If you want to get away from your wife, the Okinoshima island in Japan – as elusive as it sounds – is out of bounds to all female visitors. A myth has it there if any woman goes near the Okitsu-Miya Shrine, they will be turned into a stone.
The Japanese island of Okinoshima sits between Japan’s southwestern main island of Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. Okinoshima and the surrounding sites in the Munakata Region in the Fukuoka prefecture have been given World Heritage status at the 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Poland on Sunday (Jul 9).
What:
Okinoshima is home to the 17th century Okitsu-Miya Shrine which was built to pray for the safety of sailors.
The island’s ancient rules regarding entry have been preserved with tight restrictions on the number of visitors, the Japan Times said. There are several rules you will have to observe, if you are one of the 200 lucky tourists that are allowed to visit annually, before you step foot on the island.
- No woman allowed
- Shoes have to be removed
- Undergo a cleansing ritual
- Nothing to be taken away
- Nothing to be divulged
Where:
So elusive that I can hardly see it on the map. Getting there is a challenge.
There’s a jetty there and a lighthouse. Probably, the rest of the buildings are temples.
How to get there:
You can get more information here.