Mikimoto Pearl Island

Mikimoto Pearl Island (ミキモト真珠島, Mikimoto Shinjujima) is located in the Bay of Toba, Mie Prefecture. Here for the first time in the world, pearls were successfully cultured in 1893 by Kokichi Mikimoto (1858-1954) a local entrepreneur who devoted his life to pearls. The island belongs to Mikimoto Pearl Museum Co., Ltd. which runs the place as a theme park with Pearl Museum, Mikimoto Kokichi Memorial Hall, Pearl Plaza (where you can buy pearl jewelry) and demonstrations with Ama (lit. “sea women”) divers who once played an essential role in the cultivation of pearls by planting and harvesting the oysters. You can watch the video at the end of the page.

Mikimoto Pearl Island is five-minute walk from Toba Station and it is accessible via a pedestrian bridge.
You can come by train from Nagoya in 90-100 minutes (Kintetsu Limited Express or JR Rapid Express Mie) and from Osaka and Kyoto (both with Kintetsu Limited Express) in about 2 hours.

(18 PHOTOS)