“Romeo and Juliet” is not the only romantic saga ending in woe. Others in Japan and on Guam are inked so indelibly on public psyches as to inspire “lovers’ points” with sweeping vistas to evoke romance and luck in love. In fact, cities have even become bedfellows because of their respective tales of trysts and tragedies.

Guam’s Puntan Dos Amantes, or Two Lovers’ Point, overlooking picturesque Tumon Bay and the Philippine Sea, has two “sister capes” in the Land of the Rising Sun. There is Izu City’s Toi Koibito Misaki, or Lovers’ Point, with its panoramic vista of Mount Fuji and the Suruga Gulf in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Kashiwazaki City’s Lovers’ Point in Niigata Prefecture, offering scenic sunsets over the Sea of Japan against the backdrop of nearby Sado Island. The transpacific courting began more than two decades ago.

Present day Izu City has the longest running courtship with Guam. In 1989, then Guam Gov. Joseph Ada and the town mayor of Toi (now part of Izu City), Takashi Aoki, signed a “sister cape” deal during a ceremony on the island. In 2003, then Gov. Felix Camacho and Kashiwazaki Mayor Shingo Tsuchida followed suit.

“Since there is a lovers’ point in our town, I thought it would be nice to build a friendly relationship with Two Lovers’ Point on Guam to promote tourism,” said Kazuhiko Kagiyama. The former Toi Tourist Association director spearheaded the 1989 project by reaching out to the Guam Visitors Bureau.

All three amorous attractions are wed to romantic sagas of yesteryear – two with tragic endings of Shakespearian proportions. Today, they are go-to destinations for a date day, if not to supercharge that special bond with a certain someone.

The saga behind Izu’s Lovers’ Point has the more upbeat ending: Prevented by circumstance from marrying, two youths express their love for one another over a great distance by ringing a bell miraculously given to each of them. In time, their famed plight prompts others to bring them together so they can wed. Today, pilgrims flock there to ring a gold bell in hopes of gaining love.

Guam’s Two Lovers’ Point is said to be where a local Chamorro man and Spanish maiden leapt to their deaths in the 1500s to avoid capture and the girl’s forced betrothal to another, thereby preserving their love eternally.

Today, this scenic symbol of undying love is touted as the ideal place for weddings as well as views. There’s also a silver bell – a gift from its sister cape in Izu – said to bring luck in romance to those who ring it. Visitors can also buy heart-shaped locks and plaques to write down heartfelt wishes for romance and attach them to the Love Lock Wall to come true – a custom adopted from the cape’s Kashiwazaki sister.

In Kashiwazaki, Lovers’ Point is tied to the tale of a love-sick woman who drowned on one of her nightly perilous journeys from Sado Island to meet her lover in the city. He in turn took his own life. Now, those in search of successful marriage make pilgrimages there to enshrine their written wishes along the cape’s fence.

Tourism officials say the sister-cape relations have been a boon.

“Quite a few Japanese who visited Puntan Dos Amantes learned that it has a sister cape here in (Izu) then came to see our cape,” Kagiyama said. “I also hear a lot of lovers who come here say they are planning to visit the Two Lovers’ Point on Guam. … This is a win-win situation.”

Two Lovers’ Point (Puntan Dos Amantes), Guam

Built upon a bittersweet tale of eternal love, Puntan Dos Amantes, or Two Lovers Point, is an icon of Guam attractions. Every year hundreds of thousands of visitors are drawn to the towering cliff that is the site of Guam’s most well-known and romantic legends.

The Two Lovers Point park features lookout points that offer sweeping views of Tumon Bay, high above crashing ocean waves 122m (400ft) below. Couples can purchase a lovelock, attach it to the railing and toss the key into the ocean to symbolize their own eternal love. The centerpiece of the park is a magnificent brass statue of two lovers locked in an embrace that gleams in the sun and extends to the sky. The park also features a wedding chapel and terrace restaurant.

– Guam Visitors Bureau

For more details, visit here.

Lovers’ Point (Koibito Misaki), Kashiwazaki City, Japan

For more details (in Japanese), call: 0257-24-2238 or visit here.

Lovers’ Point (Koibito Misaki), Izu City, Japan

About 230,000 people, many in search of luck in love, visit this cape annually. An observation platform offers fantastic vistas of Mount Fuji over the Suruga Gulf. A golden bell is mounted there and it is said that whoever rings it three times their wish in matters of love will come true. The bell has a silver ‘sister’ on Guam’s Two Lovers’ Point. According to lore, whoever can ring both bells will be grated both happiness and prosperity. Lovers who ring the bell together can get a special certificate of declaring their amorous relationship at the visitor’s office on site. When they marry later, a congratulatory message will be sent to the newlyweds.

The town of Toi, in the city of Izu, also boasts other attractions such as scenic Anrakuji Temple and the world’s largest flower clock in Matsubara Park and the oldest hot spring in western Izu.

For more details (in Japanese), call: 0558-99-0270 or visit here.