Technical error

Ok due to a technical hitch I've been unable to send these photos by email to Emma (hello Emma!) so I'm going public. There's no reason not to, they're just a bit awkward and unrelated. Tomorrow when I've condensed the rest of my pictures I'll be able to upload a few but right now it's just the ones on my flickr I've been able to put up and these.

Enjoy!

Lengthy Update

A hopefully lengthy update

I'm writing from a bungalow I've rented for a night in Yoron-To. By the time I send this I'll be three islands (well more if you want to count all of them but three more of my planned ones) down from my last update. I've been writing this and adjusting it as often as possible, hard to capture everything as ridiculous turns of luck and interest keep happening.

I left Ohama campsite in the north of Amami-Oshima with a view to go and buy fuel and then check out the campsite at Yadori beach in the very south of the island. I'd walked all of about 50m when I met a group of women out on a family walk. A grandmother, her three daughters and one granddaughter. We chatted for a while, they asked about the ukulele and my family, I showed them some photos and they offered me a lift to Naze as they were headed that way and I gratefully accepted.

In Naze I thanked them, went to the internet cafe briefly and then went to find fuel for the trangia. Well I didn't find any despite a very lengthy search, resigned myself to raw food for the next few days and hitched a lift to Yadori with an Okinawan man in his 60's named Orichii-san who had moved to Amami a year before to look after his mother. It was a long drive over mountains and alongside mangrove forests in the last two hours of sunset. He dropped me in Koniya, ten minutes from Yadori and just afterwards a car pulled over and a gardener who didn't give his name drove me along the last small roads past a few shrimp farms (strange looking things, fields of pools of water with oxygen pumps) to the campsite.

I arrived just before sunset to find it deserted except for on the beach itself where the guests from the hotel next-door were having a drink and a chat. I walked to a point further down along the beach and sat toasting the sun with a cup of soymilk.

In the morning I went snorkelling, Yadori was even better for this than I'd heard. I saw a lot of fish I couldn't name, small and multicoloured. The only thing I recognised was a distinctly gloomy pufferfish. My swim was cut short by the discovery of a tommy hilfiger wallet on the reef bed. I dove down and shooed a wrasse out of the way before picking it up and swimming back to shore. When I landed and opened it to have a proper look a crab scuttled out.

I handed it in to the woman who owns the bar closest to the campsite, and between her and a man who trims the palm trees they found a name and number and within ten minutes the owner turned up, saying he'd lost it on the coast about 15 miles away.

I spent most of the rest of the day reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and then walked to a nearby beach I'd heard about. On the way I met a man from Osaka who has his second home in Yadori and I talked to him a little bit about Osaka and my trip. We then split ways and I found Hoshinohama, a beach that to me looked thoroughly like Budleigh Salterton near Exeter.

When I went back to the camp I found my bread was on the turn from having spent most of its time in a hot tent, and I was trying to work out if that could really be called a loss of the day given everything else having gone so well. Just as I was deciding it wasn't the point was driven home by the approach of Mr and Mrs Nishiyo, the Osakan man and his other half walking down the road to me with a small cooler of beer. I thought they were visiting the family who owned the bar but they instead came up to me, gave me the cooler with three beers and a pot of yoghurt inside, asked if I wanted to use their hot shower, offered me some instant noodles and said they were driving up to Naze the next day if I needed a lift in that direction.

I was overwhelmed. It took a lot of persuading them that I was alright for the shower and noodles but I accepted the beers and yoghurt and said I hadn't decided exactly where I was going tomorrow but it would definitely be north and a lift would be great. I wanted to go to Tokunoshima fairly soon after but wasn't sure how to go about it, the ferry leaving every other day at 5am from Naze. I'd have go back up and camp in Ohama and leave early in the morning by taxi with a wet tent or sleep in the internet cafe in Naze.

