March 30-April 2
Hi All,
Wow…..did they have fun or what!!!!! I am writing this blog as we passage from Yakushima to Nomaike on the big island of Kyushu. We left at 0630 for the 70nm run on Tuesday April 3. So far trawler like conditions and a very favorable current….yeehaw!!!!
“Kyushu, the southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands, has a mostly subtropical climate. It’s known for its active volcanoes, beaches and natural hot springs such as those at Beppu. Its city of Fukuoka is home to museums, mega-malls and Kushida-jinja, an 8th-century Shinto shrine. The city of Nagasaki’s 1945 devastation by an atomic bomb is commemorated at the Nagasaki Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum.”
We had a really good time in Yakushima: “Yakushima is an island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, known for its wildlife and cedar forests. In the northwest is Nagata Inaka-hama, a beach with seasonal loggerhead turtle nesting grounds. The central Mt. Miyanoura is marked by the Arakawa trail and the ancient Jōmon Sugi tree. In the east, Yakusugi Museum has exhibits about the region’s cedar forests. The western shore is home to towering Ōko-no-taki waterfall.”
The 2nd day we did a whole island tour…wow, wonderful, very impressive and beautiful island. It was just the 2 of us with our guide, Atsushi Gohda, 54 years old and a botanist. It took 7 hours and the cost was $207….more like USA prices than the SE Asia prices we had grown accustomed too over the past few years….but we thought a great value!!
We did go to the Yakusugi Museum where we learned the history of the cedar trees on this island. “The island is covered by an extensive cedar forest that contains some of Japan’s oldest living trees. Trees more than 1000 years old are affectionately called yakusugi (a combination of Yakushima and sugi, the Japanese word for cedar), the most ancient of which may be over 7000 years old.
The island’s cedar forests were logged extensively in the past, particularly during the Edo Period for the production of cedar shingles. (The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country’s 300 regional daimyō.) Today the forests have well recovered from past logging and are a national park, while some areas were declared a Natural World Heritage Site in 1993. Most tourists come to the island to hike through the forests and see the ancient cedar trees.
As a subtropical island with nearly 2000 meter high mountains, Yakushima attracts a lot of rainfall around the year, with a local saying claiming that it rains “35 days a month”. While that may be an exaggeration, there is some rain almost on a daily basis, especially in the mountainous interior, although the rain can also be light and limited to short periods of time. In higher elevations the precipitation falls as snow during the winter months.”
We saw several gorgeous waterfalls, had lunch at a Japanese cafe/bakery….some nice pastries but better we scored some wheat bread. We then drove in the National Park where we saw many monkeys….a a type of short trailed Macaque and many white tail deer. The various views around the island were lovely…gorgeous beeches to wonderful mountain views!!
Spending time with Atsushi was also a delight….probably our best Japanese interaction yet….really got to talk about Japanese cultural norms and what it is like living in Japan….wonderful!!
Some of Atsushi comments:
– how can a moron lead/get elected in the USA? Same theme…how can a person who writes like a child be President of the USA? Are you embarrassed???
– why is the USA letting China lead the world now???
– our Prime Minister Abe is not as bad as Trump but we still don’t like him
– You see those pine trees as we stood looking over a waterfall…yes….they were all killed 25 years ago….they were killed by a worm from USA in lumber and from acid rain from China
– Global Warming: yes Donald it is real: We used to have bad storms/typhoons once a month when I was growing up; Now, the Pacific Hi has grown and shoves most of the typhoons to China!!!
The day after the tour we just spent time in Miyanoura…..picked up our new wifi unit, did some provisioning and had our 2nd traditional Japanese lunch…..it was excellent!!
