Japan’s biggest sports streaming channel is Jsports https://www.jsports.co.jp They have fantastic rugby coverage, with a round up program of the week’s activities called”Rugby Wonderful!”. This is hosted by a hilarious young woman.
Here she is in quiet moment. She is a scream!
So different from the deadly dull, rugby pundits in most parts of the world! Well done Japan.
I go to get a refill for my water cooler. For some reason they also sell rice.
Take your pick.
I ask the guy which one I should buy and he recommends the cheapest. Probably thought the high quality stuff would be wasted on me. Anyway, rice in Japan is delicious!
My new bag of rice.Babies!
There is also a board with cute photos of newborn babies. Their weight is highlighted. Arisa once explained what was going on but I have forgotten. Maybe you give the family the same weight in rice.
There are a few tiny restaurants with 2 or3 tables where you can have the stuff you buy er cooked. These are now packed with folks from Korea and Taiwan scoffing the most exotic shellfish.
I do lots of sailing. The weather is warm. I wear shorts and a T-shirt. The winds are OK but gusty. The fresh air is wonderful.
A couple of nights ago. Hand held with no subsequent editing.
I fill up the car. This is a rare event as it uses hardly any gas. Gas stations in Okinawa are wells of happiness.
He cleans the windscreen after he has taken away all the trash that collects inside the car.
He also hangs a red thing on the wing mirror. I am not sure why.
I think it reminds you of things you should not do and also publicizes special offer.
I go up to OIST to see some people. I thoroughly enjoy myself. The campus was closed to visitors for over 2 years and it is only now that I can reconnect. People are very nice to me.
I even pop into a symposium. Nostalgic
I pay my annual Marina bill.
This is about $1800, which I think is very reasonable.
Anyway the best bit is nearly a whole day sailing with Kim and Otis. Neither has done any sailing before. The wind is strong and I wonder if it is a good idea to go out but on the other hand it is a glorious day and we should be ok if I reef the mainsail and only unwind half the jib.
I run a very tight ship.Kim is lots of fun
Difficult o get the sail looking good when it is reefed.
Congratulations Otis!
She is not at her best when beating against the wind with reefed mainsail and a little jib.
So it is very windy, 15 – 20 knots, not ideal for complete beginners but the Norfolk Gypsy is a strong sea boat and with reduced sail we have a wonderful afternoon. I do nothing; Otis helms and Kim looks after the jib.
Well done boat!
Thanks Kim and Otis for being such good, unflappable crew. This is the boat’s first major workout of the year and I spot many things that need adjusting and finessing. Above all the engine, started and drove us out of and into the harbor perfectly. Thank you Kiyuna san!
I wake up the next day, which is today, Sunday, with the old, familiar, sensation of light sunburn – very pleasant. Sailing is good for you. The door bell rings and a very polite young man hands me my health insurance card for next year. Another year of fabulous health care delivered to my door on a Sunday morning!
The literature that goes with it is typically playful.
To overfill the cup of joy, I learn that France have absolutely smashed England at rugby. What is it about England that makes people, well me at least, rejoice in their defeat?
Amazon is of course the best entertainment in the world. When a little bored, you think of something you would like, order it on Amazon and Shazzam! it arrives the next day er usually. I decide I want apple sauce to eat with pork. I track it down, order it and the next day I find this.
My God!
I have written before about the wonders of package delivery in Okinawa. Someone comes to your door with the package between 08:00 and 20:00 everyday of the week. They grin, you sign and everyone is very happy. If you are not at home, they leave a chit with a phone number. You call and you choose exactly what time you would like it to be redelivered.
All this has changed. They now just leave the package outside the front door, California style. The chances of the package being nicked in Okinawa is zero. I am amazed that in San Francisco nothing seems to get nicked neither.
Brave New World
Anyway, I have had consistent acute diarrhea, or diarrhoea if you are British, probably the same condition, since I went to Mexico last year. I have waited for it to go away, have self medicated with stuff from pharmacies in Mexico, USA, Scotland and Japan, have consulted Nagasaki sensei who has prescribed various Chinese medicines, all to no avail. I think my gut is infested with droves of Mexican parasites.
Nagasaki sensei and I decide the time has come to consult a specialist gastroenterologist. The wonderful Shoko san tracks down an English speaking one and gives me full instructions of how to get to the hospital. It is called Chubu Hospital.
She is the best! Thank you Shoko san.
I turn up at the hospital and present the introduction letter from Nagasaki sensei. They politely inform me that there are two Chubu Hospitals in Okinawa and I have come to the wrong one. “Dai jo bou Neil san, we can look after you here.”
