Tue 29th April – Hike (Ichinowatari to Jogodahama Beach)
DW:
The start of the day was raining a bit, so Caitlin opted out of the walk. I was always going to do it, so went on alone. Just me and an average bear density of 1 per square kilometre.
I have concluded that Australia and Japan are both intimately related to the Pacific in different ways. Australia has beach culture, while Japan has ocean culture. Even how we fish at the individual level is different. We do it as a chill hobby, they do it as a semi-professional way of feeding the community.
CR:
I regretted not joining Declan for the last day of the hike. It was quite a hard day yesterday and then it was raining when we woke up today and looked pretty set in. I didn’t want to do it all over again in the rain. The event made me ruminate on the purpose of a holiday. To me, finishing the walk wasn’t the point of the holiday (especially given that we weren’t doing a continuous section anyway). But it was to spend time with Declan. If I had my time over I would have joined him for the walk, even if it meant wet socks.
I spent a bit of time wandering around the town Miyako (home to Jogohama Beach). It is built on the edge of a river but you don’t see the river at all from the town as it’s entirely surrounded by a sea wall.
Our accommodation tonight is really nice. Declan is wiped from a big speedy day of walking sans girlfriend.
DW: Every cove and inhabited inlet has a seawall, although the style and structure of these vary. I believe Australia could never get behind a similar set of works (for a different disaster) as they basically remove any sea views and require significant time and cost.DW: Looking back over the water the hills are shrouded in mist. It was drizzling at this point in typical Blackheath fashion, not heavy, just present and persistent.DW: Of course on the day Caitlin skips I see a Serrow. This guy was very calm and quiet and would have been very difficult to spot if he was just a few metres off the track.DW: Looking South I can start to see the end of the days hike. There is a blowhole in front of me that in high surf can get up to 30m high. It is not high surf, so I can’t even work out where the blowhole is supposed to be.DW: For much of the trail the forest goes right up to the ocean. There is no scrubby intermediate region like in Australia with saltbush or similar. This view of some low level bush is rare. It is pines all the way up to the cliff edge and even beyond it on nearby islands.DW: More Japanese forest sections. There continues to be bear scat everywhere.DW: Bamboo grows weirdly tall. It seems like each stalk is supported only by the ones around it. Each one is too spindly to support itself.DW: Jogodahama Beach is the endpoint of the trek. Caitlin meets me here (from the other side). Don’t let the lack of sand and icy cold water fool you. This is one of Japan’s 100 most swimmable beaches according to a nearby sign.CR: Miyako was heavily impacted by the 2011 Tsunami, just like many of the other areas we have passed through. Sea walls are erected not only facing the ocean in this town but also around the river that feeds into the ocean. All the concrete makes it seem grim and grey. The town is on the other side of the wall on the left of the photo.CR: A large port where fish markets are held. Again, you must pass through a sea wall to get here. I felt like Tokyo was a concrete jungle. Even here in a smaller town with more natural beauty (cliffs, ocean), it can be hard to escape the all-encompassing concrete.CR: And some more concrete. Japan is held together by that cementy salve: coast, cliff and city.CR: While Declan works hard on the hills, I have a little sushi lunch which I was enjoying until I discover one that is a bit redder and mushier.CR: I meet up with my nautical lover and we rendezvous at the Iwate Prefectural Fishery Science Museum. Full steam ahead into the last few days of the trip. DW: We are aware this photo is also the image in the main post listing as well. Style is made to be subverted.DW: Uh oh, Caitlin loves tatami mat life now for some reason.CR: Culture Respect vs. Cultural Appropriation: The Sushi round. It’s not the lighting – our faces are beetroot red from onsen.CR: Declan is so excited that our hotel has its own karaoke room. We just get settled into post-seafood- buffet partay mode when a harried staff member rushes in and asks if we’ve booked the room (all in Japanese). Sheepishly, we translate back to her that we didn’t know we had to book (and pay for) the room and shuffle out. We hang up our kutanas in shame. DW: They had so many songs on the machine. Such wonder. I wondered if they had a Green Day song and they had 91! They all have bootleg video clips as well. This is the future.
Great photos of you day Declan especially the serow which I must admit I had to google as I had never heard of it. You must have been disappointed to miss that Caitlin but sometimes a girl can only do so much. I really enjoyed Declans thoughts about out differing relationship to the ocean. I must admit I find all the seawalls a bit confronting as we see the ocean as a prize not a danger. Declan you seemed very well prepared for Japan. Has anything surprised you?
