Oki

Sometimes when I'm flipping through travel guides, I long for novelty. I want to be offbeat. I prefer exploration to staggering back to common routes. That's how Oki Islands flagged my attention when a South China Morning Post article mentioned this remote area, north of Matsue and in the Sea of Japan. Some months ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no ideas about Oki, and nothing about Yonago Kitaro Airport, I read about this destination in the newspaper magazine.

A destination unheard of. Not even mentioned in the previous edition of Lonely Planet. Whenever I read those attractions of Oki Islands, I feel I should make a dash for it, following the advice of the novelist David Mitchell, "If you only make one trip while you are in Japan, make sure it's to the Oki Islands."

Rightly so, this place can be a magnet for nature lovers. For one thing, it's isolated: a three-hour ferry ride takes you back to an archipelago separated by changing sea levels and erosion during the glacial age. If it's back-to-nature moments you're after, this UNESCO Global Geopark is the place to spend time with. Don't mistake it with Okinawa (as what the computer search engine did, confusing me of the weather forecast). There is neither aquarium nor pineapple park. What Oki Islands lack in variety, it makes up for in scenery. The rewards of picking this destination - once a place of exile - aren't easy to describe till you've been there. I will never forget it. I've tried - trust me.