That evening in Yadori A-san of the family from the bar came over to my tent and asked me about my plans for Tokunoshima and then invited me into the bar whilst he and his sister Mie-chan did a quick google search. They told me that I could get a ferry from Koniya (which was about 15 minutes north of where I was) at ten in the morning which would save me the problem of accommodation in Naze. I thanked them both and A-san and I played bongos and ukulele for a while.

In the morning the Nishiyos took me to Koniya, gave me their business card and wished me good luck. I arrived in Tokunoshima and within 3 minutes a father and teenage son offered me a lift to Aze, a 15 minute drive from the port. They told me I should come back in May for the famous bull-fights which I gather are bull-vs-bull.

They dropped me off and I wandered off to find the campsite deserted of people but with three permanent-looking tents. I set mine up and sat in the shade reading for a few hours until it got a bit cooler at which point I walked the 40 minute path to the nearest village that had a shop. Bought some bread and mackerel and on the way back a pickup truck slowed down alongside me. The round-faced, wild eyed and rambunctiously healthy Yamakura-san asked where I was headed and informed me "We're going now!" he told me a bit more about the agriculture in Tokunoshima and recommended I try any potato-based spirits I find. His driving was as rambunctious as he and we were soon driving along the pedestrian footpath of the campsite, the sides of the car shaving a few inches off the hedges on either side. He seemed intent on making sure my feet left the truck and arrived in the tent without touching anything between and came close to parking squarely on my ukulele in the effort.

He roared a ganbatte and honked his horn about 15 times on the way out of the campsite and I ate my dinner, took some photos of the stars when the sun had set and went to bed.

The next day I read some more and attempted to walk to town to find internet access and contact Emma. I'd just walked up the long road from the campsite to the main roads and ten steps after that a car slowed down and Yamada-san of Kobe offered me a lift as he was also heading to Kametoku to go shopping. He lived on Tokunoshima for two years in his teens but comes here twice a year to see his mother who lives alone. Well we got to the capital only to be told by a gaggle of schoolgirls that there aren't any internet cafes of any sort. Yamada-san offered to drive me back on his return home after shopping so I went with him and bought a couple of bananas.

On the way back we talked about towns near Kobe and it turns out Yamada-san used to work at a hospital in the first town I wwoofed in back in 2009, Sasayama in Hyogo-ken, home of some amazingly good black bean tea.

Having no internet I decided to hasten my pace, thinking there might be some on Okinoerabu-jima (the next island down). Well I arrived there the next day and on the way from the port to the campsite I decided to stop in a hotel and ask if they could recommend a place. The woman at reception said there wasn't anything in terms of internet cafes but I'd be welcome to use theirs and she handed me an ethernet cable before walking off into the hotel. I wanted to be as quick as possible and having sent the message I was putting my laptop away when she came back and gave me a cup of green tea before disappearing again. I started looking at my map and she reappeared again with two onigiri (triangular blocks of rice wrapped in seaweed) which she put down before me and said she thought I looked hungry. I accepted them and when I finished eating I said thanks and tried to give her some money for the internet, tea and food but she insisted I hold onto it. I said thanks again and started to leave, and when she asked where I was heading it emerged her colleague was driving that way in five minutes to pick up a guest, so once again I found myself being driven to a campsite. It was ridiculously windy in Kibiru and once I'd set up my tent I started walking to orientate myself. I keep thinking these islands are smaller than they really are, after two and a half hours of walking fairly slowly and taking photos I'd gotten nowhere near as close to a full circuit i.e. back round to my tent as I had imagined I would.

Went to the bus stop to find the last bus had left ten minutes previously so I started walking back and decided to give hitching one more go. A few cars went past but then one came by in the opposite direction and the grinning man driving, as well as the young man and woman in the back all shouted hello.

I said hello back and it carried on on its way. I carried on walking but soon it came back to me and slowed down.

It turned out to be Takashi-san and friends. He'd been given a call by friends who had driven past me a few minutes previously saying there's a foreigner hitching down in China town (the name of the town in the south of Okinoerabujima, pronounced Chin-na) and as they were just out on a wander they decided to come and get me. Takashi was enthralled to find out I was camping right by his family home and when he dropped me off he invited me out for drinks later on and said he'd be back in an hour or two.

