Tomogashima: Squirrels & Ruins of War

What?
Tomogashima (友ヶ島) is a collection of four smaller islands in the straits between Honshu (本州) and Awajishima (淡路島). It used to have a strategic position and was therefore dotted with army structures before and during the Second World War. Before that the islands were used by monks practising Shugendo. Now the islands are uninhabited, but some of the ruins of the war structures can be visited, while the nature and wildlife is another asset to boast.
Where?
Located in Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県), Tomogashima can be reached from the Nankai Namba (難波駅) or Shinimamiya (新今宮駅) stations. From here, go to the terminal Wakayamashi Station (和歌山市駅) and transfer to the very small and most of the time cute train bound for Kada Station (加太駅). From Kada Station it’s a 15 minute walk to Kada Port (加太港) where the ferry terminal for Tomogashima is located. The streets run criss-cross and the ferry terminal is hard to recognize while at the same time there is no English signage. So best to rely on google maps to go from the station to the port.
URL
Japan Guide Report Visit Wakayama Tomogashima Ferry (JP)

Tomogashima: human inhabitants: 0. Squirrel inhabits: one thousand gazillion jillion. And not once did I succeed in taking a decent picture. Darn those lovable creatures!!

A year or 5 ago when some friends invited me to visit Tomogashima, I gladly accepted, only to be quite disappointed when the ferry was already full. As they don’t take reservations in advance that’s a risk you’re running. Eventually we just fished a little bit on a nearby pier of the quiet Kada fishing village.

This time that wouldn’t happen to me. On top of the aftermath of the corona lockdown, I came much beforehand to the ferry terminal (“ferry shack” is a more correct wording). This time though, the weather interfered with my plans. I calculated a full day to leisurely exploit the island clockwise – departing with the first ferry at 9am and returning on the 4:30pm boat, but expected gusts of wind made that the last ferry was scheduled at 13:30. Darn again.

I was planning to stay behind the other tourists so as to experience the ruins of the batteries on my own. That way I would create a distance between the people coming with me from the first ferry, but still have enough distance and time to stay ahead of the group that would come with the second ferry two hours later. Midway the walking course I’d leave the trodden path and go for the remote Torajima where some caves would await me.
But now I wouldn’t have the time.
So I decided, instead of leisurely going clockwise, to go hurriedly counterclockwise, running parts of the way. I’d still be alone and if lucky, I’d meet the groups of people in only one place - preferably somewhere along the road. I would abandon the plan to climb to the highest viewing platform.

Hiking the island is quite fun. There is a lot of wildlife: squirrels, peacocks, squirrels, deer, squirrels, salamanders, squirrels, turtles, squirrels, snakes, squirrels, ...
Here and there a clearing in the vegetation making for some nice views on the rugged coastline of the main island. And then there are the ruins dotting the island here and there.

Arriving at Torajima I realized I made a mistake. As the road or bridge that may or may not once have been there has never been replaced/rebuild/constructed, it’s only possible to cross the twenty-or-so meters during low tide. And that unfortunately wasn’t the case. I saw an elderly person on the other side which kind of baffled me, but with no way of asking him how and when he crossed, I could only give up on exploring the caves over there. Maybe it’s for the best as it would probably be safer when not alone.

The small ferry at the Tomogashima pier.

A rare clear view above the trees.

My plan was to cross here, unfortunately it was high tide.

3rd battery. Behind me, there were pitch black tunnels.

I turned back to loop around the other ruins on the island. The first I encountered was the base of an old search light structure. More than the ruins itself, the road leading up to it with the old crumbling stakes was quite haunting. Except of course for the occasional squirrel that jumped over my head.
Next was the third battlement station which you can freely wander about. The rooms and tunnels are quite big and it surprised me that were still open to the public. Surprised, but very happy!
I strolled around, making it pitch black or lighting my flashlight at my own will. It’s definitely pretty mesmerizing exploring these ruins alone. As I never saw the movie I wouldn’t know, but apparently Japanese tourists flock here because it reminds them of Studio Ghibli’s Laputa Castle in the Sky. They say the same about the Takeda Castle Ruins though, so whether it’s true…
It was when leaving the third battlements that I met the first people. Talk about great timing!
Walking along I was alone again at the ruins of the navy listening station, which though not very big might have been the ones to speak most to the imagination with the half round chamber and the turret on top.

Also at the first battery ruins and the lighthouse I was alone, only to meet up again with people at the large second battery remains. Despite being the most dilapidated of all and not accessible to the public , they are also the most visible and impressive in a kind of Hollywood way.

Heading back towards the port, I took a small detour to visit the fifth battery station, again on my own. Smaller and more overgrown than the others, you can still enter the munition rooms freely and walk along where the machine guns used to stand.

I loved exploring the ruins and was surprised by the nature and wildlife on the island. What puzzles me though is why some ruins can be freely accessed (3rd and 5th batteries, old search light structure and navy listening structure), while others can be only viewed from a distance (2nd and 1st batteries - safe for one fox hole) , while even others are completely off limits (4th battery and even the Shinja pond. They can’t invoke safety reasons as Torajima would be the most dangerous of all, but still is accessible during low tide. Rather than believing in mysterious theories, I think bureaucrats have something to do with it. And in that case it might not take long before all other structures will become inaccessible too.