Discover Itoshima, Japan: Perfect Beach Day Escape from Fukuoka
Looking for some Fukuoka day trip ideas? Itoshima is a fantastic option, and you can easily take a 50-minute train from Hakata Station in Fukuoka! It’s a small city known for Futamigaura Bay, where there’s Sakurai Futamigaura Meoto Iwa. Behind the white torii gate are two rocks connected by a shimenawa rope, a traditional Japanese rope that symbolizes unity. It’s said that if a couple visits, it’ll bring marital bliss and harmony.
Getting Around Itoshima
My friend and I took a 50-minute train ride from Hakata Station to Chikuzen-Maebaru Station, or a ~30-minute drive from Fukuoka. We prefer taking the train since it’s convenient and requires no car rental. Since Itoshima is so small, you can rent a bike to get around Itoshima. Around the corner from the Chikuzen-Maebaru Station exit is the Itoshimashi Tourism Information Center, where you can rent a bike. This place can be popular, so we recommend reserving a bike ahead of time if possible. If you’re unable to get a bike at the tourism center, there’s another bike rental a few minutes away, å¤å·ćµć¤ćÆć«. It’s run by an older couple who do not speak Japanese, but can understand bike rental exchange. Their rental rates are super affordable at Ā„1,000. An important thing to note is that they do not offer e-bikes. Itoshima is relatively flat, but there are some hills so biking can be tiring. They ask rentals to be returned by 5PM, so plan your route accordingly.
Biking in Itoshima
Depending on how early you get to Itoshima, you can make a loop where you visit London Bus Cafe, THALIA COFFEE ROASTERS, Sakurai Shrine, Sakurai Shrine Futamigaura Torii, Palm Tree Swing, and circle back to drop off your bike rental. There’s only 1 Konbini if you’re following the route I shared below. So make sure you bring some snacks and lots of water, as there’s no shade when you’re biking. There is a bike lane on the street, but we opted to ride on the wide sidewalks. The cars will slow down for you, but it can be scary.
It’s a relatively low key bike ride, so you can take your time. We stopped a lot to take some videos and make sure we were on the right path. We had a lot of fun bike riding. It’s a different way to get some exercise and give your feet time to rest from all the walking.
Not interested in biking? Another alternative to the route I shared above is hiking Itoshima’s Totoro Forest. At the top, you’ll see a beautiful view of Itoshima. As we took the train to Itoshima and didn’t want to get a taxi to drop us off, we didn’t do the hike. However, it’s on my list when I return to Itoshima.
The bike ride from the rental to the London Bus Cafe felt like forever. We managed to visit a beach before arriving at the London Bus Cafe. A few surfers were trying to catch some waves with others watching nearby. It reminded me a lot of Hawaii and Southern California beaches… only the water here was crystal clear. I imagine the water must have been cold since the surfers were in their wetsuits. I wonder if this would be a great snorkeling spot due to the great visibility! I’ll have to check it out next time I come back here.
London Bus Cafe
The first 30-minute bike ride will take you through the city and remind me quite a bit of Hawaii. The London Bus Cafe is a great first stop for some snacks before continuing the bike trip. This place serves some drinks and gelato with a great souvenir shop. My friend and I didn’t get any snacks here, but stopped to look at the souvenirs to see if we wanted to get anything. There’s a little parking lot around this cafe if you decide to drive around Itoshima.
There are a few restaurants along this stretch if you’re hungry. When we were there, none of these spots were open, probably a little too early in the season.
THALIA COFFEE ROASTERS
This was the first coffee shop we saw on our bike ride. They have a giant parking lot with both indoor and outdoor seating. Coffee was much welcomed after pedaling for about ~45 minutes. A great spot for a bathroom break and souvenir shopping.
Sakurai Shrine Futamigaura Torii
Sakurai Shrine Futamigaura Torii, one of Itoshima’s main attractions. After our coffee stop at Thalia Coffee Roasters, we made it here after another ~20 minutes or so. You’ll know you’re getting closer once you start seeing the large tour buses driving alongside you. There’s a small parking lot and a restaurant by here. Once we were around the corner, we saw a line of people waiting to take photos in front of the white torii gate. We imagine the line to be a lot longer if you’re here during peak summer season, but it seemed pretty reasonable when we were there.
Off to the side, there’s some seating up by the road. We had an afternoon snack here with our goodies and debated if we wanted to continue biking. Since we started our day late, we were afraid that we wouldn’t make it back to the bike rental in time. If we had continued, we would’ve seen some other attractions such as the Palm Tree Swing.
Google Maps directed us off the main road, and we were biking through the residential spots. It gave off J-Drama vibes, and I was all for it. You get to experience a different side of Itoshima, and it made me feel like I was a local. We went through spots that had so many cherry blossoms without the crowd! A special treat. The bike back was a little bit hilly, and I wished I had an e-bike to make it a bit easier. Make sure to give yourself ample time when you’re biking back.
Itoshima was such a great gem of the trip. When you think of Japan, the busy cities immediately come to mind, but there’s so much more than the cities. Highly recommend adding in some smaller stops in your trip to see the quieter side of Japan! I loved it so much and can’t wait to be back.
