Heading to Shiraishi Island for the Weekend

Enough with this swine flu stuff already, right?! Feh. Blech. On to better things. . .

This weekend, we are getting away with two other families to Shiraishi Island , a small island on the Seto Inland Sea in Okayama Prefecture. We are all staying at one of the Okayama Prefecture's International Villa's, small "lodges" located in some of the more rural parts of the prefecture.

The six International Villas (each of a different architecture and in different surroundings) were formed in 1988, in order "to attract foreign tourists to the beauty of rural Japan" by providing affordable accommodations in the more rural areas of Okayama Prefecture. (Apparently, these were the brain-child of a former Mayor or Governor type who spent some time travelling abroad and wanted to give-back and create a hostelly type place in Japan, while at the same time increasing tourism.) The Villas (each with a handful of rooms, and a shared common-area and kitchen) have been an institution amongst gaijin as a great get-away location for 20 years. Sadly, due to recent financial struggles, only two remain open.

This will be our second time to Shiraishishima. We visited the Villa at Shiraishi last Fall and had a terrific time. We are looking forward to getting back there in the nice Spring weather. It's very small, quiet, and rural (population of 700ish?) with a nice beach and nice hiking trails.

Really looking forward to this weekend's gaijin get-away (gaijin-palooza? Well. We'll keep working on what we're gonna call it...)