Words by Liz Schaffer & Photographs by Daisy Wingate-Saul - an extract from the Japan magazine
I’d forgotten how thrilling it can be to look out from a plane window. Flights have become so commonplace - a necessary evil when it comes to getting from A to B - that we sometimes forget to glance down at the world as it passes below us. Almost as soon as we took off from Haneda, the bamboozling Tokyo sprawl, painted pastel by the morning light, was replaced by a snow-capped Fuji. And as we descended an hour later, I was captivated anew by the lush mountains of Hiroshima Prefecture, the villages nestled in valleys, the scattered islands of the Seto Inland Sea. I was about to touch down in another Japan entirely.
I’d come to Hiroshima Prefecture for art, nature and food - this was the land of oysters and okonomiyaki, after all - so decided to start my adventure in the hilly port city of Onomichi, a buzzing maze of coffee shops and creativity. The artistic mood was set at LOG, a six-room boutique hotel that combines Japanese and Indian design elements - think futons and washi-paper screens paired with hues that call to mind the palaces of Jaipur. LOG is reached via a cafe-lined staircase that wends up from the harbour, and settled in the hotel’s chic cafe, I sipped my matcha while looking out over the springtime cherry blossoms, before turning my attention to their art collection which is full of pieces created in partnership with visiting artists, poets and musicians.
Despite what my leisurely first afternoon might imply, Onomichi is a city made for walking, be that along the waterfront, through the covered market (which is home to fabulous restaurants like Takahara Seikichi Shokudou where the fried oysters are the stuff of foodie dreams) or up the hillside. The latter route may take your breath away in more ways than one, but the sculpture-like viewing platform suspended above the grounds of Senkoji Temple at the summit more than justifies the climb - there’s also a cable car should you fancy a more leisurely ascent. On the way back down, take a left at the pagoda and follow the aptly named Cat Trail, a warren of shrines and artworks honouring the feline residents who have claimed this partially-abandoned corner of Onomichi as their own.
Island hopping is a vital part of any Hiroshima Prefecture getaway, so the following day I stopped in at Onomichi U2, a hotel found in a revamped, waterside warehouse and built with cyclists in mind - the city marks the start of the 70-kilometre-long, island-crossing Shimanami Kaido cycling route. Here I picked up picnic supplies at their onsite bakery, before setting sail for Art Base Momoshima. Located on Momoshima island, which is home to around 350 inhabitants, Art Base has turned a collection of abandoned properties into exhibition spaces. The old junior high school, for example, is now filled with Yukinori Yanagi’s conceptual works, including a race car caught in perpetual motion and a bathroom-turned-garden. Yukinori was one of the pioneers of the Setouchi Art Island Movement, which revitalised islands throughout the Seto Inland Sea and gave us the internationally recognisable Benesse Art Site on Naoshima, yet Momoshima still feels a little undiscovered. In fact, while being guided between artworks, I found myself alone inside an ivy-clad cinema that was built in the 1960s by a man who loved movie theatres but had no idea how to run one. It now houses one of Yukinori’s large-scale neon works, and as I stood watching illuminated flags from Japan’s past reflected in a pool of water, I was reminded of just how much art can move us when we only have our thoughts for company.
Azumi Setoda, on Ikuchijima island, is stunning in an entirely different way. Found in a building with more than 140-years of history, this luxury hotel began life as the home of a merchant family who made their fortune through the region’s once-booming salt industry. Many of the original architectural details remain; the facade (like others lining the Edo period street) looks like something from another time, and inside you’ll find a tea house and traditional gardens. The rooms themselves offer a more contemporary take on the classic ryokan style, cypress tubs and all, and although the design alone more than justifies a visit, it’s Azumi Setoda’s dedication to the community that makes a stay special. The team have helped neighbouring cafes, guesthouses and restaurants flourish, built a traditional bathhouse and curate unique experiences designed to immerse guests in Ikuchijima life. Staff will guide you through Kosanji Temple, a serene space which was built over a 30-year period and inspired by iconic temples across Japan, and the gallery dedicated to local artist Ikuo Hirayama. Made using natural pigments, Ikuo’s watercolour-esque paintings capture the beauty of the everyday and were designed to promote peace and culture through art, his style a response to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
And then there’s Yoshimasa, a beloved restaurant (reached via a hotel-arranged fishing boat) where walls are adorned with baseball paraphernalia and art prints made by using fish the owner has hauled in over the years as stamps. Rustic and delicious, you can sample pork and lemon gyoza unique to the region (around 70 varieties of citrus are grown here), phenomenal fried chicken cooked with salt and lemon, and a fish head that is infinitely more delicious than its dubious appearance would have you believe.
I spent my final evening on the island pondering where I should venture next. I could keep things simple and stay on at Azumi Setoda, starting my days with morning meditation at Kojoji Temple, found beneath a 600-year-old pagoda. I could make my way back to Hiroshima Airport via a stop at the woodland-framed Buttsuji Temple, a hushed and tranquil site maintained by just two monks. Or I could jump on a bike and go in search of tropical scenes and island-inspired sculptures, and maybe even cycle all the way across Kyushu. There are countless ways to explore this region, a wonderland where art makes you question your place in the world and nature is king - so I decided that the best course of action was to simply wake and let the day decide, because whatever I did next was sure to astound.
Liz and Daisy travelled with help from Hiroshima Airport, which can be reached domestically from Tokyo, Sendai, Sapporo and Okinawa, making it the gateway to Setouchi.
This story is part of Japan, Vol 3.
