Sado Island

This is where I grew up and where I live now with my parents. It’s an island in the Japan Sea, off the coast of Niigata in the central region of Japan. The population is around 70,000, and the size of the island is about 855 square kilometers, or 330 square miles.

There is no college, no train, no high way, no movie theater, no stadium, no MacDonald's, … There are not many people of my age because most of them leave Sado to go to school or to work in cities in the main land. They normally decide to stay in cities and never come back to Sado, not until they retire at least. Sado is an aging place, and the population is getting smaller each year.

When I tell this to people, they often ask me questions like “what’s there for fun?”, “don’t you ever get bored?”, “don’t you wanna move to somewhere else?” etc. They don’t say but it’s obvious that they are assuming it’s lonely and boring to live in such a place.

I’m not going to say Sado is perfect, nor am I to compare Sado with somewhere else in the world, because I’m aware that there are a lot of problems and inconveniences in Sado, and that each place on earth is different and it’s impossible to make easy comparisons. But it’s still true that I like Sado very much. There’s so much that I treasure and appreciate: clean air and clear water; tall mountains with lots of trees on them; flat fields suitable for rice farming; wide variety of landscapes, flowers, plants, wildlife; friendly and relaxed people with few obsessions with fashion and consumerism; safety; and dark, silent nights. Practical knowledge and wisdom necessary for people to live in harmony with nature have been passed down from old generations, such techniques as charcoal making, bamboo and rice straw handicraft, weaving, pottery making, not to mention farming, fishing and foraging techniques. Some form of entertainment is available on the island, such as Noh, or a traditional musical drama performance, a puppet theater, a Sado-based, world-known Japanese drum group Kodo, etc.

I feel very blessed to have grown up on Sado. There’s so much that money can’t buy, on this island. I think it’s a great place if you want to enjoy beauty of the nature and appreciate the quietness. Please do let me know if you are ever interested in coming to Sado. I’ll do my best to make your Sado experience the best one.