Were it not for the well-nourished faces of the passengers suffused with keen expressions of expectation and purpose, the supine bodies, unpacked food, luggage and blankets strewn across the hard flooring of the ferry's modern equivalent of steerage class resembled those of a migrant ...
On Oki Islands off Shimane Prefecture, a bold wave of reform seems to be having a positive effect.
The Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are turning history on its head. The remote outposts that were used for centuries by medieval rulers to banish rivals have become a model for regional revival as the town of Ama, on one of the four ...
Before he left Japan after several years spent in Hiroshima, the multi-award-winning English novelist David Mitchell advised me: "If you only make one trip while you are here, make sure it's to the Oki Islands." They were, he assured me (in not quite so ...
