You'll often hear foreign residents say that no matter how long they've lived in this country, as foreigners they're never fully accepted into Japanese society. If you feel you've never been accepted in Japan, then welcome to the club: Many Japanese people don't feel accepted here either.

"Even though I was born on this island and went to the local school," says my neighbor whose parents moved here from the mainland, "I still feel people look at me as an outsider. Since I don't have any blood relatives here, no one shares my last name. I have no people to rely on except my husband's family. I've raised three children here and they've all gone through the school system on the island."

With the exception of a few people who have come in through the back door (such as myself), this island in the Seto Inland Sea has historically been off-limits to those who have no connections to the place.