Shodoshima is also commonly called “Olive Island” by the locals, as the island’s mediterranean-like climate made it suitable for olive cultivation. First successfully cultivated in 1908, Shodoshima is the birthplace of olive cultivation in Japan, and is one of the island’s major produces alongside shoyu (醤油, Shōyu, Soy Sauce).
Shodoshima Olive Park sits on the site of Japan’s first-ever olive plantation, and the park continues to host an active plantation today. There are walking trails letting you stroll underneath the 2000 olive trees in the park.
Most interestingly, the park was used as the filming location for the 2014 live-action adaptation of Kiki’s Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便, Majo no Takkyūbin), which was made famous by the 1989 Studio Ghibli adaptation. One of the film’s sets, replicating the panya (パン屋, bread shop) that Kiki worked at was saved from demolition after filming, and has instead become a crafts shop called Coriko. You can also get a free broom rental so that you can re-create the scenes from Kiki’s Delivery Service on the green sprawling fields of Shodoshima Olive Kōen.
