Kujuku Islands

From the hilltop observatories around Sasebo, you look out across the calm inner sea and count 208 scattered islands, the largest of which hold small fishing communities and forested ridges. The light changes dramatically throughout the day. Sunset from Tenbodai or Ishidake Observatory is particularly worth staying for when the water between the islands turns gold and orange. Boat cruises depart from Sasebo harbor and thread through the islands at water level, giving a completely different sense of scale from inside the archipelago rather than above it.