Discovering Osakikamijima

I first encountered Osakikamijima about twelve years ago.

By chance, I visited this special island in the Seto Inland Sea, accessible only by ferry. The calm sea, the gentle flow of time, and the warmth of its people left a deep impression on me from that very first trip.

Over the years, as I visited repeatedly, my connections with the island gradually grew. Friendships formed, and I found myself drawn to the seaside scenery and the quiet charm of the villages. Little by little, I began to feel, “I want to come back again.”

A few years ago, I started living between two places—Tokyo and this island. Even while working amid the fast pace of the city, coming to the island relaxed my breathing and naturally eased the tension in my shoulders. Here, the very quality of time felt completely different.

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Around that time, my life was entering a major new stage.

While building my career as an entrepreneur, I felt a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. I no longer wanted to chase wealth or fame; instead, I wanted to live in a world I truly desired from the bottom of my heart.

At its core, my journey as an entrepreneur was about expressing the inner world within me to the outside world. Entrepreneurship, for me, was above all a creative act.

But within capitalist society, I realized I had often been swept away by money as a mere symbol, losing sight of the essential, tangible realities that lie behind it.

I wanted to look beyond the visible, rational world and focus on the “unseen but undeniably real” — to listen closely to the voices of those without a voice.

These feelings grew into a wish to create a retreat center. Interestingly, at the same time, I developed a strong intuition that this island would become a global hub for retreats.

In time, I opened the retreat center here and began welcoming guests from near and far. Osakikamijima has a long history of embracing newcomers — both those beginning a new chapter of life and those simply passing through. It holds space for both with quiet acceptance.

For me, Osakikamijima has transformed from “just a place I visited” into the center of my life.

With every encounter and moment here, I hope to offer visitors the same quiet shift that the island has given me — and to walk forward in step with this place I now call home.