The Shionoe Festival is a two-week photography festival for college students and young adults from Japan, Korea, and the United States. At the festival there were also teachers, assistants, translators, and volunteers to assist with the festival. The festival began on August 5th and ended on August 18th. I also cannot forget the gracious host families from Shionoe town, and especially Shiro and Chieko Kawada, who opened up their house to us for two weeks and treated us like family.

Shionoe, the firefly and hot springs town, is located on the island of Shikoku -- one of the four major islands in Japan. It is located about one hour drive south from Takamatsu in a mountainous and forested area and is a major island off the coast near Okayama. (Please see more text below ...)

When I arrived in Shionoe I noticed right away it had a very small town atmosphere. The people were very friendly and kind -- one time a family invited myself and other students in for conversation and snacks before they even knew us. Generally speaking the town is very quiet and peaceful during the day and night. There is a much slower pace to life in Shionoe than in Osaka or Tokyo. Every family in the town seems to know one another. Shionoe is one of the few places in Japan where you can still catch ayu fish in the rivers. Almost every place in Shionoe town is within biking distance. It is also known for the hot springs that attract many tourists and locals. The local farms grow rice, vegetables and fruits available to the people.

I wish to thank Shionoe town for the special trips we took. We traveled to Awa Odori Matsuri in Tokushima -- it was a most enjoyable trip. In Takamatsu we visited the governor of Kagawa Prefecture, Mr. Manabe, we visited the beautiful Ritsurin Park, we saw the wonderful Takeshi Kawashima exhibition, to the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Comtemporary Art, and the spectacular Seto Ohashi Bridge. In Shionoe met the major of Shionoe, Mr. Nakai, and we learned how to make Sanuki noodles -- it was a great learning experience and wonderful to eat. In town we traveled to Fujikawa Farms and did some sightseeing of local attractions. I would like to thank Shionoe town granting us free admission to Gyo Ki No Yu onsen-- it was wonderful experiencing a Japanese onsen.

Special Thanks to:

Naoya Yoshikawa, Tanaka Katsuji, Yusuke Tanaka, Hashirano Asami, Miyake Yasuyuki, Hasui Takao, Fujisawa Akiyoshi, Sakai Sakiho, Tatsumi Naoya, Fujisawa Syouko, Ogata Yuri, Fujisawa Mako, Miyagi Nao, and Tamekawa Gou

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu!