Surrounded by sea which both connects and separates, these islands have followed a path of their own. Okinawa and the Amami islands sustained a hunter-gatherer way of life nearly a thousand years longer than on the Japanese mainland. When agriculture and advanced civilization did take root, it was that of the Ryukyu, a kingdom with a history and culture distinct from that of the Japanese mainland.

What remains here is animism, a spirituality that predates shrine- and temple-centered traditions, existing beneath and beyond the doctrines of organized religion. It is not confined to sanctified buildings; rather, it lives quietly in nature and seasonal rhythms, in daily gestures and individualized relationships with many small deities. Nature and one’s ancestors are honored as the very sources of life. Here, spirituality is not only about belief, but also about coexistence with these spirits.

Through gentle encounters with this way of life, visitors can feel the quiet embrace of nature itself—reawakening an innate sensibility, reconnecting with the source of one’s own being long held within the depths of one’s soul, and subtly reshaping how one perceives the world.

Small, quiet, and unhurried … yet deeply powerful. Join us for an authentic spiritual journey off the beaten path and close to the source.