Iriomote part 1

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So I've been a lazy writer since I went to Iriomote. Which now comes back to haunt me! Damn! I have decided to put some of the days together as to make it more interesting, not to mention that I have already forgotten some of the things. To many impressions stored somewhere in my brain.
05 / 07 - 2010
Tamaki, Yoko and I left Ishigaki around lunchtime departing to Iriomote. The boat fare was around 3.800 yen. We arrived at Iriomote around an hour later and was picked up by Takuma, who drove us to his hotel. After checking in we took the car out for a spin around the island to see its wonders, there are roughly 2300 inhabitants though the second largest of Okinawa prefecture. We rode on a ox driven wagon to a smaller island, which had been created as a botanical garden for many of the plants on Iriomote. (Mom - Pictures are included). After and hour in the deadly sun, we found refuge at a little shop where we each had some pineapple juice. Thereafter we decided to on returning to Iriomote(still on the little botanical island). The trip back was as the trip to the island, where the driver of the wagon played on a local 3-stringed instrument while we sang.(lyrics where printed on the roof of the wagon, quit funny.) we almost ran to the car and turned on the air condition ahh. Back in a more subtle environment we decided to head back to the hotel, where Tamaki and I would take a swim and snorkel. It was good fun, especially since it was a first to Tamaki. So the first 15 minutes or more where spent on instructing what to do and some laughing - not in a mean way. We strolled out into the ocean and swam around for a couple of hours, with not much to see. It was Mancho (high tide) so, most of the fish and coral was some meters down and the water was somewhat unclear. But we had good fun anyway and saw many fish. Around half past 6 in the evening, we decided to stroll home, seeing as the sun was slowly setting and our tummies where rumbling. We got back, took a quick shower and got dressed. Around 8 o'clock all three of us where more the ready to eat a hole cow. Takuma joined us, and together we drove into town to a great izakaya that Takuma knew. (we lived 10 kilometers away from the city.) they served mostly food from Nagoya, a big city in Japan, but it was very delicious! My favorite food that day was definitely the frozen fish that had quickly been on a pan, with some sort of sauce. It was frozen inside, kinda weird experiences, but nevertheless very yummy!. We also had small seashells boiled in sake, and I found a pearl in one of them!!! almost lost a tooth in the process. For obvious reasons it is said that; the finder of such an object is bestowed with a lot of luck in the future! 😊 you can never get enough of that 😊
After dinner we took a ride up in the mountains to find dobutsu (snake's and other stuff), but fortunately we saw none 😊. so we ended driving up to the top of the mountain and looked at the stars! In Japan they put a lot of meaning in the stars, therefore we didn't simply watch them, we examined and discussed how they where positioned, and what could be seen. We also found Orihime and Hikoboshi(will be explained in the next entry for obvious reasons). We drove home, all very exhausted and slept within few minutes.

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Photos

01
Having arrived at Iriomote
Yoko on the left, Tamaki on the right

02
View from the harbour

03
fish in the water

04
driving around, taking pictures

05
still driving around more pictures

06
same - very wild nature

07
nice view

08
same

09
same

10
an island

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a small island few hundred meters away from Iriomote - a couple of years ago, two foreigners tried swimming across = they died

12
the same island

13
at the ox wagon place - here we crossed the "river" in a cart to arrive at the botanical "garden" island

14
still waiting for the wagons to arrive

15
Wagons on their way now

16
wagon

17
while rider the wagon, the driver explained about the ox and its work as well as about the island.

18
arrived at the island

19
bones

20
many pictures of flower to come. since I don't know their names, I'll probably not write much to them.

21
me - proper Japanese camera pose.