I moved to Shiraishi Island in Japan's Seto Inland Sea (setonaikai or setouchi in Japanese) in 1997, after four years of living in Okayama City. It is a special place for me as well as many others who have taken the time to experience its charms and visit its sacred sites. It's a place where you can watch the sun set over the sea, then run to the other side of the island and watch the moon rise. Shiraishi is an island of sacred rocks and power spots, deserted beaches and breezy bamboo forests.
I have been lucky to be able to take part in this small community of 350 people and help with revitalization efforts. Although our island population continues to decrease yearly (brought on by aging and depopulation), I have worked diligently to preserve the traditions and way of life here.
Part of my revitalization efforts over the years have included helping bring foreign guests to the island to see the real Japan. For 20 years, I managed an island reservation service to book travelers into accommodations and I also owned and managed the Moooo! Bar and Calfe on the beach. With the help of a few islanders, I revived the island's 400-year-old pilgrimage route, a 10-km forest trail with 88 stone statues of Buddhist deities that encircles the island. After a five-year effort, the Shiraishi Pilgrimage will officially launched its reawakening in autumn of 2017 and included two 10-Km trail race, in which the profits were used to help maintain the pilgrimage route.
As the island population continues to drop, and few young people move here, all of these previous revitalization efforts have become harder continue. Our last season at the Moooo! Bar was the summer of 2023. We thank the thousands of foreign tourists who have come to enjoy the island with us and we hope you have as fond memories as we do of camaraderie around bonfires on the beach.
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