I went to the Goto Islands. Visiting grandma.

Off Nagasaki Prefecture there's an island chain called the Goto Islands.

My grandmother lives there, so the other day a friend and I went — just the two of us.

As a kid I went every year; around when I started prep for middle-school entrance exams it became every other year or so; by high school I stopped, and as a working adult I finally managed one visit — and that was it.

Since then I hadn't shown my face, so I went to see her.
Last time was eight years ago.

Grandma's still steady on her feet and conversation is fine, but thinking realistically about her age, the moment I felt we might only meet a few more times, I got lonely — adjusted my schedule, and went at the end of September.

After writing about my uncle's funeral on the blog, I've often felt how few chances you get with people who matter — family, friends you see less — so I've tried to actively make face-to-face time.
(By the way, if you message a friend you barely contact with "Long time! How are you? Let's talk," nine times out of ten they'll think you're in a multilevel marketing scheme — so how you say it needs care.)

Anyway — over two nights this trip, some memories.

First, for people who don't know Goto, a quick intro.

The Goto Islands have a population around 50,000. Long ago there were churches tied to hidden Christians, and those are UNESCO World Heritage.

Goto splits into Shimogoto (lower) and Kamigoto (upper). I've only been to Shimogoto, so read this as about Shimogoto.

Roughly half a day to drive a full loop.
What's there? Only the sea.
Said with love and zero mercy: only the sea.

If you want a resort-style trip, Okinawa is probably better.
If you like staring at sea and nature, walking around — Goto is excellent.

Good food: Goto udon (thinner than usual noodles, slippery, light), Goto beef, and mackerel sushi (famous Onisaba sushi is delicious).

Goto beef is fatty — I'm not a fan. Not just Goto beef; I've always disliked sirloin-type meat.

Years ago at grandma's I ate a ton of Goto beef going "so good so good," felt sick at night, threw it all up in the bathroom, got Seirogan (my first time ever) and put to bed — every Goto trip grandma happily retells that story. Ritual. Not food poisoning or the beef's fault — my body just doesn't take fatty meat well.

Also remembered: back in Osaka I showed friends the mysterious tip "You know Seirogan? Fixes stomach pain right away!" What earnest word-of-mouth.

If you use Goto Fukue Airport: buy mackerel sushi at the shop, and there's a small restaurant in the airport with Goto pork katsudon — good last time and this time. Eat it on the way home. It's still airport food, and I'm no gourmet, so don't set expectations too high. Maybe I just like airport meals.

About 30 minutes by plane from Nagasaki or Fukuoka (in summer there are sometimes direct flights from Tokyo or Osaka, but usually you connect).

Small passenger plane, short flight, tends to bounce in that short time — if you get motion sick, take medicine.

This time, sleep-deprived and forgetting the pills, I was so sick after landing I was groggy for a while. Ten more minutes of flight and I'd have used the sick bag without restraint.
The seat next to me was an older woman who seemed on a family trip — starting her memorable Goto trip with "the guy next to me threw up" would make me a memory terrorist, so I held it in.

No fixed plan — we jumped in the rental car I'd booked and went to the sea.

I said there's only the sea — but that sea is insanely clear.
A former coworker, a travel-agency salesperson who'd seen seas around the world, said Goto's was the clearest he'd seen. (※ Subjective.)

Late September, a bit off-season — and still this clear.
We went to the sea about three times this stay; sometimes exclusive, zero people; when there were people, maybe five.

I went many times as a kid — every year in kindergarten and elementary school — and my first sea was Goto, so "sea" means Goto to me.
I'm from Osaka, lived there until 18, and when I first went to a Kinki-area sea as a kid I got culture shock: "What is this?! This ain't the sea!"

So if you have kids, I recommend letting them experience Goto's clear sea. Several beaches, not crowded, safe to play. Even just looking at the shore is beautiful.

After the sea and a nap in the car, I met grandma.
Same as always — looked healthy. The moment I saw her I was deeply relieved.

I couldn't help thinking, "Ah — I'm glad I came."

Then to a sushi place she'd reserved. Of course Goto pulls a lot of fish — fish is delicious.

As always, grandmas of the world are convinced their grandkids are big eaters — I was force-fed a mountain.

Next morning's breakfast: two sweet breads, two peaches, three bananas.
She said, "Yesterday at the sushi place you held back and barely ate~" — shocking. Of course I felt her grandma-ness and was happy, but my stomach was enormous.

Only the first night at grandma's — a good experience.

We talked a lot; a few things stuck.

She said summers are too hot now to go out much. If summer's like that, winters will be too cold to go out too.
She wakes early, visits grandfather's nearby grave around 5–6 (daily), and two or three times a week acquaintances pick her up by car for shopping.

She stopped traveling — used to go to Kyoto almost yearly, but quit travel after COVID. Many elders are probably the same. Even for the supermarket she wore a mask; you could tell she'd been quite worried.

Then a more shocking bit: scam calls to the home phone, so she barely answers.
Rural landlines get a lot of fraud calls, oreore scams and the rest — utterly infuriating.

Also: when I suddenly called after eight years she blanked on my name, so I panicked and spent about thirty seconds explaining who I was while using my dad's name.
I worried she'd gone senile — that wasn't the issue.

Beyond that, her days are mostly TV — we talked maybe two hours total with TV in the corner of our eyes.
Her favorite show is "Potsun to Ikkenya" (A Lonely House). Living in Goto and loving "A Lonely House" — somehow funny.

Leaving grandma's, my friend picked me up and we went to Osezaki Lighthouse.

About an hour round trip from parking to lighthouse — outbound downhill, return uphill — lactic acid overload, tough, but good morning exercise.

Around the lighthouse felt like a Dragon Quest world — exciting.

I climbed thinking: if a Buwoon-type monster were at the lighthouse, what then — I'd be done for.

(Source: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Square Enix)

That scenario is too scary!

After the lighthouse we ate at a Chinese place near a fishing town, went to an onsen I'd visited before, checked into the hotel early, drank, searched dinner, and booked.

Whether it's Goto or common in the countryside I don't know, but from supply and demand, restaurant reservations are often almost required.
Not that popular places are booked out — there simply aren't many open shops. Reserve before you go.

Day three: two more beaches, onsen, early to the airport and the restaurant I mentioned. Oh — beer at Goto restaurants was almost all Asahi.
I love Asahi by a mile, so to all the Asahi salespeople: thank you for your share-winning work in Goto.
Unlike Tokyo, I didn't have to gamble whether a place serves Asahi until after walking in — huge help.

That's it. That was the trip.

This blog won't promote anything, but if you go to Goto next summer or the one after, I'd be happy. Please do.

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