Our New-Year's trip to the Amami Islands in southern Japan consisted of two nights on the main Amami-Ooshima island, followed by two nights on the much smaller, much more sparsely-populated next island south, Kakeroma-jima (カケロマ島, the island outlined in blue on the second map of my initial post). The land area covers the size of a large city, but it has a population of only about 1,000.

We stayed at Horizon Club, a “pension” (bed and breakfast) near the eastern ferry port. (Horizon Club – ホライゾンクラブ: web site · blog)

The location consists of a small two-room lodge, and three little cottages, one of which was ours. There's nothing to do anywhere nearby except relax, and perhaps go fishing or scuba diving (the latter being a popular reason for people to visit the island).

Dinner and breakfast come with the room.

The dinners were extravagant... exceptional.... just amazing in every dimension: presentation, variety, volume, and taste, all prepared by the proprietress who had no formal cooking training before she decided to leave the rat race and start the pension on this remote island six years ago. She does more than just the cooking: she and her husband built the place themselves.

I neglected to take any photos of the dinners (what was I thinking!?) but they easily surpassed those of our previous New-Year's trip (see Food at a Japanese Seaside Ryokan). The only negative I can say about Horizon Club's dinner is that the variety and volume were so great that I'm certain it would be physically impossible for someone to actually eat everything provided.

One evening, we were even treated to an impromptu shamisen performance by the nine-year-old daughter of the cook's helper (seen in the orange vest in these year-old pictures.)

Breakfasts were less elaborate, but still wonderful presentations.

The most amazing thing about these meals, besides that they're provided in the middle of nowhere, is that they are essentially free. The same meals most anywhere else in Japan would cost more than the entire $80-per-person room and board fee charged by Horizon Club. Most Excellent.

As you can see from the satellite view, there's not a whole lot around the place (or anywhere on the entire island, for that matter). Stepping across the road from the driveway, you can look out across the water to the bigger island directly to the north.