A very warm welcome to Erabu, elated I returned to my campsite where I met the most disturbing and frustrating stray cockerel. It was such an effort to construct that evening's mackerel sandwich without it getting into my food bag. It was persistent to say the least, I chased it round in circles about seven times but it wouldn't leave. Eventually I threw a small stone at it and that convinced it. I have the ghost of remorse as it was only hungry but frankly it was a horrible looking chicken, caked in grime.

Anyway!

Takashi turned up with his grandmother in the car who couldn't stop laughing hysterically when I got in. I soon learned between them they'd devised a plan to surprise everyone in the family. Takashi had told his parents he was having a friend for dinner but didn't say anything else, the great shock being I'm a tall caucasian ( I had no idea foreigners were this rare on Amami, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabu and Yoron. I knew you didn't see many but I was surprised I was such a novelty) . We drove off to pick up his uncle who was mildly surprised and amused and then went to the Sugawa family home.

Well, his mother and father gawped and the first things they said were "Takashi!!! Does he speak Japanese?!!! Does he like Japanese food?!!!" But as soon as I introduced myself and we worked out that my small Japanese would be sufficient for a sustainable stream of conversation (everything eased by Takashi's grandmother who was still chuckling long and hard) they soon relaxed and were incredibly warm to me. Dinner was delicious, we had sushi along with meat and vegetables cooked on an electric hot plate placed on top of the table. We talked about, well everything but in particular fishing and families. After dinner Takashi and I were dropped off at a friends house (Nori-san) where we chatted and had a few drinks with everyone who was back from studying for the spring holiday.

As it got so late Nori invited us to stay over so we pulled a few futon mattresses out of the cupboard and went to sleep. In the morning Takashi and Nori asked me to stay that night as well (my last night in Erabu) and that day was spent with Takashi checking out a few of the scenic spots on the coast, proving I didn't find the water cold as an Englishman by awkwardly paddling in my zip-off shorts, and in the evening we helped set up a barbecue organised by Yurika-chan's family. Yurika is studying hair-dressing in Osaka (Takashi's there too studying business) and five of her friends had come to spend part of the holiday in 'Erabu.

We ate barbecued meat and vegetables and drank beer and potato-shouchou Yurika's father grows potatoes) and lit some fireworks and I played ukulele for quite a while and taught a few chords to those that wanted to learn and again went back to Nori's that evening to sleep.

In the morning Takashi dropped me off at the port and came to wait for the ferry with me, I've been blown away by his generosity and that of everyone I met on Okinoerabu jima and if you're reading this Takashi- "どもうありがとうございます！！いちばんたのしかった！”

I arrived on Yoron shortly after and started walking to the campsite at Yurigahama where I'm now staying in a structue like a mushroom, it's a one room house on top of a concrete pillar.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT- Update from the sunburnt man in the cramped tent

It's Pat's birthday! Have a great one my brother xxx

Sorry its been a while, there'll be a lot more of these delayed updates unfortunately.

Spent a few more days in Kagoshima with three very kind people I met from couchsurfing, Chao who is biking to Hokkaido and came up to ask where I was going when I was wandering aimlessly. He took me to meet Saiyuri, a local of Kagoshima who took us both to sample a local dessert and helped me find my tram to Lily who is from London, teaching English in Kagoshima and who had me to stay for two nights despite feeling pretty ill at the time. Thanks to all of you,I can't stress how much I appreciated meeting all three of you. I arrived on Amami-Oshima on Friday last week.

On the ferry from Kagoshima I found a bag and guitar in my berth. I was sure I had the right place as written on my ticket so I moved them out of the way and sat down. An hour later a guy came over, realized he was meant to be sat somewhere else and asked me where I was going. Turns out we were both heading to Amami to go camping on the same beach so he gave me a lift there from the ferry terminal. His name is Yutaka-san and he's trying to move to Amami permanently.

