Jinoshima Island

Jinoshima is a forested island off the Fukuoka coast where roughly 6,000 wild camellia trees bloom from late January through March. A 3-kilometer road planted with camellias in 1996 runs the length of the island and can be walked in under two hours. The island has two small fishing ports: Tomari, near the mainland, retains stonework from a wharf commissioned by a seventeenth-century domain lord, and Toyoka on the west side has the island's only restaurant and shop. In autumn, mature camellia seeds are pressed into oil used for cooking and hair care. The annual Camellia Festival in March brings food stalls and live music.