It seems that when Amami-Oshima, an island in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, was created, there was just one color left on the palette: green.
You get a sense of this uniformity when you fly in over the shallow waters that surround the island: The turquoise ocean gives way to low mountains cloaked in dense subtropical forest and, on farmland in between, green stems of sugar cane — one of the island's main crops — sway lazily in the warm onshore breeze.
Drive along the narrow roads that twist and turn their way up and over the hills and you'll see green trees on the right, green trees on the left and, sometimes, huge tree ferns spreading their broad green fronds overhead. And, of course, the refreshing tea served up in the restaurants and cafes is . . . you guessed it — green!