My sister and I made it to Ogijima!
It was a hot glorious summer day in Takamatsu. We took the ferry out to Ogijima. The island was charming. But I completely fell in love with the island while chatting with the local residents. They were so sweet to us visitors and full of interesting information about Ogijima.
We learned that Ogijima has a population of less than 200 residents and even less who actually live there year long. Someone told us that back in history, there was actually a time when over 1,000 people lived there, which is a surprisingly large number for such a small island. It was during the era when there were many pirates in the area bringing in the money to the island. Apparently the younger generation these days mostly live on mainland Japan to go to school or find jobs, so the locals are mostly the older generation.
We were also told that Ogijima didn’t have electricity until a little over 50 years ago and their water was to be pumped all the way from Takamatsu through an underwater pipe. The island is pretty much rock underneath so the residents apparently had a difficult time with wells and collecting rain water back in the day. Because of the lack of water, they couldn’t grow rice on the island and had to rent out their precious cows during the summer to rice fields in Takamatsu in exchange for rice for the family. An older lady said that the family would cry when seeing how thin and worn out the cows were when they return to the island. She said everyone took good care of their cows because they were the reason the family could eat rice.
Oh I could go on and on about the fascinating stories we heard. But you’ll probably want to hear it for yourself when you see what an interesting island Ogijima is. Here are some pictures:
Waiting for our ferry at Takamatsu Port.
The ferry, Meon 2, leaves Takamatsu and stops by the islands Megijima and Ogijima.
It was a 40 minute ferry ride to Ogijima from Takamatsu, with a short stop at Megijima.
The view from the ferry is pretty fantastic as well.
I loved their quirky streets that curve up and around this side of the island.
High buns are the best on a hot summer day.
Traditional roof tiles were used on most houses on the island.
Outside the Takeshi Kawashima exhibit (we didn’t go inside this one).
Everyone had an Onba, Ogijima’s version of the red wagon.
We stopped by a herb garden cafe, which we later found out is also a temple.
They were serving delicious shiso ume juice…perfect for cooling down from the heat!
They brought out this flower which was edible…notice the soy sauce on the petals 😀
Beautiful old houses with amazing roofs all along the side of the hill.
This house uses the wood from old boats on their wall.
The 11th stanza to a local song were written on the glass…there are a total of 33 stanzas.
This is the fun Organ installation by Tomoko Taniguchi.
We had to try everything…look through telescopes,talk through pipes, and make music.
The further you climb up the streets, the better the view of the island.
This is Toyotama-hime Jinjya (豊玉姫神社), a shrine famous for safe childbirth.
I completely fell for the Koma-inu (guardian dog) on the left…look at his overbite!
The shrine bell was so beautiful we had to take a picture (no worries…we didn’t hit it!).
The shrine stairs had a fabulous view of the houses below.
We took another break at Onba Factory, which custom makes Onba and also has a cafe.
They had an omiyage (souvenir) corner with Onba Factory goods.
We ordered the kuzumochi & tea set. It was delicious!
There was a vintage sowing machine in the corner.
The seats both inside and out were a great place to rest, the cool wind felt really good.
The Onba were all so creative, it was fun seeing all the different types!
We decided to walk on over to the Ogijima lighthouse.
Along the way we saw a lot of “green” houses…maybe abandoned houses.
It was a long walk under the sun but the view of the water was fantastic!
I actually forgot to take a good picture of the lighthouse, we were too busy playing in the water!
It took all my willpower not to jump into the water and swim!
We were back at the port in time to catch the ferry. This is the roof of the Ogijima’s Soul.
It was a glorious day on Ogijima and we fully enjoyed the Setouchi Triennale 2013!
PS: Two more posts coming up
on Memory Bottle and Ogijima Wallalley! x
Kaori Square Feet 
I love this post! So much is familiar thanks to David and Dru, so much is new.
My favourite part? That photo of you walking down the stairs, because I can see your suntan marks! Way to go, summer soul sister! ^^
Number two on my list of favourites: “We stopped by a herb garden cafe, which we later found out is also a temple.”
Number three: the bun.
Number four: cows for rice.
Though, hmm, maybe those sea/beach photos are the nicest …
Oh, it's all gorgeous. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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PS: The “tekkies” (Afrikaans for sneakers) are also nice, but didn't you know that you were supposed to wear high heels? :p
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Looks like you had a great time in Ogijima. That Ume Shiso drink looks refreshing, but I'd have to pass. Don't like ume drinks.
Onba looks great as always too. I can't wait to go back.
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Yes, I think one of the reasons I didn't even need the guidebook was because I'd seen photos and read about the island on both David and Dru's blogs! It felt like I already knew the place.
You'll be proud to know that I'm another shade darker from this day on Ogijima! hehe. And I thought you'd like the temple bit! It's the only shrine on Ogijima and the head of the temple was full of information! You'd like him 😀
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I'd like to know the Arikaans word for high heels! ;D
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I did, thanks to your advice on your many posts, Dru!
The shiso ume drink was really good! I think maybe even you could like it…we learned from the mrs of the temple that the shiso drink itself is a little strong but by adding the ume juice, it neutralized the taste and it was really refreshing! 😀
I can't wait to see more photos when you go back!
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It's not the shiso that I'm worried about. It's the ume. 🙂 I like to eat shiso on its own. 🙂
Please be patient about the photos. I won't be able to post more till I go back in 3 years. If you have G+, you can see them there.
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It's a fairly unimaginative word – hoëhakskoene, literally high-heeled shoes – but I call them sukkel-sukkel. Sukkel means to struggle, have hassles with, have difficulties with. Afrikaans loves to double up words to give them a more emotional nuance. So I look at a woman walking like a stork with constipation and bunions and I think, “Bietjie-bietjie sukkel-sukkel.”
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Wow, Kaori, you taught me something about Ogijima.
I had no idea that the herb garden café was also a temple.
Now I understand why I saw this guy dressed like a monk in the village a couple of times. 🙂
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Ah. Well, I think maybe another drink for you then! haha. I'm going to hop on over to your G+ pictures 😀
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Wow, he was dressed like an official monk? I'd have liked to see that! I couldn't tell from the exterior either but he mentioned that they were the only temple on the island 😀
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