On July 16, we departed from Osaka Itami Airport and arrived at Amami Airport shortly before noon.

The sky over Amami was clear and bright. The blue of the sky and sea, along with the shapes of the clouds, seemed to be on a whole different level—as if they were piercing right through into space. Shiozawa and I heart instantly felt at ease. We headed straight from the airport to climb the Kasari-zaki Lighthouse.

In this tropical paradise, bathed in a shimmering light of green, blue, white, and emerald, you can feel the presence of the divine right beside you.

The mangrove forest along Tsuchimori Beach remains beautiful even after decades have passed—just like Shiozawa’s work, “The land of my heart”

The trip from Amami Airport to Koniya, where the ferry terminal is located, takes about an hour and a half and passes through several long tunnels. Until about 20 years ago, there were no tunnels, so we would cross the mountains on winding mountain roads, catch glimpses of quiet coastal villages, and repeat this process several times before finally reaching the port. Even though it was inconvenient, I now look back on those beautiful, atmospheric landscapes with nostalgia.

We took the ferry to Kakeroma Island and arrived at Marine Blue.

The quiet Suri Beach was saying, “Welcome back.”

That evening, We finally got to meet Take-san, a true legend of Amami. Take-san single-handedly developed a plot of land right in front of Suri Beach—said to be the most beautiful beach on Kakeroma—and built Pension Marine Blue, which became a huge success; he is deeply loved by the islanders.

He and Shiozawa have been friends for about 30 years. I was relieved to see that he was in much better health than I had expected. Above all, his spirit of hospitality—always striving to make people laugh—is still very much alive.

And to your wife, Kazuyo, thank you so much for all your thoughtfulness. I had such a great time during my stay—I laughed way too much.