猿島 (さるしま // Sarushima), literally "Monkey Island," is a tiny island just off the coast of Yokosuka, to the south of Tokyo.

Specifically, it's here:

First, I should get the sad part out of the way: There are no monkeys on Sarushima. T_T

Rei and I discovered this little island randomly.

It was early May of 2014, I believe. We had a random day to spend together, and I said, "Let's go to Yokosuka!"

Why? What's in Yokosuka?

I don't know. I've never been. ← That was saying a lot, as I've been to most of the notable places within an hour of Tokyo.

I met her at Kamata Station (Rei grew up in Kamata, by the way).

I took this exact photo while waiting for her at the station:

It took us about 50 minutes to get there. It's a straight shot if you start at Keikyu-Kamata Station (or Shinagawa Station, for that matter).

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So there we were, walking around Yokosuka, when we came across a boat that was about the leave the harbor.

Specifically, some guy was standing by this gate:

乗りますか？
のります　か？
Are you going to board?
Literally: "board + か?"

...he asked. Or something to that effect.

"Sure," we said. Though we didn't know where this boat was going. My inner dialogue was something like:

Hey, that gate has monkeys on it. Maybe we'll see monkeys!

They tell us as kids not to trust strangers with candy, but no one ever said anything about strangers with monkeys.

It was raining that day, by the way. We took this photo on the boat:

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"Monkey Island" may have no monkeys, but I still think it's pretty cool.

If you're into military history, I think you'll find it especially interesting.

Quoting this article: "Due to its position in Tokyo Bay, Sarushima has long been regarded as a strategic point of defense for the Japanese mainland. The island contains the ruins of militaristic fortifications from as far back as the Tokugawa shogunate (which lasted until the mid-1800's). Brick-lined tunnels and walls of fortresses still remain from generations past, though they are now overgrown with plants for a very neat atmosphere of walking through important places of times gone by."

( ↑ This photo is from this article.)

If I had to sum it up, I might say: "Indiana Jones and the WWII Ruins."

There were almost no people when we went. Maybe because it was a rainy Sunday. Well, there were a lot of people leaving when we got there, but not many people there while we were exploring:

Apparently it's a popular spot for BBQ's and swimming in summer. You can read more about that in this article. ← That article has some nice, sunny photos, too. Ours are a bit darker:

BBQ's and swimming under Tokyo's hot, summer sun sound like a lot of fun, but I'm glad that we went on a less crowded day.

There was something peaceful about exploring this tiny, rainy island:

I did see a couple of teenage girls taking rad cosplay photos in the ruins. It must take commitment to go all the way to an uninhabited island just for some good photos of your outfit. But then, where else can you take photos in a tunnel like this:

↑ You can't see their outfits in the photo, but I was pretty impressed.

It only took us about 30 minutes to explore the island. Maybe an hour, tops. As such, I'm always hesitant to recommend this place to travelers visiting Japan. But it might be a good place to go before having a gigantic all-you-can-eat lunch in Yokohama Chinatown, which is somewhat nearby.

↑ My hair was longer back then. And my pants were redder.

Anyway, I'd rate 猿島 as "worth checking out." Other visitors seem to agree.

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Japanese, please.

Let's use formal language, today:

猿島に行ったことありますか？
さるしま　に　いった　こと　あります　か？
Have you ever been to Sarushima?
Literally: “Sarushima + に + have gone to (=went + thing + have) + か?”

猿島は無人島なんですよ。
さるしま　は　むじんとう　なんです　よ。
Sarushima is an uninhabited island.
Literally: “Sarushima + は + uninhabited island + なんです + よ.”

残念ながら、「猿島」に猿はいません。
ざんねん　ながら、　「さるしま」　に　さる　は　いません。
Unfortunately, there are no monkeys on “Monkey Island.”
Literally: “unfortunately + 「Sarushima (=Monkey-Island)」 + に + monkey + は + there is not.”