Heritage Site: Galiano Island
Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln
Organization: The Galiano Club
Address: VM94+QG, Galiano Island, BC V0N 0E9
There are five known charcoal pit kilns on Galiano Island. These mostly teardrop-shaped, stone-lined kilns are silent evidence of a thriving early 20th Century charcoal-making industry by Japanese settlers mostly from that country’s Wakayama Prefecture. One such pit kiln has been excavated & restored in Bluffs Park.
The site is a walk from the lookout area or a shorter steep walk from the end of Highland Rd. In 2025, a new trail leading to the Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln in Bluffs Park on Galiano Island was completed, providing greater public visibility and access. Other improvements to the site include refurbishment of the pit kiln itself, new signage, a brochure, and a manual detailing how to maintain the pit kiln for future stewards of the site.
This important site received funding from the BC Heritage Sites program of Japanese Canadian Legacies Society, highlighting the history of Japanese Canadians in BC.
The opening of the restored Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln was held on Saturday May 10 with a lunch and speakers at the Community Hall followed by a tour of the Pit Kiln site. Music:
Background
In 1982, while walking in the forest in Bluffs Park near his home on Galiano Island, Steve Nemtin fell into an over-grown stone-lined hole. Realizing that the hole was man-made, Steve started researching and learned that it was the remains of a kiln for making charcoal. Part-time, over the next 20-some years, Steve & his son excavated the site, exposed the pit kiln in all of its beauty. The Galiano Club got involved, as well as several islanders of Japanese descent, and a connecting trail was built, with directional signs put in place. A monument to these early Japanese Canadians, donated by the BC Wakayama Kenjin Kai, was dedicated in September 2001.