Chubu is a standard Japanese public hospital. You turn up at out patients at anytime and they will help you.
Reception
Blood pressure, weight and then I am asked to wait, English spelling is so odd. Very sincere apologies from the nurses as they are very busy and I will have to wait some time.
I see the doctor, who is young and speaks goos English. I explain that my gut is swarming with Mexican parasites. He examines me and then sends me off for a blood test and a stool collection exercise.
She has my sample
I wait for a bit, which is actually enjoyable as I watch Okinawan TV. I have not had a television since 2010 and this is a novelty.
This guy presents a wild life show. Notice resemblance to David Attenborough
There is a commercial break and there is Arisa!
She made this about 10 years ago and it is still playing.
I am called back to the doc who explains the results of the blood test. Apparently I am severely hypothyroid. Not sure what this means but he prescribes medication and apologizes for the fact that it will take longer to get the results of the stool analysis.
Off I go to the adjacent pharmacy to get my prescription filled.
A charming lady brings me a cup of coffee as I wait for my drugs.
In fact the contents of this post are much less dramatic than the title. After the high octane of the unforgettable trip to Hokkaido, I return to more mundane stuff.
A wonderful lady comes to my door and kicks me out for 4 hours. She has the bit between her teeth.
A diversion on date traditions. British is ; day, month, year. My birthday is thus; 16, 5, 1952. U.S. is; 5,16,1952. Japan is;1952, 5, 16. It is easy to make mistakes and I miss a doctor’s appointment due to a confusion between day and month.
Having time on my hands, I drive down to the clinic, It is a specialist place dealing in prostrate glands. When I say say dealing in, I do not mean buying or selling but rather specializing in. I intend to set up a new appointment.
I sheepishly apologize and ask for a new date. ” Dai jo bou Neil san, have a seat.” Ten minutes later I am with the doctor. He speaks no English but we converse by Google translate on his computer screen. Brave New World. We establish that everything is OK and he prescribes some, just in case, medication.
I pay 400 yen for the consultation. The pharmacy is on the ground floor of the building.
The Harp Pharmacy!
Three months of drugs costs 1,500 yen, er like nothing. Why can’t health care be like this in the rest of the world? Thanks Japan.
The clinic is near the fish market.
Sardine type fish for tonight.The best fast food! Hot fish and squid tempura.
My only gauge on increasing prices in Japan is tempura. When I arrived 12 years ago each piece cost 60 yen, now it is 80 yen. I blame the Tories etc.
First place : http://mangetudou.net Deep snow, very warm due to the huge Jotul woodburner in main living area.
I had a series of Jotuls when living in the cold Jura mountains of France. Madame prepares fabulous meal.Slices of venison filet, shot by owner. I have already scoffed one, salmon poached with shellfish and veg, rice with lots of veg in it, custard with shrimp and fish, salad with octopus sashimi, soup whose specific deliciousness I have forgotten, All home cooked.
I stagger upstairs to my room and lie on the bed. It collapses under my huge bulk! Very sheepish I ask the owner for help.
Luckily there is no permanent damage! I am abashed.View from my window next morning.
Can you see the french windows in the the white building? This is where Ichiro san and I kept vigil, taking incredible photos of the massive owls.
There is a small dining hall for 10 people or so and two ladies beavering away in a tiny kitchen. I expect ramen.
Holy cow! Cold whole fish, pork hotpot, incredible salmon, scallop, tuna sashimi, rice of course, an exquisite spider crab soup nd salad. Astonishing meal.One of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.Breakfast next morning; there is nato in the white box, the rice has not yet arrived. We are in a shed.
All fish! All fish from the lake, er except for the outstanding octopus sashimi. Octopi do not live in lakes. Great fish soup.
By the way, this astonishing food is not expensive. We eat with a bunch of young Japanese birders, maybe 18 to 20 years old. They demonstrate no surprise at the quality of the food. The meal would cost hundreds of $ in most capital cities.
Breakfast comes. The owner loves making jam and he sets out a sampling selection for me in English.
Rhubarb!Hokkaido milk – brown mug, is the best in the world.
Well, what can I say? The Japanese expect to and do eat very well. I did not see any other tourists. So please y’all do not come to Northern Hokkaido. It is fine as it is.
So now I am back in Okinawa! What a change! It is so hot. A continuation of the food narrative.
Asuka san, Arisa san and I have lunch in a tuna speciality restaurant in Itoman. This is what we ate.
