Izu-Shimoda’s Fudeshima and Akanejima Islands

On that note, thank you very much for choosing Stanley’s LED floodlights. Could you tell us about the two small islands that are lit up by our products?

Mr. Maruyama: The pointy one on the right is called Fudeshima, because it looks like a calligraphy brush (fude is the Japanese word for calligraphy brush). It is about 600 meters from here. The flat one on the left is called Akanejima, which is about 1,000 meters away.

They’re further away than they look, aren’t they?

Mr. Maruyama: We currently have one floodlight each directed at the two islands. During the new moon, they appear to float on the sea in a magical fashion.

Could you tell us the background behind how you came to choose our lights?

Mr. Maruyama: During the day, as you saw for yourself, these islands in the middle of the bay provide a kind of accent to the magnificent views, but at night, the bay is pitch black. We have many, many guests during summer vacation, but we wanted something that would prompt guests to come and stay in the off-season as well.

Certainly, it is particularly dark on nights of the new moon, isn’t it? The person at reception said that they had become something of an attraction and that guests in the bar and lounge asked about the islands.

Mr. Maruyama: I’m happy with the pin-point lighting, even though I’d love to install more lights and make it a bit brighter, but because some local people fish for lobsters at night, I’m controlling myself (laughs).

Because of the narrow-angled beam, the range of illumination is very narrow even at far distances, so the impact on the sea is limited.

Mr. Maruyama: On misty nights, the light looks sharper and I love how cool it looks. We’re a little worried about security on the parking lot side, so maybe we’ll install one of your floodlights there (laughs).

Thank you.