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Long roads, mini vans Still in Golden Week mode, and with the weather bearing up, I took off for the southern coast of Shikoku, and the prefecture of Kochi.
As opposed to the dead still, wave less seas of the Inland sea where my island floats, Kochi makes up a giant bay area of the large island of Shikoku, which hugs the Taiheiyou, or pacific ocean.
When I walked out of my house yesterday I was suddenly startled to see a Japanese person waling down my road.
Its funny. I had been on the internet looking at other travel blogs of the hundred of other westerners bumming around the world, in particular at Russia, where I intend to travel through very soon. Seeing all these western faces I got one of those moments that happen often when you have lived somewhere else for a long time, and had for a moment slipped back into the west thinking and forgot where I was all of a sudden.
I always find this pleasantly surprising, which of course sounds ridiculous, but it is very easy to get used to something and forget where you are and what your doing there.
I had another lovely little moment like this Kochi Ken. I had donned my snorkel and swum out with my harpoon in hand, as you do, and was expecting a long hunt to find a small and frankly rubbish looking fish, hiding behind rocks.
As I got out a little past the first set of rocks, I whooped out loud as if out of no-where I was surrounded by all hundred of all shape and sized fish. Stripy, electric blue, multi-colored, fat, thin, ugly, beautiful - like I say, all shapes and sizes.
I think that at the time it is easy to forget where you are sometimes, and especially after a year or so, and if you are clocking into that office every morning and eating in the same restaurants, and shopping at the same little shop, one can get lulled in the sense that world is the same everywhere.
It is not, and this sudden reminder, only a few hours drive from my hose on the beautiful Oki beach in Kochi was giving me a nice little nudge, as if to say “don’t forget where are you are! You won’t be here for long either!”
Japans coasts are
beautiful in places and incredibly clean in others too. My area is not one of them but this is often made up for by the striking scenery, but I was very happy to be down in a place that at time reminded me of the Welsh coast but the deep green, dotted forested mountains all around and warm seas, were a far shot from Cardiff bay.
Piling in my fine Tai’s sexy Daihatsu mini van, which he had somehow managed to modify, A-Team style, into a house, me Ethan, Dave, and tai Lady Patricia, set off on the 4 hour van ride to the beach.
On the way the only shops apart from the plethora of convinis that were open, were fishing shops, which capitalize on the massive popularity of night fishing in Japan. Try it. Its great. Quiet. So we picked up for brand new mori, or rubber banded, bamboo harpoons.
Bargain, only about 2 pound fifty.
Arriving early in the morning, fairly knackered, but to a beautiful full moons night we pegged down and hit the hay.
The next morning I awoke as our tent began to turn into a furnace and was welcomed
with a beautiful, shining early morning view.
The world really is amazing at this time in the morning and full of promise. I could definitely get into surfing. Camping out, sleeping under the stars. Getting up early then spending all day in the water. I had had one experience of surfing before in Cornwall and had successfully mounted the board a number of times before becoming exhausted with paddling and having to pull myself up on the board.
The main problem this time was the timing aspect, and as I had spent most of the morning stalking fish unsuccessfully, I was already very cold and exhausted when I went out on my own and tried to re-teach myself to surf.
Ah well. All around a great first part of the day. Sun, surf, and fish stalking. And as we surfed and chatted, white clothed henro pilgrims would occasionally walk down to the beach and rest, whilst on their way around Shikoku on the famous 88-temple pilgrimage. Japan, really can be a magical place in that way sometimes, and it now seems so normal to have groups of straw hatted, white robed pilgrims wandering around, that you sometimes forget it.
boats
ikina As for the harpoon fishing, I thought it was bloody hard. I took me a while to get the hang of the harpoon but it seemed to always stop just out of reach every time. So close, but yet so far. Tricky little buggers. Is pretty fun though. The water was clear and the fish are stupid enough to forget why they were running away form you after about 30 seconds, so you can stalk and stalk.
I taught those fish a valuable lesson, however, and I will not be forgotten quickly around that cove.
When the cold got too much, because your whole head is submerged the whole time, I returned to the beach to find that almost everyone had caught fishes. Dave had in fact caught one of the big boys I had been chasing!
I kind Japanese pair of surfer chicks offered to sashimi it and we ate it raw right there in the beach. It’s a great feeling all right.
The rest of the day was spent lazing about and getting the supplies in for the evening, but generally just lazing.
We even met some other foreign teachers who were going to
sleep on the beach for lack of a ten and brave the sand flies and mosquitoes, and rough it.
It was a wicked beach, with great waves and barely anyone there. Again at times, I felt like I wasn’t in Japan, surfing not being one of the activities quite in line with the Japanese lifestyle, i.e. busy and scheduled, as opposed to layed back and carefree. However, there where definitely a lot of Japanese twists to the surfing. Everyone was up at the crack of dawn whether they we surfing or not and all went through a rigorous set of stretches and reps before entering the water.
Being so far away, we only had a little time for surfing the next day and with the help of tai on the timing front, I manage to do a lot better and got a couple of gnarltatsic waves, but I thought that I would le the fish off with a warning this time and so left the snorkel for the day.
That night we managed to miss the last boat back to my island, being as early as 6.30 pm! And so had to take the bus back and then
catch the last local bus and car ferry to my island. A taster of how difficult it can be to live out on the islands. We left Kochi at 130pm and every one else was home and dry at 7pm, where as we rolled in just before 1, exhausted and with Ethan having to except a day of guilt punishment at the work the next day as he would now no being able to make ferry home to his island that night.
Tricky tricky. It is very easy to become trapped in fact. There is a blue, salty wall separating you form he ret of the world and although it is only a 3 or 4 minute ride the other island and Hiroshima prefecture, and an hour the other way to Shikoku and Ehime Prefecture, it is none the less crossing the sea.
But recently I have been starting to look back over my shoulder at the past year and a half or so and I fell I have really done so much with my time that now its time to just enjoy the rest of the ride, and kick back. And that blue wall is more like a
salty blanket around the place I love the most in Japan. My island.
So, roll on the summer.!
Back to swimming in the ocean, fishing, and lying on the beach, and hanging out with the friends I’ve made.
The 2nd full circle is coming soon, and looking back over my time in Japan, my best memories and what I would not have been able to do in any other situation, come from these islands and I’m looking forward to saying good bye to them slowly, and intimately, on the beaches and in the sea. Haha!
I love Kamijima chou!
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