When we got to the campsite I found that you can only access it when the tide's out as the walkway alongside the coast gets flooded otherwise. There's a tiny road through the jungle over the cliff which I'm told is very dangerous at night when its full of snakes, so I'm sticking to the tide tables for now.

First day I arrived it was gorgeous weather for a while then rained incessantly. My tent is completely packed full of my stuff (too much stuff) but I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a very waterproof, very light and spacious one man shelter. It's a snugpak ionosphere and I spent most of that day inside it staring at the ceiling lost in my thoughts (as pictured). The snorkelling where I am isn't that rewarding, just dead coral and sea urchins so I'm moving south tomorrow to a free campsite with similar amenities to my current one (Three hundred yen, just over two pounds a night with toilets, shower and basic kitchen).

I'm having incredibly vivid dreams at the moment, possibly my brain compensating for my limited social interactions (last night I dreamt I was ambushed by six helicopters on the way to a friends house and then put in an empty paddling pool with a cup of tea sat opposite a marine called Gutierrez enduring indescribably awkward small talk). As well as Yutaka-san there are a couple staying at the campsite, currently on their honeymoon which is a motorcycle tour from the bottom to the very top of Japan (がんばって！）。

I'm going to stay here in Amami for a few more days then move south to Tokunoshima and on to Okinawa by the 7th of April.

For now I'm enjoying the sun (have since purchased suncream and found a suitably vulgar hat to keep the rays out, so no worries), packet noodles on the trangia, studying japanese, playing ukulele and being lost in thoughts.

LAST EDIT: When emailing Catherine (hey again!) I remembered that yesterday I saw a hairless wild boar licking coffee off a can in a ditch. It ran off when I got my camera so the photos no good but I leave you that image, it's definitely impressed itself on me.

Less time for words than planned

For now- a pictorial summary of the past two days.

EDIT 26/03: My two nights on Sakurajima were amazing. I stayed Junko and Nini (from Tokunoshima and Okinawa-honto, respectively). I circumnavigated Sakurajima by bike which took longer than planned due to volcanic dust getting in my eyes and slowing me down a bit. I also played in an impromptu concert with Sanshin (okinawan version of the mainland shamisen. Other activities whilst there include going to the scorchingly hot onsen (hottest one yet) and watching an incredible Japanese tv show where a man dressed as an eagle begged a professional ice skater to grace a rink he'd had made by a team of 50 people or so and placed into the freezing waters off the Hokkaido shoreline (northern Japan).
On the day of the dinosaur photos I went with Junko-san to collect a type of wild plant for lunch at the sides of a park. Some of the dinosaurs are massive and people trying to holiday cheaply sometimes sleep inside them (maybe on the way back up through Kagoshima I'll do the same).

A foggy day in Sakurajima and a shout-out to Jeanne Calment

Today I went to Sakurajima which sits in the bay opposite my hostel, its volcano smoking wistfully. The weather continues to be pretty terrible but its still warm enough to pad about looking at everything.

I had no idea what the mascot of the ferry was till I landed on the island and found out Sakurajima is the home of the largest radishes in the world. The bus I jumped on took us to a few sites, one being a lookout point to see the volcano (shrouded in fog in this picture). Other sites include a viewpoint to see where Karasushima (a nearby island) was engulfed in lava in an eruption back in 1914. Oh and we also stopped at that bizarre sculpture of a somewhat pained head with guitar. Couldn't see any information about it so I'm left in mystery till tomorrow. I met the owner of a hostel on Sakurajima named Junko, and I'm going to be staying there tomorrow and the day after.

The last two photos are of a graphic on a van I found coming back to my current hostel just over the water.

Rainy days in hostels make for brilliant tangents on wikipedia.

Junko's from an island called Tokunoshima which is in the Amami Islands (an island chain I'm planning to visit next week to start my camping trip).
I just looked up Tokunoshima to find that a man from this island lived to be 121 (this is disputed).

