Tucked away in the Japanese countryside rests an island overflowing with historical landmarks and cultural gems. This place is called Awaji Island, and it’s less than two hours from Osaka.
To get here, most people drive across the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a two mile suspension bridge, the longest of it’s kind in the world.  That’s about where state of the art technology stops on your trip to Awaji. Once you get off that bridge, you are immediately immersed in century old traditions. In fact, according to Japanese folklore, Awaji Island is the birthplace of Japan. As the story goes, the gods Izanagi and Izanami stirred the sea with a spear, and when they lifted the spear from the water, a drop of brine fell from the blade and hardened atop the ocean waves. Thus, Awaji Island was born. Soon Izanagi and Izanami descended upon its shores, to further develop the land of the rising sun. Far from the futuristic glamor of Tokyo, Awaji is suspended in a time where traditional values like, b?shido, the unwritten code of honor and loyalty, continue to govern the locals. As a result, you can’t help but feel a more simpler way of life, whilst walking past cattle barns and onion farms. Now that I’m back in the states, I hope to give you a peak into some of the best places in Awaji where you too can begin to understand a very different Japan, away from Anime, Hello Kitty, and robots clustered in big cities. A place where you’re bound to venture where no ...