Autor/-in: Jo Davey

Jo Davey is a freelance writer, photographer and former chef who fell in love with Japan aged 17 and hasn't stopped exploring it since. On her first trip to its Southwest Islands, she realised she was somewhere special while fishing for squid and watching shooting stars on Geruma, a tiny island. Later she found herself singing at a local restaurant, accompanied by a friend and the chef on guitars. This was when she understood that, on these islands, you aren't just another tourist. Once the day-trippers disappear, a rare local world opens up. What Davey particularly loves the diversity of this delightfully remote archipelago. Here she can indulge her every interest: food, diving, hiking, nature, culture, language or history. Her ideal day on Japan's Southwest Islands would involve trekking in Iriomote's warm jungles or Yakushima's ancient forests of Yakushima before evening of world-famous cuisine in the company of welcoming locals.