Kibitsu Jinja

Setouchi Reflection Trip – Article
“Kibitsu-jinja Shrine – Interview with a Demon”

“When asked what foods the gods like best, Uenishi replies thoughtfully. “We make food for the Kamisama every day, but we don’t really know what foods gods like. So we cook what we think tastes great — that’s the best hospitality for a god.” The continuation of this ancient ritual is one of the reasons Kibitsu-jinja Shrine maintains its traditional kitchen. That, and the severed demon’s head buried under the stove.”

Hiroshima MOCA

Setouchi Reflection Trip – Article
“Hiroshima MOCA – Japan’s First Public Museum of Contemporary Art”

“Scanning my eyes over the modern metropolis below, I envision the broken nothingness from which it arose, and consider in turn the countless artists all over the world who, through their creations, continue to lend an immortal voice to the “Spirit of Hiroshima.” But perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised at the towers which now crowd the once empty space. For after all, nature abhors a vacuum — and art a blank canvas.”

Setouchi Seaplanes

Setouchi Reflection Trip – Article
“Setouchi Seaplanes – A One-of-a-Kind View of Japan’s Inland Sea”

“Below us the ocean, a lovely blue-green, greets the blonde fringes of Setouchi’s islands, which in turn arise regaled in forests of yet darker greens. Above them, the open blue sky, dotted with puffs of white cumulus, beckons us onward — like an unspoken promise of adventure.”

Onomichi

Setouchi Reflection Trip – Article
“Onomichi City – Where Temples, Cats, and Bicycles Collide (in a Good Way!)”

“We take a deep breath and scan our eyes again and again across the prospect below, almost forgetting to snap a photo, stunned as we are with the flawless blend of urban and natural beauty before us. Regaining our senses we bring forth our cameras — and in so doing experience the landscape all over again through their lenses.”

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Setouchi Reflection Trip – Article
“Hope Amidst the Ruins – a Visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park”

“Survivor’s stories, though each very different, generally begin with haunting similarity — “I saw a bright flash” or “I was knocked unconscious,” and always include the obligatory, “I was X kilometers from the hypocenter,” a figure describing the speaker’s physical proximity to the middle of hell on earth.”