Caitlin I can’t work out if you have actually tried whale meat yet? Bet you are itching for some granols and a burger (not necessarily together š)
Loved the photo of you both fresh out of the onsen. The view from your hotel is stunning. What a shame about karaoke. Besides Green Day what had you lined up?? Not long to go now. Keen to see where you go next. Sending love ā¤ļø
I think maybe I did have whale meat in my sushi set š I didn’t want to but it can be hard to avoid as English is close to nonexistent in the smaller coastal towns. It might not have even been whale.. but it could have been…
Declan got a full rendition of American Idiot in and we got interrupted half way through Taylor’s Shake It Off. They all had different bootleg video clips as well.
The sea wall was confusing as there is a big hole in it. I looked to see if there was something that closed the gap but nothing was obvious. Wouldnāt the ocean just rush through the hole.
The serrow looked like a mythical creature straight out of narnia. Are they aggressive animals because it looked quite large with horns. Well I think Iāve worked out what the bears eat. Did it move off the track or did Declan have to walk past it.
Some very nice forest photos.
I wonder how many local customs you have accidentally broken. Wars have been started over lesser breaches of protocol.
Once you were informed about hiring the room you should have just paid, had a few drinks and relaxed. What was the fee for the room.
That’s right, there is a barrier that will fall and block the seawall if need be. In normal times it is open to allow people access to the beach.
Amazingly those bears only eat fruits and nuts! Declan and I were musing on why they have to be so big if their prey is a nut! The Serrow stayed absolutely still apparently. He looks good on camera.
The fee for karaoke was A$35. It was tempting to pay the fee but an hour is a long time for two people to sing songs, and we would have felt like we had to use the whole time. It was also a bit annoying because it seemed like it should be included in the room rate – it’s there and no one was using and there was no sign to say we had to book it – marginal cost to the hotel is zero, and why do they have it if it’s not available for guests?
Great photos of you day Declan especially the serow which I must admit I had to google as I had never heard of it. You must have been disappointed to miss that Caitlin but sometimes a girl can only do so much. I really enjoyed Declans thoughts about out differing relationship to the ocean. I must admit I find all the seawalls a bit confronting as we see the ocean as a prize not a danger. Declan you seemed very well prepared for Japan. Has anything surprised you?
Caitlin I can’t work out if you have actually tried whale meat yet? Bet you are itching for some granols and a burger (not necessarily together š)
Loved the photo of you both fresh out of the onsen. The view from your hotel is stunning. What a shame about karaoke. Besides Green Day what had you lined up?? Not long to go now. Keen to see where you go next. Sending love ā¤ļø
I think maybe I did have whale meat in my sushi set š I didn’t want to but it can be hard to avoid as English is close to nonexistent in the smaller coastal towns. It might not have even been whale.. but it could have been…
Declan got a full rendition of American Idiot in and we got interrupted half way through Taylor’s Shake It Off. They all had different bootleg video clips as well.
The sea wall was confusing as there is a big hole in it. I looked to see if there was something that closed the gap but nothing was obvious. Wouldnāt the ocean just rush through the hole.
The serrow looked like a mythical creature straight out of narnia. Are they aggressive animals because it looked quite large with horns. Well I think Iāve worked out what the bears eat. Did it move off the track or did Declan have to walk past it.
Some very nice forest photos.
I wonder how many local customs you have accidentally broken. Wars have been started over lesser breaches of protocol.
Once you were informed about hiring the room you should have just paid, had a few drinks and relaxed. What was the fee for the room.
That’s right, there is a barrier that will fall and block the seawall if need be. In normal times it is open to allow people access to the beach.
Amazingly those bears only eat fruits and nuts! Declan and I were musing on why they have to be so big if their prey is a nut! The Serrow stayed absolutely still apparently. He looks good on camera.
The fee for karaoke was A$35. It was tempting to pay the fee but an hour is a long time for two people to sing songs, and we would have felt like we had to use the whole time. It was also a bit annoying because it seemed like it should be included in the room rate – it’s there and no one was using and there was no sign to say we had to book it – marginal cost to the hotel is zero, and why do they have it if it’s not available for guests?