Shelter Island is a man-made peninsula in San Diego Bay, created in the 1950s by dredging bay bottom and piling it against a natural sandbar. The result is a mile-long spit of waterfront lined with marinas, yacht clubs, hotels, and seafood restaurants, with views across the bay to downtown and to the North Island naval station.
The island's Japanese Garden (Friendship Bell Park) reflects a 1960 gift from Yokohama, San Diego's sister city: a stone lantern, a friendship bell, and a small garden. The Yokohama Friendship Bell can be rung. It's a quiet spot on a busy island.
The reason most people come is the waterfront promenade and the fish restaurants. Anthony's Fish Grotto and the Point Loma Seafoods shop (a fish market with a lunch counter) are the practical reasons to make the drive. Sunset from the western tip of the island, with Coronado and the naval station behind you and downtown's skyline ahead, is one of the better views the city offers.