Kitagijima Island

It is the largest island in the Kasaoka Islands, located in the center of the Kasaoka Islands, approximately 26 km from Kasaoka Port. It has long been famous as a ``Stone Island'' known for ``Kitagi Granite,'' and during the construction of Osaka Castle in the early Edo period, large quantities of stone wall stone were sent there. After the Meiji era, stone mining became serious, and Kitagi stone was used in many buildings, including the Bank of Japan head office in Tokyo, the Mitsukoshi head office, Nihonbashi, and the Otorii gate of Yasukuni Shrine. Today, quarrying is still going on, and you can tour the quarry from the 60m-high "Ishikiri Valley Observation Deck" (for a fee). In 2019, it was designated as a Japanese Heritage Site as ``Did you know!? A stone island where eternity has passed - Setouchi Bisan Islands, which crossed the sea and built the foundation of Japan.''