Hiroshima to Osaka
On Fri 20 June we left for Marin Craft boat yard on Kurahashi just 14 miles South of Hiroshima. This is where we intend to leave the boat while we go back to NZ with the intention of taking the rig out and getting a few other jobs done. It’s a very small yard and isolated as no roads into the place. Getting work done on your boat is not easy in Japan as there are limited facilities for bigger boats and not a lot of skilled marine workers around. We met the owner and his wife who showed us around. Warren then presented Hideto with the task list for Kanaloa, his eyebrows went north, but in true Japanese style he kept smiling and nodding his head politely. So we shall see.
From here we carried on round the corner to our favorite spot on Kurahashi and just spent a couple of days eating great food at our favourite restaurant and sweating out a few more games of badminton with Morg. The next trip saw as motoring through some heavy fog, a very eerie feeling hearing the thump thump of ships around us but not being able to lay eyes on them. This is where AIS comes in handy-but only if boats have it enabled. We got our trusty old brass fog horn out and gave it a few long blasts and heard a few return blasts. Beautiful view seeing the islands emerge high above the fog.
We arrived at Omishima in the afternoon and Warren and I went for an evening stroll. through town and stumbled upon a small boutique brewery where we sampled a couple of their very good beers. The next day we caught a bus over to the other side of the island. A fairly desolate town greeted us but again we stumbled on a great pizza place check out the pizza oven below made of ceramic marine creatures. Very cool and smashing pizza too. Japan is also famous for Okonomiyaki-cabbage pancakes. Doesn’t sound appealing really, but they’re are delish, we found a wee restaurant where an elderly lady took great care in cooking us this delicacy.
From this island we caught a ferry to Rabbit Island, and yes its just like Deer island only full of rabbits. This island however has a very sinister history. It was used to manufacture toxic gases for WWII e.g. mustard and tear gas. The work was well paid which it had to be considering the damage it did to the workers, severe burns were not uncommon. They had primitive PPE gear of that era which looked very scary but any compromises in the suit was disastrous.
Also the location of the island was top secret so much so that the government actually erased it from Japans map during the war. People passing by in trains with a view of the island from the mainland were required to have all the window shades down. And I'll give you 3 guesses which animal was used to test the effects of the gases-rabbits The descendants of which are happily hopping around the island today and appear to be remarkably normal. The groundwater is said to be contaminated so the rabbits rely on fresh water provided by staff and tourists, this is also where they get the majority of food. Not a lot of natural food in the island and once tourist season is over the condition of the rabbits deteriorate significantly so much so that they only have a lifespan of about two years.
It was here that we met another rare cruising boat, Takaroa with Paulo from Brazil and Nadia from USA and their 2 children. They had been to this island before and knew some of the locals including our friends from the brewery. That night Paulo cooked us a big pasta and lots of saki and soju was drunk. Next port of call was Umijama recommended by the guys above. A bit more of a sophisticated place with a huge marine college and busier than the other islands. Again, a floating dock, we have been spoiled as most of the islands so for have had good floating docks for us to use with fees varying from free to $30 NZ.
Here in Umijama there was a neat little community hub with air conditioning, wifi showers, and washing machine. We met a few kiwis at the hub who actually live on the island, and I can see why.
A trimaran called Kori with a German couple on board also arrived, so this necessitated a dock party -three boats all with Pacifica names - Paulo and Nadia entertaining us with some hilarious stories. Nadia is a well known photographer/journalist and Paulo had a fruitful medicinal cannabis company in Colorado. I must say we meet some really interesting people on the sea. So many different backgrounds and stories. It’s fascinating and most people are keen to sit down and have a yarn over a few beers. I guess there is always that sense of commonality from our love for adventure and sailing
After a couple of days here we left for Shodo Island- not too exciting here but we rented some bikes and Morg and I went for our first dip in Japan. Sea is not as warm as SE Asia so still refreshing, however a lot of moon jellyfish around and some very large eagle rays. It was nice to be back in the water but altogether the clarity and colour of the sea is not inviting. If there's one thing we miss it’s the swimming + diving from last year.
The Japanese are well known for really getting into themes and some of the entertainment is out there. I remember Warren saying they went to a Cat cafe in Okinawa, filled with cats. That would have to be my worst nightmare as I hate the slimy fekkers. They were sitting on the tables in the toilets, everywhere. You can find all sorts of themed cafes, Guinea pigs, hedgehog, pigs, owls, ninja, Pokémon etc. But here on Shodo you can take a trip to the Olive park and hire a broomstick and pretend to fly. I think this tops the weirdness meter but the people below were really getting into it.
Our final stop before Osaka was Ie Island. We entered the main port here and it was like stepping into a Mad Max film. Old ships and rusty ship sheds and cranes scattered along the shore. Kind of spooky looking.
There wasn’t anywhere for us to berth -thank goodness, but a friendly council man told Warren to go to Tanga Island 5 miles to the East where there was a resort. As we motored across a fishing boat sped past us directing us to the island. It turned out this was the resorts owner who was coming across to open it just for us. The resort was actually closed but he let us berth at his wee dock and cooked us the most magnificent meal. He had an enclosed sea water pool full of snapper and various tanks with an assortment of live fish so everything was very fresh. It really was a special evening.
We felt very spoiled and he sat and chatted with us while we ate, although he couldn’t speak much English he got an ancient laptop out and explained how the half the island had been blown away for quarrying and he and his father were trying to save it. Very obvious on google maps.
We spent just the 1 night here as on a mission to get to Osaka as we were flying out to Korea on the 6 July for a visa run. First stop in Korea was Busan, a coastal city - had a quick peep of the beach and lunched atop a 100 storey building. Check out the views from the toilet.
From here we caught a fast train to Gyeongju with a visit to some temples. I'm more of a scenery person myself and there's only so many temples and churches I can visit. It was a bit cooler up here which was nice. We hired bikes for a morning which is a great way to get around.
Another fast train saw as arrive in Seoul. The highlight of our visit here was a trip to the DMZ, about 50km from Seoul, fascinating. This is a 4 km no mans land between the border of N and S Korea.
It’s the most militarised border in the world and is full of land mines, approximately 1-2 million. Understandably it is uninhabited and has become a sanctuary for wildlife with many endangered species living here. Although I’m not sure a million land mines would help with their endangerdness. I’m thinking the Asian black bear wouldn’t fare to well if he strolled onto one.
We also got to take a walk down the infamous ‘tunnel 3’, one of 4 tunnels that the N Koreans dug -through granite -to try and infiltrate S Korea in 1978. Unfortunately they were dobbed in by a N Korean defector and the South Koreans intercepted the tunnel and put an end to that. Apparently the N Koreans cooly explained they were just tunnelling for coal and smeared coal dust on the tunnel walls for authenticity, even though there was no coal to be had for miles -as coal is mostly found in sedimentary rocks not granite. It was no small tunnel though, as by the time it was intercepted it was 435 m long and 73m below ground. And if completed could have accommodated 30,000 men per hour along with light weapons.
The tunnels had very low ceilings as, even today the north Koreans average height was 15 cm shorter than the South Koreans, this is due to malnourishment. We were also told that over 1000 people per year died of starvation in the city across from where we were standing, many of them having taken their own lives due to the pain.
We enjoyed Korea, although overall found the Koreans more aggressive than the mild Japanese. A few drivers just greeted us with a No No, as I don’t think they could be bothered with English, whereas the Japanese usually try.
It’s getting hot hot hot back here in Japan. Wish I could come home for a bit of respite from the heat.
Until next time.