Me – Butter/garlic fish wit sashimi rice bowl.Pretty much the same.Whoa! Asuka san san goes for the “Tuna Happiness Meal!” Tuna Fish EyeI feel good.
In front of our table a young woman cuts up a huge Tuna.
Ochiro san and I head north for a birding adventure in Hokkaido! Two flights later we arrive at Nakashibetsu airport -deep snow and freezing cold. We are no longer in Okinawa. As we pick up a car, a policeman and another guy come running up to me. I make a run for it it but I am too old and fat. Turns out that there is a special safety campaign about driving on snow and ice. The other guy is a journalist and takes lots of photos of fat gaijin being instructed. Great fun!
I go quietly.
We are also met by Fukuda san, an old buddy of Oshiro san. He is some kind of environment ranger for the area. He immediately takes us birding, lots of sea ducks, rare Rosy Finches and to my huge excitement and astonishment, a Steller’s Sea Eagle just sitting in a tree. It is massive!
Sorry folks, this post is going to be a long succession of bird photos. Those who are not bird-minded are forewarned. We stay at a very good guesthouse. I will write a separate post on the guesthouses and the food they prepared for us,
Next day we drive up the coast of Northeast Hokkaido looking for seabirds of which there are strangely few on Okinawa. We meet Fukuda san who shows a pod of Killer Whales who seem to be stuck in the pack ice. There are about ten who are swimming back and forth in a frenzied manner. Fukuda san rushes off to arrange rescue. We also see a lot of eagles.
Glaucous-Winged GullSlaty-Backed GullWhooper SwansDipperUnloading CodHarlequin Duck with Glaucous-Winged GullEnd of the road- furthest point North on Eastern Hokkaido. Very cold!
That night is Owl night! Blackiston’s Fish Owl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blakiston%27s_fish_owl is the biggest owl in the world and very, very rare. The birds come down to fish in a little river near Rausu. A little, very basic, guesthouse has installed lights where the owls often fish. Ichiro and I lie on our futons and watch. Not much going on until 2:00 am when Ichiro san shakes me awake. A huge owl is sitting on the bank just in front of us. Ichiro san slides back the french window and I am able to take amazing photos! Wow! He slides the window back as it is insanely cold.
He/she catches a fish!Ferocious birdFlies off with fish. They are enormous birds!
The owl comes back 3 times before dawn.
Early next morning we get on a boat to track down eagles on the pack ice.
At least -20C. Not much sleep.
We chug out to the pack ice . There are eagles everywhere. The boat stays on the edge of the ice and a guy throws fish out to the eagles. Everyone should do this at least once! Hundreds of Eagles swirl around the boat, screaming and bickering.
White-Tailed EagleSteller’s Sea EagleIchiro san
Fishing boat crashes through the ice. White -TailedI get no kick from Champagne.Get off my lawnFussy eater.Volare
We drive South to stay in a great guesthouse on the banks of Lake Furen.
This what Hokkaido looks like in the winter. Miles and miles of snowy hills and forests. Beautiful!Just to break birdie ennui – a squirrel!
Thursday is Red Crested Crane day!
These birds are so beautiful, so elegant, so emblematic of Japan. We find hundreds!
Shorter hours and better pay!So elegant!JapanThey are noisyYep
We drive down to Kushiro and catch flights the next morning back to Naha. -18C in Kushiro, 18 C in Naha.
Above all, thanks to Ichiro san! He organized the itinerary, booked all the guesthouses and provided expert knowledge on all the birds. He is a wonderful man. Do not forget the he is a extraordinary artist!
I do lots of boat stuff. The pipe that runs from the cockpit sump up to pump is blocked. I have spent many frustrating hours trying to unblock it with absolutely no success. The situation is not good as when the boat cover is off, rain gathers in the cockpit and generally sloshes about. This does not feel very seamanlike, you know having water sloshing around the cockpit.
I drill a hole in the gratin
I can now use the hand pump that I carry on the boat anyway.
Hooray, it reopened today. It is better than ever! You can get everything you want here 24/7. It is now brand new and shiny with lots of new stuff. It wonderful to have great restaurants and a place to get a USB cable at 3:00am, only 2 minutes walk away. I never want to live in the country again.
Thanks you Lawson
I replace the leather on the gaff jaws – traditional in the Spring. I use this activity as an excuse to buy a new battery screwdriver.
This will do the job.I strip off the old leather.Lots of sanding and varnish.Soak the scarlet leather. Makes it more flexibleIt does not go very well – the brass tacks keep bendingNot a great job but it will do until next SpringThere are hoppers of Tunnocks wafers in most Okinawan supermarkets. Archetypal Scottish biscuits that I have only seen in Argyll and Okinawa.
Yesterday was the start of the new year; the Year of the Rabbit, A very cuddly year to you all.
We celebrated with an epic picnic on the boat.
Albrecht and Martine show up from Switzerland!
We pass a wonderful afternoon.
Martine, Tomomi, Ichiro, me and Kano san.Octopus coctel.
Kiyuna san and his doggie Jacko arrive.
Kiyuna san and Albrecht ponder important stuffTomomi does the cooking – thanks!She keeps the sizzling lamb chops coming. We eat lots! Delicious!Wonderful afternoonWe did not eat this Pacific Golden PloverI finally track down silver polish.
Ginowan, the town where I live, has lots of little specialist shops.
This guy only sells leather. He cuts me a nice chunk for my gaff jaws.High time I replaced the old stuffThis lady does every sort of clothing repair and alteration. She recently darned moth holes in one of my woolen sweaters. Amazing job – impossible to find the darns.
I am feeling fairly smug as I write this in Kagoshima airport. I am on my way back home to Okinawa after the first mainland jaunt that I have organized all by myself. In the old days I was very well looked after and adorable people organized my travel and such, leaving me childlike once that support evaporated. I have tried in the past to set up jaunts but have always given up. Complex websites in Japanese for hotel, flight, rental car, bookings soon drained me of ambition.
This time I booked my own flights, a rental car and 3 different hotels with no help. I feel this is a turning point. Many more adventures loom.
The designated crane watching building is remarkable as it is surrounded by thousands of cranes. But when it comes to photography you really want to get as close as possible. This is not a problem as the fields surrounding the center are full of cranes who seem indifferent to my presence as I crawl around in my little car.
Hooded Crane on the ground. Click twice on all photos.
There are two species of crane, Hooded and White Naped. They are both very big birds! It is such a pleasure to see so many, so close.
A family of White Naped Cranes, mum, dad and sulky teenager.
We are right on the coast, which means only one thing – seafood!
There was also a plate of sashimi, so good, so cheap ~ $14.
There are lots of other birds.
Northern Lapwing. Look at the colors on his/her back!GreyHeronShelduckGrilled sprats – delicious!Broad billed CrowIntermediate EgretHot, deep fried sweet potato for lunch snack – delicious!Black eared Kite
One day I ramble over to Nagashima. Wonderful sea views.
I wallow in the steaming hot water and the sauna. Japanese men have no shame in nakedness, I am bashful.
After an hour in the Onsen.
I have to go back to Kagoshima. I notice a little restaurant with drawings of fish displayed. It is lunchtime.
Vegetable and fish tempura, sashimi, fish head, fish soup, rice, pickles, pork with vegetables, salad, fruit all exquisitely prepared and presented. One of the all time great lunches. 2000 yen.
Anyway, I could post a lot more photos but you have probably got the idea. I love birdwatching and photography. In my dotage, I find few things really excite me, much have I travelled in the realms of gold, but birds spotting and trying to get a good shot is still so enthralling.
A couple of vignettes of Japanese sweetness.
When I check out of the Onsen, all the reception staff and the manageresse come out to say goodbye. They help me put on my hiking boots, which are kept in a locker outside the onsen. They chortle and grin, “Come back Neil san! Happy New Year, Neil san!” No being cool, no innuendo, just happy people being sweet.
I look out of the airplane window as we slowly pull away from the gate at Kagoshima airport. All the ground staff and baggage handlers are in a line. They bow in unison then grin and wave until the plane moves out of sight.
Shorter hours, better pay. You must click twice on all these bad photos to gain maximum joy.
The light is still very dull but I thrill to see the birds. I dread that old men staring at young birds will soon transgress a rule of decency. I get away with it for the moment.
Great White Egret amongst Spoonbills. You must double click on these photos to get super hi-res views,Northern Shoveler who didn’t get what he wanted for XmasBlack backed Stilt hopes the Black Ferns style of rugby becomes contagious.Mrs ShovelerVADE RETRO SATANA Great White Egret contemplates 2023Scruffy Eurasian Teal
I love watching birds.
On my way home I stop off at the Tomari Fish Market to get some hours old fish for dinner.
Huge lobster, difficult to get the scale but as Burns would have it is “as lang’s my arm”Normal LobstersSlabs of Tuna.
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 