April 9-12
Hi All,
Cruising Japan continues to be a PITA due to some of the archaic rules/laws/or whatever they want and impossible to figure out cranky officials. We have now been to 6 different ports since leaving Okinawa and we have had issues in four of the six…..arghhhhh!!! In Akune we had to change spots 4 different times. At first we tied up to a pontoon recommended by several blogs Kathy follows. Kathy barely had a line on and 3 men come running…as in not walking but running fast…onto the pontoon….one fisherman and 2 men in black….literally….black suits, white shirts et al. They were from Customs, looked at our papers and seemed satisfied. Then they said not possible to stay on pontoon. We told them other people had told us to come here and they just said no…ok, where can we go….eventually they pointed to a wall….we said ok, but as we approached it was a spillway and the wall had large indentations where our fenders would get sucked in and Mystic would then rub on the concrete….we said no way….the men had moved to the wall to help with our lines…..we told them as best we could the issue and they agreed…..they then got on their phones and eventually told us to go to another pontoon….in the meantime we kept pointing to a yellow/black striped wall….every other cruiser has told us these are for public use….but these officials kept saying no. Ok, we tie up to this pontoon….they help with the lines….lots of surge and our lines are loudly snapping…gulp…on the other side a fisherman is unloading fish into a truck…..nice guys and we chat for a while. The Custom guys come back and say we can stay only 1 night….they already knew we wanted 2 nights….so, more phone calls and they said go to the next harbor and tie up to “green” pontoon….ok, we asked about Spruce who was about to come in and they said both boats on the pontoon. So, they come over and for the 4th time we tie up….this pontoon is only 30′ long so we obviously don’t fit….overhang by 25′ or so…..and it is loud, rolly and squeaks (I eventually greased the rollers and all was better!!!!
We did survive that pontoon although we have several rub marks on the hull. But, the worst was Nagasaki and quite frankly, the four of us are pretty upset. We left Akune at 0645 for the 58nm run on April 11….ok weather…4-6′ beam seas and 15-25kts winds for most of the trip so a bit sporty…the last 15nm it was all behind so easy peasy for those 2 hours!!! We get to the wall that several cruisers used last year with no issues. We tie up with the help of a fisherman and relax on the FB with passage beers by 3:00pm and await Spruce. They come in and tie up and then it goes to crap….a guy in white overalls comes to us with arms crossed saying no good. We try to interact but no English so he motions wait and he calls someone….turns out to be 2 men from Customs again….this time men in blue….one is young and very friendly and one is well…..has this smirk on his face the whole time and definitely officious…..big stick, not friendly at all, enjoying kicking us out….you get the picture….little Napolean/man syndrome….they tell us we can’t stay….Nagasaki is full….but sir, all these walls are empty, I mean miles of empty walls….they are all private…what about all the empty walls with yellow/black stripes for public use….they are private, if you go over there you might be arrested….seriously, you are threatening us…wow….never before in any other country…ok, where do we go…you must leave….sir, that is not safe, it is almost dark….you must leave…..and so on it went for another hour…..eventually the nice customs man and the fisherman somehow called the right guy and we are allowed to stay the night but must leave the next day….arghhhhh!!!!
In the course of this difficult conversation/threatening confrontation they said we must go to the Dejima marina. I told them we had emailed the marina many times and they said they can not take us as we are over 50’…..and the other marina, Sunset, 15nm away, is full for some event. As I passed the Dejima marina this morning I noticed 2 end ties were free that could easily accommodate Mystic plus 3-4 berths maybe 45′ long were open which as we proved on the 30′ pontoon in Akune could have taken Mystic.
It is really quite frustrating as I personally wanted to see Nagasaki….there is a lot of 1500-1900 Portuguese and Dutch history as Nagasaki was the only port open to foreigners/barbarians (what the Japanese called the foreigners). Plus the WW II history with the atomic bomb.