"Shigechiyo Izumi (June 29, 1865 – February 21, 1986) is the person with the second longest recorded human lifespan in history, after Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment."

I then had to look up Jeanne Calment who I remember seeing in an old guinness world records book, and the article showed me two things I have to share.

1. She knew how to treat herself right.

"Calment ascribed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin, as well as a diet of port wine, and ate nearly one kilogram of chocolate every week."

"The French had their own theories about why she lived so long, noting that she used to eat more than two pounds of chocolate a week, treat her skin with olive oil, drank port wine and rode a bicycle until she was 100."

2. Rap is too often a go-to for the desperately unimaginative.

"For her 121st birthday last year, a record company released Mistress of Time, a four-track CD of her spoken reminiscences over a background of rap and other tunes. The retirement-home supervisor who brokered the recording contract was removed from her post after charges that Calment had not fully understood what was involved."

Nicolas Sarkozy is half-Hungarian

Yesterday Syuzo and Nobuko took me to a motorway service area just south of Fukuoka, we said our goodbyes and I went to wait by the road out of the parking area with a sign Syuzo had made me for heading to Kagoshima.
I looked at my watch and remembered someone in the hostel in Fukuoka talking about a friend who said they'd received lifts every ten minutes and hoped for similar.

In 5 minutes time I was in a car with a military recruitment officer discussing genetics in a very basic manner, and he told me Nicolas Sarkozy's dad is Hungarian (I had no idea). He was only driving two hours south to Miyazaki originally but decided to drive me all the way to Kagoshima (four hours) and buy me lunch. I really tried to protest this but he wouldn't have it and explained I had to do the same when I'm older and see young hitch hikers.
I'm now in Kagoshima and its raining fairly horribly, going to stay here a week or so whilst I sort out my plan for going camping on the islands south of here.

Definitely going to get to an onsen soon, there are 270 in the prefecture and I'm sure a lot of those are in the city.

"The internet is your breakfast."

My day started with this sentence and ended with a line dancer named Jesus dancing with maracas.
Syuzo-san (top photo) is someone who gave me a lift when I was hitching here a year ago. I said I'd get in touch when I next came to Japan so we met today and visited Fukuoka tower, the castle ruins at Maizuru park and a few other parks.
Syuzo is adept at starting conversations, we managed to get into a long one about maglites with his friends in the library security office, spoke to a flute player in the park about kindles and youtube musicians, chatted to a photographer about thermos flasks and to a group of students from Kyoto about the price of hostels.
Later on I had dinner with him and his wife Nobuko who wouldn't stop giving me delicious food, the kind soul. All in all a great day and Syuzo's going to give me a lift part of the way down to Kagoshima tomorrow as he and Nobuko are visiting friends a bit further south.
I'm a bit pushed for time so I'll write more later, but just wanted to share that.

There

I've not posted anything whilst getting ready for Japan and I arrived there (here) today.
I'm feeling quite spaced out from the time differences and still don't have much to say beyond thanks to Emma for giving me such a great send off and here's a picture of the dawn breaking somewhere over the sea.

This is one of about seven frogs that have just turned up in the pond.

Japañata

I'm going back to Japan in officially just under two weeks. The plan is to hitchhike and camp and practice my Japanese until the end of May, all I need to do is to obtain some shoes before I wander off and smack open that piñata of linguistical difficulty.

St Werburgh's.

Dulwich park.

View from the cumberland basin.

Following the water

Took a long walk this afternoon to try out ISO settings on the Pentax.

Two whales

Thick-skinned:

Thin-skinned:

Horniman museum.

Whitley bay.

Looping State Of Mind

Looping State Of Mind

It's been a hundred and eighty-three days?!

The haunting

Molepool

Big thankyou to Emma's Creations who provided the moles.




Track: Dictaphone's Lament, by Tycho.

Photo A Day 2012

Link

Madreed

A much-needed reunion

Note the laces matching the trim. Its no accident.

Who remembers Halloween?

Portraits

Rails

Misplaced Energies?