One of the Shiwaku Islands, about 4.5 km northwest of Takuma port in Mitoyo. It covers 3.72 square kilometers and is shaped like a propeller, three islands joined by sandbars. In 1897 the Awashima Seamen's School opened here as Japan's first village-founded school for seamen; it ran for more than ninety years until it closed in 1987, and the site is now the Awashima Marine Memorial Park. About 15 minutes by Awashima Kisen boat from Suda port.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org
This moment in the journey
Morning on Awashima
I woke up on Awashima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea off the coast of Mitoyo, Kagawa. The sun was rising over the hill behind the harbor, laying a straight path of light across the water. In the middle of the village road, a black-and-white cat sat watching.
The house I was borrowing is an old home facing the village road. When I slid open the shoji, morning light came into the entrance; dried flowers hung by the latticed kitchen window, and glasses and wooden bowls lined the shelves. I set my leather shoes and a corded necklace aside and started on breakfast.
Watch this scene on YouTube0:21
More notes from this journey
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Niku mosso
A beef version of mossou-meshi, a traditional dish of Mitoyo.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The boat between Awashima and Shishijima
Awashima Kisen runs passenger boats between Suda and Miyanoshita ports on the mainland and Awashima, Kamishinden and Shishijima.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Shishijima
A small island in the Shiwaku group, part of Mitoyo (formerly Takuma town), about 0.74 square kilometers.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The Great Camphor Tree of Shishijima
A giant camphor tree on the hillside on the north side of the island.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The Flower Garden in the Sky
After the war, Shishijima thrived on growing pyrethrum and flowers; at its peak more than a hundred farms raised chrysanthemums, stock, marguerites, calendula a…
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Kusunokura Observatory
A handmade lookout that the islanders built together on the rise above the great camphor tree.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
More notes from Chugoku & Shikoku
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi-yaki
Onomichi's okonomiyaki is called Onomichi-yaki.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Octopus rice (tako-meshi)
A regional dish of Hiroshima handed down in Mihara, Onomichi and Fukuyama.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Tadotsu, Kagawa
Shippoku udon
A winter dish found throughout Kagawa.
From: Drawn by the sea breeze and the cats to Sanagi Island
Matsuyama, Ehime
Mackerel sandwich with Setouchi lemon
Breakfast in a fishing village on the Seto Inland Sea, made with the region's Setouchi lemon and eaten on the beach in front of the inn.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Jako-ten, prawns and Ehime wagyu on a charcoal grill
Jako-ten is a deep-fried fish-paste cake from the Nanyo region of southern Ehime.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Tai-meshi, sashimi-bowl style
Ehime has two kinds of tai-meshi.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze