I went on an adventure to Ishidake Observatory. It gives a different view of Kujukushima Islands (99 islands). Ishidake Observatory is known as where part of the beginning of “The Last Samurai” was filmed.
The road leading to Ishidake Observatory is on the small side, so I drove carefully in case anyone was driving down the road. At the end of the road, you are greeted with the parking lot and some signs. There was plenty of parking available.
There is a stone and dirt staircase for you to make your climb to the Observatory. It was a short hike to the top.
There are three viewing areas.
The first area I looked at was the lowest view you can see. This is where you can read about the “The Last Samurai”. The view is beautiful.
The second viewing area of Kujukushima was up some stairs. It had a platform that overlooked to the first viewing area.
The third and final viewing area was up some more stairs but the top gave a 360 degree view of Sasebo city, the harbor and Kujukushima. There was a couple in this area taking lots of pictures of the sun rising. I waited for them to take their pictures and made sure to stay out of their way. They did invite me over to take pictures of the sunrise. I took a few and waited for them to leave to take more.
I spent an hour at Ishidake Observatory and made sure to take pictures and some videos. It was beautiful.
I decided to go back to Ishidake Observatory to see the sunset. It was popular during sunset. There were several people who had cameras set up at the first view point. I decided to go to the second view point. I wanted to stay out of peoples pictures and their way. I did take pictures at each viewpoint, but I stayed at the second view point.
I am glad I went for the sunrise and sunset. The sunset was extraordinary and a must do again.
Hale of a Journey 