5 things to do on Naru Island

From the late 1700s onward, Christians from northern Nagasaki moved to the secluded coves and rugged hills of Naru and other nearby islands to escape the severe persecution that believers in Japan faced under the country’s ban on Christianity, which had been enacted in the early 1600s. A group of these devotees established the tiny Egami settlement on an isolated alluvial plain, clearing rice paddies and building houses on slopes by the coast. They continued to practice their religion in secret until 1873, when the Japanese government ended its prohibition policy.

In 1906, they built the first church in the village – the predecessor of today’s Egami Church, a timber structure from 1918. Although the Christian parish in Egami is no longer active, the white-and-blue building has been lovingly preserved and stands as a testament to the Hidden Christians’ legacy. The church, along with the village of Egami itself, is part of the ‘Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region’ World Heritage site.

For a deeper dive into Naru’s Christian heritage, stop by the Naru Island World Heritage Guidance Centre, which displays artefacts such as models of churches adorned with distinctive Buddhist-influenced Catholic iconography. Prominent examples of this hybrid imagery are the centre’s ‘Maria Kannon’ statues – likenesses of the Virgin Mary that were designed to be similar enough to statues of the bodhisattva Kannon to not raise the suspicion of the authorities.

Most of the explanatory text is in Japanese, but the centre offers a free multilingual audio guide that you can listen to on your phone.

Just off the southern coast of Naru lies the even smaller Maeshima, an islet that can be reached by boat from Naru Terminal in 10 minutes. Walk from the port to the southern tip of the island at low tide and you’ll come across a masterpiece of nature: a narrow, 400-metre-long gravel bar across the deep blue sea to the adjacent Suetsushima island.

Formed by sediment carried by waves into the narrow channel between the two islands, the elusive pathway can only be traversed for a few hours every day. Linger too long on the other side and you might have to wade through shallow water on the way back.

Naru Shrine is the main Shinto site of worship on the island. The small sanctuary comes alive late in October, when hundreds of local residents gather to celebrate the annual autumn festival. The event is noted for how the enshrined deity is ferried along the coast of the island and back in a mikoshi (portable shrine) mounted on an elaborately decorated boat. After the ride over water, the mikoshi is carried through the streets of central Naru, with locals of all ages joining the lively parade.

No trip to the Nagasaki area is complete without trying the local noodles. On Naru, that means paying a visit to Mikanya Shokudo, an old-school eatery run by a crew of energetic ladies who serve up classic local noodle dishes like champon and sara udon from 8am daily.

The champon features thick wheat noodles in a hearty, mellow soup full of veggies, seafood and pork. The sara udon is served with either deep-fried, thin and crispy noodles or the same thick ones as in the champon, and comes topped with a starchy stir-fried mix of veg, meat, fishcakes and squid. You’ll also find a wide variety of filling rice dishes on the menu.