Kozushima - Coastline Walk Towards Akasaki Promenade

What?
Kozushima (神津島) is one of the Izu Islands （伊豆諸島） that lie south of Tokyo (東京). This volcanic island has a circumference of 22 km and is made up of mountains, forests and beaches. The biggest draw of the island is swimming spot in emerald blue waters: the Akasaki Promenade (赤崎遊歩道). Located in between the island and some nearby rock formations, it is unique in that a cool wooden scaffolding structure is built over it, including jumping platforms and lookout points. A coastline walk brings you there, passing other points of interest like the “Viking’s throne” (another wooden scaffolding structure) and the ruins of a small railroad that led to an old port.
Where?
Kozushima is one of the Izu Islands (伊豆諸島) that are part of Tokyo Prefecture (東京都). Its medium size and population ensure that even in bad weather, large ferries are most likely to dock and depart, as opposed to smaller islands with more inaccessible ports like for example Aogashima. Aside from the large but slow ferry, the island can also be reached by faster Jetfoil (4 instead of 9 hours) and plane from Chofu Airport (調布飛行場). From the main Maehama Harbor (前浜港), it’s an hour and a bit walk towards the Akasaki Promenode.
URL
Tokyo Islands Kozushima.com

I hesitated for a long time before fixing my trip to Kozushima.
My vacation days were fixed, but the weather forecast was absolutely dreadful. I waited to see if it would clear up, either on Kozushima or anywhere else in the large area between Osaka and Tokyo, but alas, rain everywhere. So I decided to head for the island anyway and hope for the best. On my arrival the weather would be as good as it would ever be, so I had the choice to either go for Mount Tenjo or for the Akasaki Promenade. There were a bunch of other walking routes I wanted to explore, but time restraints in combination with the bad weather forced me to make choices.
I took a look at Mount Tenjo shrouded in clouds and decided to head for the west, following the coastline to the place that looks like a wildwater amusement park and figures on every brochure. The weather was not perfect at all, but rain was limited to a few minutes of hazy drizzle. I walked and walked, stopping at a few points along the way.
There is an onsen with an interesting looking outdoor bath. A fence should have sealed it off, but it was clearly not built for anyone higher than 180cm. I could look into the bath, but maybe because of the weather or maybe because of maintenance, there was no water in the pool. The foot bath was filled and open though, but I didn’t feel like it and continued on my way.

An arrow pointing to the “Viking’s throne” piqued my interest. What would it be? It turned out to be a wooden chair on a wooden scaffolding overlooking the ocean and part of Kozushima’s coastline. It actually looked pretty nice, but still it was fenced off, probably in need for some restauration. It didn’t stop a chunky looking youth from taking a rest in the chair though.
A short trail around the throne led through some vegetation to cut off a bit of the concrete main road. Usually I wouldn’t really like walking long stretches on the road (like some stretches on the Shikoku Pilgrimage), but traffic was very scarce and there were also pretty much constantly nice views to be had. Not exceptional, just nice.
Regarding the normal scenery, what intrigued me most were the various rocks with beautiful patterns. Some were indicated with signs, like the “spiral rock” or the “dancing rock” (for which the English sign funnily said “Moving Livery Rock”), some were just lying around in anonymity. I could stare at these rocks for several minutes, finding them very mesmerizing.

How did that get there?

The spiral rock, one of many funky looking rocks.

Not a lot of water for an onsen.

Scaffolding leading to the Viking's Throne.

At a stone’s throw distance from the Akasaki Promenade, I stopped to inspect the ruins of a small railway that lead to the ruins of an old port. The ruins make for pretty pictures, but it was more their location in the middle of the actual sea and a sea of rocks that I found intriguing. All these rocks had patterns carved in them. Some simple and straight, others in vibrant circles and flowing lines. Nature can be so beautiful.

But so can be human-made structures. The Akasaki Promenade is really a jewel. I can well imagine it being incredibly crowded in the summer months when people make their way from far away Tokyo to have a dive and a swim here. As it was, even on a pretty much drab day like today, some people in wetsuits (I presume they went diving first) had a fun time splashing around.

In fact, on pamphlets and the next day towards the top of Mount Tenjo, I noticed Kozushima had many wooden scaffolding structures. Not just simple viewing platforms, but elegantly designed platforms with cozy looking benches and very well maintained surroundings.
But it must have cost a ton building them, and even more maintaining them. Even the Akasaki Promenade – which was definitely a bullseye project from touristic point of view – has the biggest part of it sealed off and in ruins. It’s only a side thought of an otherwise esthetically pleasing looking fun swimming area.