Journeys in photographs and words.
Walking down the lane toward an old house
Walking down the lane toward an old house

An island of the Shiwaku group, about 15 minutes by boat from Suda port in Mitoyo. Three islands joined by sandbars give it the shape of a propeller. It once prospered as a port of call for Kitamae-bune trading ships, and in 1897 Japan's first village-run merchant marine school opened here (it closed in 1987, and the site is now Awashima Marine Memorial Park). The island is also a venue of the Setouchi Triennale.

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

This moment in the journey

Home again: oiri and awamori coffee

Down the lane between the old houses, and I'm home. Lamplight glowed in the house of latticed doors and paper screens.

I tipped the oiri, light little grains in pretty pastel colors, into a glass dish, and brewed awamori coffee, a souvenir from a trip to Okinawa a while ago. On Awashima, awamori coffee and pale wedding sweets. How refined.

On the stone steps beyond the veranda, a cat was napping in the greenery.

Watch this scene on YouTube4:02

Read this scene in the full journey

Stepping in through a latticed front door
Stepping in through a latticed front door
A room lit by a lamp, with paper screens
A room lit by a lamp, with paper screens
Tipping oiri into a glass dish
Tipping oiri into a glass dish
Pouring hot water over a drip-bag coffee
Pouring hot water over a drip-bag coffee
A red pack of awamori coffee and a wooden cup
A red pack of awamori coffee and a wooden cup
A lantern, a dish of oiri and a wooden cup
A lantern, a dish of oiri and a wooden cup
Sitting on the veranda, a cat on the stone steps
Sitting on the veranda, a cat on the stone steps
A black-and-white cat lying on stone steps among the greenery
A black-and-white cat lying on stone steps among the greenery