Shodoshima

I rode the ferry from Himeji to Shodoshima (Shodo Island) yesterday. A ride through the Inland Sea's placid waters is a tonic to which I like to return often. The waters are always calm and when the sun shines, it's easier to believe that our existence is as flimsy as a dream. It feels like a boat ride to heaven. I landed at Fukuda and intended to head into the mountainous interior, where a cable car traverses the well-known Kankakei Gorge, but decided instead to just hike along the shore outside of town and enjoy the views of the water dotted with islands and of boats moving slowly about.

I observed a ship pull up to a small penisula and spend the next hour loading its hull with rocks. Some of the magic of these islands is ruined by the fact that Shodoshima and many other neighboring islands have been carving up their landscape and selling it to Kobe and Osaka for land reclamation projects like both cities' airports. This leaves the hillsides with massive yellow gashes, and the days are fraught with industrial strength noise. Still, it keeps the islands' economies going. Some of these towns would have probably been abandoned without these jobs. (It's ironic to be so curious about the economy and employment while on sabbatical. It comforts me to see people minding the shop while I'm at play.)

As small as the town is, I could not find my ryokan and asked a woman to help me. She described how to get there. It was only 30 meters away, but my Japanese didn't include the words for "circle back" and "alleyway." She walked me there. For 7000 yen, I had two meals and a comfortable sleep on a tatami mat. In another 15 years, it's hard to believe such traditional places will exist.