Japan Guide
Western Honshū
Ikuchi-jima
Sun-kissed IKUCHI-JIMA, covered with citrus groves, attracts plenty of tourists each summer to its palm-fringed beaches, in particular the sweeping man-made Sunset Beach on the west coast.
The technicolour temple complex of Kōsan-ji (daily 9am–5pm; ¥1200) was the creation of steel-tube manufacturer Kanemoto Kozo. A devoted son, upon his mother's death the bereft Kanemoto decided to build a temple in her honour, so bought a priesthood from Nishi-Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto and took over the name of a minor-league temple, Kōsan-ji, in Niigata. He resigned from his company, grew his hair, changed his name to Kōsanji Kozo, and began drawing up plans for the new Kōsan-ji – a collection of copies of the most splendid examples of Japanese temple buildings – which now includes about ten halls, three towers, four gates, an underground cave and an enormous statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Although many of the recreations are smaller than the originals, Kanemoto cut no corners when it came to detail, even adding his own embellishments, most famously to the already over-the-top replica of the Yōmei-mon from Nikkō's Tōshō-gū.
Topping Kōsan-ji's treasures takes some doing, but the Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art, or Hirayama Ikuo Bijutsukan, next door to the temple's art gallery (daily 9am–5pm; ¥700), eclipses it with a superior calibre of art. Hirayama Ikuo, one of Japan's greatest living artists, was born in Setoda, the island's port and main settlement, in 1930. Despite travelling the world and becoming famous for his series of paintings on the Silk Road, he continually returns to the Inland Sea for inspiration.
After the Hirayama museum, you can take in the view that inspired one of the artist's most beautiful paintings by hiking up to the summit of the hill behind Setoda.
There are ferries to Ikuchi-jima from either Onomichi or from Mihara, slightly further along the coast.
The slightly run-down Ikuchi-jimaShimanami Youth Hostel ( 
08452/7-3137; Price: Up to ¥3000), beside Sunset Beach, south of Setoda, provides cheap accommodation, bike rental and meals. Setoda also has several ryokan, including Sazanami ( & 
08452/7-3373; Price: ¥10000-15000), a couple of blocks from the waterfront.