There are no monkeys on Monkey Island, the only natural island in all of Tokyo Bay. It is a quarter of a mile long and a tenth of a mile wide and no one lives on this tiny isle that is a popular destination for tourists and beach barbecues. For a fee of ¥1200 (about $12 and change for an adult) the crossing from Yokosuka is a ten-minute ferry ride aboard the Sea Friend 1 from the Makisa Park boat pier. The sun broke through the clouds after lunch today and that was my cue to get off base and explore it. In Japanese the island has a beautiful sounding name, Sarushima.
Back in the mid-1800s its strategic importance as a defensive position at the entrance to Tokyo Bay was recognized by the Tokugawa Shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship. All that remains of the military facilities that were constructed there are brick-lined tunnels and magazines that are now covered in moss with ferns and vines growing in the cracks. Well maintained paths wind their way through thick growths of bamboo and heavy undergrowth. They guide the hiker the whole length of the island and up to its highest point. As with most public places in Japan there is not a bit of litter to be found.
How did it get its name? This is what I found. A famous Buddhist monk was traveling in the bay in a small boat. A storm came up suddenly and threatened to swamp the boat. A white monkey appeared before the monk and beckoned him to the safety of the island where the monk waited out the storm.
