A Place to Soothe Your Soul – Journey Through the Hidden Beauty of the Oki Islands

A photographer arriving from a foreign land discovered the richness of nothingness on this small island.
Bathed in light aboard the ferry crossing the sea, chasing the colors of dusk from her window at Entô, laughing with a 93-year-old woman in the fields — Androniki Christodoulou captures each of these moments with a quiet, unhurried gaze.

A photojournalist who moves between Greece and Japan, she has long documented the lives and cultures of people across the world.
On Nakanoshima, she discovered a rhythm of everyday life that echoed her distant homeland — a familiar simplicity shaped by nature and time.

This column is a memory of Oki, seen through the eyes of a traveler.
Through her gaze, we are invited to share the island’s gentle flow of time — and the inner peace offered by a place called Entô.

I arrived in Nakanoshima some time in May 2025, while working on a story about Lefkadio Hearn, a Greek-Irish writer who lived in Japan in the late 19th century.

Leaving the hectic life in Tokyo, arriving in Nakanoshima with its serene atmosphere was a bliss. During the ferry and boat rides to the island, I spent time on the deck looking at the ocean, and while arriving at the island, Ento Hotel was one of the first buildings to see with its windows glowing in the late afternoon light. I was to stay there for two nights.

To my surprise, my dinner at Ento started at 18:00, too early for me, before any other guests were present. I sat by the wide window, viewing the sea, and the elegant course dishes kept coming. When the first one arrived, it was still quite bright outside, and I finished the last one after sunset. I realized that I had to start my dinner early in order to enjoy all the wonderful changing colors of the sunset as the day turned to night. A small ceremony to welcome me on the island.

The next morning, I woke up early. The glass wall of my room, with the almost unobstructed view to the sea, allowed me to enjoy a majestic sunrise, while still in bed. A dip into the hot waters of the onsen downstairs afterwards also bathed me in the golden morning light.

While still quite early, I headed towards the port. The small enclave with the many small boats reflected on the calm water reminded me of the Greek islands.

For Hearn, Nakanoshima and especially Hishiura port was his favorite place in the Oki islands. He enjoyed watching the traditional everyday life of the people there. As he wrote: “All this quaint, gentle life is open to inspection, and I loved to watch it”. I was also there to watch it with my camera. At the port, I rented an e-bike and hit the road, looking for traces of Hearn and his writings. Soon after, I met Hearn and his wife Setsu, in the form of statues seated on a bench, gazing towards the sea. Hearn had stayed at a ryokan which once existed there. Near the statues, a panel displaying what he wrote about the island shares his feelings for it. In return to those feelings, the locals gave him a place on the island, as their distinguished guest.

But Hearn was not the only famous person who left his mark on this island. Emperor Gotoba also lived there as an exile. I visited the small museum dedicated to him and Oki Shrine that was built to enshrine him. I wondered how bad exile at a beautiful island as Nakanoshima could have been. For sure, it inspired him as he wrote many of his waka poems here.

Cycling around the island, I rested my eyes on the rich greenery, the beautiful scenery with rice paddies and traditional houses against the blue of the sea, and the red rock formations on the Akiya coast. I hiked to the top of a small mountain encircled by many small Buddhist statues, while looking for the best viewing point and realized that I was probably on a pilgrimage route.

In the afternoon, some people were working in their vegetable gardens. While taking photos, I started chatting with a cute 93-year-old lady who said that her garden was producing most of her food. She was friendly and talkative but with a strong accent that made me wonder if I understood everything she said. When I was leaving, she wanted to give me a present, so to my surprise, she took a lettuce she had just dug out of the earth and gave it to me. Later, I heard that most of the residents of Nakanoshima are both farmers and fishermen and that the island could be self-sustaining regarding food.

The next morning, I left the island after a small visit to photograph fishermen at Saki port, who had just returned from fishing. They talked cheerfully while sorting out the fish.

Life in Nakanoshima seems to still be quite old-fashioned, gentle, and maybe quite simple, but people look happy and content with it. I stayed for a short time, but I was able to have a taste of its charm, and it actually felt like I was there for longer. Maybe Ms. Nana from Ento, who helped me a lot during my stay, was also a reason that made me feel so comfortable at the island. I left waving her goodbye from the ship. I felt more like I was waving to a friend and not to just a hotel employee. I hope I can return one day with more time to relax and explore more of this charming island.