Mikimoto Pearl Island Tickets

Mikimoto Pearl Island in Toba Bay is where Kokichi Mikimoto achieved what the world had thought impossible: in 1893, after years of ruinous failure, he coaxed an oyster into producing the first cultured pearl. The island he worked from is now a museum to that obsession, and the bridge across to it leads into the story of how a noodle seller’s son rebuilt the global jewellery trade from this small stretch of Mie coastline.

On the island

The Pearl Museum explains culturing with genuine clarity, from oyster biology to grading, and displays astonishing pearl artworks built for world expositions, crowns and pagodas of thousands of matched gems. A memorial hall traces Mikimoto’s improbable life, and at intervals through the day the island’s ama, Japan’s traditional free diving fisherwomen, demonstrate their craft in the bay in white diving dress, surfacing with the long whistle that has marked the profession for centuries.

Toba and Ise-Shima

The island sits in the heart of Ise-Shima sightseeing, minutes from Toba’s aquarium and ferry piers and a short train from the great shrines of Ise. Pearl shopping, inevitably, is world class and priced accordingly; looking is free and the craftsmanship rewards it.

Getting there

The island footbridge begins a few minutes’ walk from Toba Station, served by JR and Kintetsu lines, with Kintetsu limited expresses running direct from Nagoya in around 100 minutes and from Osaka in about two hours.

Frequently asked questions

Do the ama demonstrations run daily? They run through the day in most conditions; rough seas occasionally cancel.

How long does a visit take? Around 90 minutes to two hours.

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