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FEATURE: Penghu's beauty has hold over a Japanese traveler

Chipei Bay on Chipei Island, Penghu, is pictured during a summer's day. PHOTO COUTESY OF THE PENGHU NATIONAL SCENIC AREA ADMINISTRATION

A Japanese man who came to Taiwan several years ago to learn Mandarin and happened to glimpse the outlying Penghu island group has become a longstay visitor there after succumbing to its natural beauty.

Osamu Negishi, who served as a Christian missionary before coming to Taiwan in June 2001, has been living in Penghu for four years, dividing his time between teaching Japanese at a cram school he established in Penghu's capital Makung (馬公) and lying back on the white sand beaches, feasting his eyes on the emerald sea and beautiful coastline scenery.

Negishi, 58, from Japan's central prefecture of Gunma, said he spent his first two-and-a-half years in Taichung, where he enjoyed the temperate climate.

He recalled that one day he was flying as a backpacker from Taichung to Kinmen when he looked down and spotted an archipelago of islets that captivated his imagination.

Attracted by this "unknown" islet chain, Negishi inquired about it and found out its name.

Without wasting another day, Negishi headed for Penghu as soon as he returned from Kinmen. Upon setting foot on Penghu in late 2003, he decided to stay for a year. Four years on, he has no plans to leave.

A born traveler, Negishi has since scouted every islet of the Penghu group and has left almost no stone unturned.

"Now I know the smallest islets, some of which even the locals have never visited," Negishi said.

Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, Negishi introduces people to the beauty of Penghu online and so far more than 20 Japanese students have been attracted to travel from Japan to study Mandarin at his cram school, called "Forrest Gump," where he employs several Penghu residents as teachers.

Negishi said economic reasons were the least of his considerations when he opened his school, adding that the rent he collects from leasing his house in Japan is enough to pay for his island living.

Asked what keeps him in Penghu, Negishi said the beautiful sea is the biggest attraction, followed by the safe environment, an easy-going lifestyle and the kindness shown to him by the local residents -- not necessarily in that order.

Consisting of 64 islets, the Penghu Islands are situated roughly midway between China and Taiwan. They form a natural demarcation between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In the past, they were a key stop for ships sailing across the Pacific.

Penghu is the only county that is an archipelago. Only 20 of the islands are inhabited. Two of the three main islands, Yuwong (漁翁) and Baisha (白沙), are connected by two causeways, the Cross-Sea Bridge, which is the longest inter-island bridge in Southeast Asia.
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