Okayama Prefecture embarked on a plan to bring more foreign travelers to the Seto Inland Sea when it built an international villa on a small island in the Kasaoka island chain in 1988.
The villa sits on a 2.86-square-kilometer patch of forest and granite known as Shiraishi Island, which translates as White Rock Island in English. While the majority of the island¡¯s 400 houses were built near sea level, the Shiraishi International Villa was constructed on top of a hill so visitors could admire the panoramic views of the Inland Sea. Guests there are able to sit on a wooden deck that overlooks the traditional Japanese-tiled roofs of homes facing the beach.
Often described as a ¡°hidden gem,¡± the island remained popular among both domestic and overseas tourists until 2010. With the ever-increasing numbers of non-Japanese travelers looking for off-the-beaten-path peregrinations, there was no reason to think things would ever change.
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