We did 2 all day hikes the following 2 days….one in the Yakusugi Land and one in the Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine. Both were about 5 miles long and 1200-1500′ elevation change, maybe 3500′ high…yes, we did feel the altitude change aa well it was a bit cool…..but that felt great as we indeed worked hard on the ups/downs. Most of the hike was a forest trail….full of tree roots and small boulders so not that easy of a hike. In Yakusugi Land, the hike took about 5 hours and we were able to see many large and ancient cedar trees….called Yakusugi….the oldest was 3000 years old, but many in the 1500-2600 year old range….27′ circumference which equates to 9 feet diameter…..maybe 100-200’tall. Maybe not as big as the Sequoya redwood trees in Northern California, but very impressive indeed and wow….pretty cool to stand in front of something so old and wonder about all the history!!
After our first hike on Sunday, Andy and Sue were just tying up Spruce on the wall when we came back….let the games begin again. Kathy and I had seen a cute restaurant on one of our walks close to the harbor and we decided to give it a try. ODG…what an experience and one we will not likely forget. It turned out to be a seafood restaurant where you cook the seafood over a Hibachi grill….the menu was in Japanese and there was just 2 other tables in the restaurant…we looked over to a group of men to the table next to us and they were grilling what turned out to be abalone…we told the waiter 4 beers and what they are having…he bowed, nodded, and gave us a thumbs up. Well….4 hours later we stumbled out…only because we had to get up early for the 2nd hike. It was a group of 10 friends/recreational fisherman out for a night….they eventually adopted us and had us sit with them while our waiter cooked our seafood…..we had turbine shell, scallops, flying fish, some kind of bait fish, and oysters and the fisherman gave us abalone and baby conch….ODG was it delicious. At some point I asked for some Sake and I think that is when the party started. The men were drinking Shochu….not Sake….this is distilled from sweet potatoes and is about 45% alcohol….they served it with ice and water so not so strong….it ws a little sweet but drank very easy…..we had a delightful time and had many Google translated conversations!!!
The 2nd hike was in the Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine…..a much more popular hike….and Andy and Sue joined us. This hike seemed harder…..or maybe it was the hike the day before and all the jocularity we had the night before:))))…..anyway, it took us almost 6 hours….and by the end we were both pooped….just not in good aerobic shape plus not used to altitude…ugh!! But, another outstanding hike in a beautiful forest….saw many ancient cedars again, beautiful mountain stream and Andy and I climbed to the very top to a lookout with gorgeous views. The last part was pretty steep with lots of boulders….fun!!! The valley/hillside was covered with blossoming cheery trees ….the light was not great and the views far away so the pictures do not do the blossoming cherry tress justice!!
And lastly, Andy and Sue wanted to treat us to a typical Japanese dinner….they are very adventuresome….they go to the supermarket and pick out what looks yummy…..we had pork satay as appetizers, then several different kind of sushi Sue and Kathy made….then many kinds of sashimi….a white fish, salmon, octopus, baby prawns, and squid…..and the most curious of all was 5 different kinds of dried and spiced seaweed!!! Plus a very good bottle of Sake….this was maybe 9% alcohol and drank more like wine!!! No wonder the Japanese seem so healthy and live longer than us Westerner’s!!
So….there you have it….5 days of a lot of fun, hiking and good times!!!
Sim Card: Yea….after 11 days and maybe 12-15 hours of work we got the pocket wifi that worked correctly at start-up!!! We just stick the unit in Kathy’s purse when we are not on the boat and both of our phones and on the boat the 2 laptops all connect…..yes, it is the little “life” things that keep us happy:)))
The Plan: We will stay in Nomaike for 2 nights, then go to Taira on Nakakoshiki Islands 28nm away for 2-4 nights. Mr Weather is reminding us that the only schedule that matters is the one he makes….so, there is a change coming….big front changing from SE to NW winds and maybe some rain to wash the salt off Mystic we hope…means we get headwinds/seas again and some colder weather…..we will wait out the worst and hope to leave on the 8th but could be the 9th!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Nomaike Kagoshima Japan
PS: Lots of pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Yakushima
—
kinou wa arigatou gozaimasita.korekarawa HP mimasu.yoi tabio oinorisimasu.