cheap rental bikes. There were loads of free bicycles available, but 95% were broken or punctured. We managed to find two that were okay, though I got the child seat one. The ride involved struggling up bloody hills, making it feel like a pirate edition of 'Journey Across Japan.'

After 40 minutes of relentless cycling, Natsuki and I reached the uninhabited area where the road ends, forcing us to proceed on foot across a beach. Natsuki spotted a red torii gate, indicating a shrine or temple. We used a drone to confirm it was a temple before smashing our way through the jungle to get to it. Natsuki's sword actually came in handy to beat down the forest. We made it through the torii gate, and the path kept going. The temple itself was in surprisingly good condition despite being completely overgrown, looking like it could have been built in the last two or three years. However, there was a lot of rubbish on the beach, a sad sign of pollution in the Sea of Japan.

After exploring the abandoned temple, we hadn't seen a single human in about two hours. Just as I started to wonder if there was any life on the island, we turned a corner to find dozens of friendly cats rushing out to greet us. There were at least 30 cats surrounding us, a staggering amount. I was quite intimidated by them looking at me as I talked loudly.

After our rendezvous with the cats, Natsuki and I ditched our bikes and made our way around to the other side of the island, realizing we couldn't get past the temple area due to a cliff. It was a lot of effort, but we finally arrived on Natsuki's secret beach as the sun was setting. He quickly discovered what he believed to be a new lead for treasure, though I was less optimistic. We found some rubbish, including a phone battery, and Natsuki's sword, which he'd lost. We were very hungry and had to rush back for dinner before it got pitch black.

Having spoken with a local this morning, Natsuki discovered there was a cave on the island where numerous archaeological artifacts from the 8th century were found, and it was still accessible. We parked our bikes and found the location. It was a very narrow cave, and I struggled to fit through after Natsuki. Inside, it was quite pretty and worryingly like a pirate cave, something I didn't know existed on the island. We found a box, which Natsuki opened, but it contained nothing of value.

Natsuki had one last trick up his sleeve: the most inaccessible cove on the entire island, reachable only by descending a rusted ladder of dubious structural integrity. It was terrifying, and I wondered if it was really worth it. The metal of the ladder was falling apart. At the bottom, we found a lot of litter, including a DVD of 'Letters from Iwo Jima.' The cove itself looked like something out of Treasure Island, with broken rocks and caves. Natsuki found an old Nikon camera, which he optimistically thought was worth 20,000 yen, but I was skeptical, thinking maybe 200 yen. The boat to Tobishima cost 4,000 yen, so it wasn't much of a profit.

Since we hadn't found much treasure, Natsuki decided to bury some of his own: 200 yen. He dug a hole on the beach in the inaccessible cove and buried the coin, inviting future visitors to find 'Natsuki's treasure.'