Sado-ga-shima Travel Video Guide

Sado-ga-shima Travel Itinerary

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For centuries this rugged, S-shaped island lying off the coast of northwest Honshu was a place of exile for criminals and the politically undesirable. Even today Sado-ga-shima has a unique atmosphere, born of its isolation and distinct cultural heritage encompassing haunting folk songs, No theatre and puppetry, as well as the more recently established Kodo drummers. It's a deceptively large island, consisting of two parallel mountain chains linked by a fertile central plain which shelters most of Sado's historical relics. These include several important temples , such as Konpon-ji, founded by the exiled Buddhist monk Nichiren, and a couple of bizarre, high-tech museums where robots perform No plays and narrate local history. The Edo-period gold mines of Aikawa, on Sado's northwest coast, make another interesting excursion, but the island's greatest attractions are really its scenery and glimpses of an older, less developed Japan. Travelling by public bus it takes at least three days just to cover the main areas, so it's well worth considering car rental or an organized tour round the more inaccessible regions.

Sado has a packed calendar of festivals from April to November. Many of these involve okesa folk songs and the devil-drumming known as ondeko (or oni-daiko ), both of which are also performed nightly

during the tourist season in Ryotsu, Ogi and Aikawa . Throughout June, No groups perform in shrines around the central plain, while the island's biggest event nowadays is probably the Kodo drummers' international "Earth Celebration", held in Ogi . If you're spending much time on the island, take a copy of Angus Waycott's affectionate and informative travelogue, Sado: Japan's Island in Exile .

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