Why do people call Suo-Oshima island “Hawaii in Setouchi?”

Suo-Oshima is the 3rd largest island in the Setouchi Inland Sea.
About 3,900 people from this island emigrated to Hawaii during the Meiji (1868-1912) to Taisho (1912-1926) eras.
Hawaii ‘s Kauai Island has been a sister city of Suo-Oshima for more than 50 years, and there have been many cultural exchanges between these 2 islands.

That is why Suo-Oshima is called “Hawaii in Setouchi:” because of its long relationship with Hawaii.
You can feel the tropical atmosphere as soon as you see the palm trees along the beaches.

Hawaii in “POWER BEACH”

This café has especially attracted people’s attention on the island.
“POWER BEACH,” with its high-impact exterior, opened in the spring of 2018.
You cannot help being curious to see the inside, right?

Maybe you will feel as if you are in Hawaii when you step into the building.
The space, with its vivid blue color scheme and Hawaiian music, leads you to another world.
Moreover, what will you find when you go to the upstairs…?

The tremendous view, from the picture window as big as a movie screen, will make you heave a deep sigh.
The clear blue sea stretching out so far away in front of you is just beautiful.

An Instagrammable soft ice cream cone!

POWER BEACH has a lot of photogenic places (actually, wherever you take pictures, they will look so good). However, the most photographed item on the cafe menu is “GAGA soft ice cream” (on the left).
“Kamehameha” (on the right) is covered with handmade caramel sauce and salty-butter nuts.
The ice cream is very creamy, and the combination with a waffle cone works very well!
And of course, everybody takes photos of the ice cream before they eat it!

The most special seats at POWER BEACH

There are many seats on the terrace where you can see the beautiful view of the sea.
But this spot, which you can find at the far end from the stairs, is the most recommended seat for you.
You can have a private and relaxing moment here.

This is “Taco rice” with a lot of fresh vegetables, spicy sauce, and tomatoes!
This delicious food, along with a Coke, made me feel like I was on vacation in Hawaii!

You can also enjoy art at POWER BEACH.

The paintings on the walls of both the inside and outside of the café also look nice and Instagrammable.
The owner of the café, Masaki Hamamura, created all the hand-paintings here.
This painting was inspired by tie dyeing.
Actually, Hamamura was fighting against cancer while the café was under construction.
However, he kept painting every day, and it made him gradually feel better.
Now, he is just fine, and he says that the painting gave him the energy to live.
He smiled and told me, “I love this place more than any place else on earth.”

Don’t miss this playful photo spot!

Taking a picture of the wall painting on the opposite side of the entrance is very fun!
To get a good picture, set your camera a little bit below the level of the painting, and aim upwards.
It will look like the person in the photo is surfing on the wave of the painting.
Hamamura is now creating a new painting on the wall, so POWER BEACH will keep evolving from now on!
Keep checking!

Photographs and text by Nana Takei