Loving Island Time

Location:
Japan

beach, diving, Japan

By Laura Hancock

“Wait, what?” was the reply when I said I was going to Amami Oshima. Or, the other popular question: “Why?”

Amami is an island jewel hidden between Japan’s Kyushu and Okinawa. Despite mention in Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, it remains flown over and little known.

So, after quelling the disbelief, I received tickets for my twenty-seven hour ferry from Osaka. Long ride, but I now respect my ancestors a little more, having tried a squat toilet on a rocking boat.

When the ferry (finally) ported, I triumphantly disembarked to confront the island’s transportation system. The Japanese are famous for their timeliness, but on Amami, things run on “island time.”

This is code for “sometimes the buses don’t come.”

However, the ride was worth the wait for the errant bus. Highway 58 was edged with hibiscus; the foliage thick with tropical fruit, and birds darted between the trees. Most magnificent were the hilltop views – turquoise sea between rolling green and black mountains shrouded in white mist.

The next bus I had to catch was actually a brown van with the sign ‘bus’ taped to the window. I was hesitant to enter, but the driver rolled down the window and asked “Yodorihama?” raising an eyebrow at my foreignness. That was my stop, so I smiled politely and got in.

When the “bus” crested the final hill to my hotel, a white sand beach coupled with a manicured lawn rewarded me. Beyond that lay the clear Pacific, flanked by high rocks and even higher mountains.

Settling in was easy. Mornings, I dove among a myriad of fish, eels, turtles, sharks and colorful corals. Rock structures stood fifty feet high underwater, reflecting the sun and flooding the reef with light.

In the afternoon I climbed rocks, watching the waves break and spray, or I napped in the sun. Evenings, I bathed in the bathhouse overlooking the horizon, watching the sun sink into the ocean. At night, I sat with a glass of Amami’s specialty sweet rice wine and watched the stars.

It was not a lonely holiday; the hotel staff and I talked often, swapping stories about my cultural misadventures for lessons in the local dialect. (Arigatou, as Styx fans know, means “thank you,” but in Amami dialect it’s ariagassamaaryouta. No wonder I had trouble asking people for directions.)

Since I was on the island in January, I was invited to take place in the Japanese custom of pounding mochi for luck in the New Year. Mochi is created by beating white rice with a wooden mallet until it becomes a glutinous mass. It’s delicious, and after whacking at the mochi amongst much cheering, I feasted with the rest of the hotel.

I did feel very lucky then, eating my mochi, trying to remember how to say “thank you” as my hosts laughed and passed out another round of rice wine.

Even schedule-obsessed, neon-inundated Japan has an “island time” zone, for those adventurous enough to seek it.

Further Information

Other helpful information: Lots of patience, especially if you can't speak/read Japanese. Since it's not a huge tourist destination, there's very little in the way of English. Don't let the language barrier scare you! The locals are very friendly and a smile goes a long, long way.

Must see/do at this place: The beaches in the south are fabulous. If you're a diver of any kind, the coral reef absolutely cannot be missed.

You should avoid here: Falling so in love with it all that you never leave!