Akune: So this enigmatic country continues….this experience on the “joyful” side of the continuum!! We left Taira at 0700 for the 28nm run to Akune on Monday April 9th…..ok weather….15-20kt winds and 2-4′ seas but all behind us so actually a nice run. We arrive ~10:30am and then go through the switch-a-roo dance to find a spot to tie to but all is well by noon. A quick bite to eat and off to explore. We wanted to go to the Samurai village in Izumi which is maybe 30 minutes away by bus. Thanks to Google maps we find a train/bus station and a very helpful young man shows us the various bus schedules and what to take….all in very broken English. Then a man approaches us with excellent English and offers to help. Turns out Junichi Shiraishi is an Akune City Councilman, has great English, studied at Cornell in New York and shows us how to take the train, how to get to the samurai village et al….wow, so gracious and much appreciated.
That evening we go over to Spruce’s for happy hour and Andy has brought out several bottle of Shochu to sample (the spirit distilled from sweet potatoes). Junichisan comes by and the games begin….lots of jocularity, political discussion in this small town, more on the moron Trump….why is America letting this happen et al, aren’t you guys embarrassed…. and all about his life. He then asks to invite a friend…turns out to be Stephen Faulk, an ex-pat from San Francisco that is a customized guitar maker. Sue and Stephen hit it off and before you know it they are playing all sorts of wonderful music….Stephen is an excellent flamenco guitar player!!! In the meantime the Shochu is going down like water and believe it or not…..John-boy hits the wall…that has not happened in a long time but shows you how tired/stressed we have been…..yes, shit showers can do that to one self so by 10pm we make our polite good-byes and off to bed we go…they all stayed up to 11ish playing music and talking!!!
The next day we are off ~8am to catch the 8:36am train…..the trains run very efficient as do all the buses….all to the minute!!!
http://www.izumi-navi.jp/en/feature/buke
I have been reading the James Clavell Shogun series….just completed the 3rd book through the 1860’s and I was very excited to see a Samurai home. They had 2 renovated residences for us to tour…..by Western standards not much to these homes….very simple but yet ornately designed. I just stood there and tried to imagine all the ceremonies, political discussions, war councils, a male dominant culture, wives and servants kneeling waiting to serve food and drink….then Kathy punched me and I’m back….hmmm:))))
We walked around the various more modern homes and enjoyed the elaborate landscaping and eventually found our way to a nice cafe…..coffee, tea, pastries, and sandwiches…this cafe could have been any where in the world.
Since both boats are going to get up early for the run to Nagasaki the next day and we’ve had a very busy last 36 hours, we make it an early evening. About 8:30pm as we are finishing up a TV session of
Goldbergs we hear a knock….it was Junichisan….he is bearing gifts…..many local foods…wow….we chat for a few minutes and he leaves as he knows we are leaving very early…wow!!!
Yanmar: As we were walking around Akune we saw a Yanmar parts store. So, we went in and were able to order our Yanmar parts to be delivered the next day….cool. So, when we get back from the Samurai village I walk over and pick up the parts. There is this nice woman, Naoko Mayuyama, who has made all this happen and we get in a GT conversation…..she has seen Mystic on the pontoon. We say good bye and then about 2 hours later, there she is on our pontoon bearing gifts….wow!! We invite her in and have a great conversation…..she has been to San Francisco….and she has brought us a Yanmar towel and pen….she was very, very excited to be on a “yacht” and could not wait to tell her family. She has already been on our website and we have exchanged some emails!!!
So….that is our tale of Japan to date….very frustrating bureaucratic officials administering confusing and archaic rules that might be made up by capricious officials to such wonderful, endearing people who seek out warm, friendly interactions……the story will continue!!!
The Plan: We are currently in Hirado enjoying this small town with a lot of history. We also will be riding out another storm for 2 days…..25-35G45kt winds and lots of rain. Then on Monday we hope to go 50nm to Fukuoka and the Marinoa marina. There we will see if we can get our sanitary hose replaced, get fuel, go to a Costco and do some sightseeing. There are several cruisers there who have been very helpful and we look forward to meeting them. We will stay 6-7 days and then it is off to continue north!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Hirado Japan
PS: Pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Akune-and-Nagasaki
