Jan 1 - Haha-jima (小笠原諸島 母島)

A very Happy New Year to you all. I hope that you were able to celebrate it in style, with family or friends. I myself had a pretty good time on the island of Haha-jima with the locals and other travellers. My 4 nights were spent at the Anna Beach Youth Hostel, a very picturesque and homey hostel. More like a B&B in fact. New Years Eve was pretty much quiet and mundane. Everybody at the hostel went to bed by 9pmish since at 4:30am the next morning, people were meant to gather under the big tree with the fairy lights for a group walk to the most eastern point of Japan to view the first sunrise of Japan. Hence I was pretty much left alone in the hostel lounge on my own, until a couple of other hostellers came by a few minutes before midnight. After congratulating each other a Happy New Year I was left alone once again. Hmmm, what is it with me and my lack of sleep?

Anyways, after barely a couple of hours of Zzzs’ I was awaken with the sound of people bustling about getting ready for the 4:30am gathering. For frick sake, I set my alarm for 4am, but people were already stomping around by 3:15am… Hmph… anyways, I was up so I joined the masses out in downtown Okimura and grabbed a shuttle ride down to the south part of the island, where after an hour long walk in the dark, we ended up on the most eastern shore of Japan. And low and behold, by around 6:17am, the first sunrise of Japan. A time to make a prayer and wish. Just when people were finished making their wishes and prayers and ready to start taking photos of the glowing redish-orange sun, as quickly the sun came out, the sun hid itself behind the clouds and was no to be seen until later on the day.

On the way back from the most eastern point of Japan, a few hostellers and I took a wee detour to a location which isn’t marked on any tourist maps, or widely announced to travellers. A bit of local inside information we received earlier, a look into one of the underground tunnels and bunkers which were outfitted with artillery canons. Plenty of derelict canons and bunkers on the island, but this location had the longest tunnel, and once you’re in it your mind starts to drift off into the past and your imagination starts to run amuck with regards to how things were in the past. I’ve yet to watch the film, Flags of our fathers or Letters from Iwo-jima, both films directed by Clint Eastwood about the battle between the Americans whom were undertaking an amphibious assault whereas the Japanese were hunkered down in their bunkers. I can only guess that battles on Haha-jima and the various islands in the Ogawasaras were as fearsome.

Back at the hostel by 8am, and a traditional Japanese New Years breakfast awaited for consumption. 御節料理 Osechi Cooking. Little bits of various things which are meant to bring good fortune. As always, the Japanese have many things which bring good luck and fortune which are all derived from play on words. Beans, because in Japanese they’re called “mame” and it’s so that you become “mame” (conscientious), Konbu, Yorokobu, Kurikinton (Kagayaku – from the colour). Also, a wee goodie bag as a New Years gift. Eventhough it was a tad kitsch, possibly a freebie from the local tourist bureau, but in anycase it’s the thought that counts. So far, I can say that my stay at this hostel has gone really well. A great location, very homey, very clean and a great variation and style of meals for breakfast and dinner. Very impressive. A great representative of the kinda style of hostel I’d possibly like to open, if I ever go that route.

After breakfast, it was a visit to the local beach where New Years celebrations were taking place. Local students performing a version of a Hula dance, shishimai Odori (dragon dance), childrens games, and plenty of free food and booze. Free booze in the forms of local rum, passionfruit liqueur, sake. And also free food, if not very VERY cheap. Turtle stew, pork stew, buntan, isobemochi, and frankfurts wrapped in banana leaves. And finally the beach activities ended with a canoe race. And yours truly got 2^nd place as a visitor racer. A team of 3 members, people whom I met at the hostel. One older gentleman whom never been in a canoe, and another fella who is a deaf lifeguard. Amazingly, eventhough I don’t understand Japnaese sign language, we were able to converse quite a bit.

All in all, a very busy day. It’s been a long time in the making, but I actually crashed right after diner by about 8pm a rare one for me indeed. Then again, I’ve also been trying to rid of a nagging cough and wee temperature.

On top of Mt. ChibusayamaArtillery Storage Bunker
Local version of the hula dance during the festival for "Opening of the ocean for the New Year"
Releasing baby green turtles out to sea
When the grow big enough, you catch'em and eat'em. Turtle stew style.
Vines, vines, vines!
A panoramic view from the summit of Mt. Chibusayama

Dec 30 - Haha-jima (小笠原諸島 母島)

Soon after my last day of work I ventured off to my 忘年会 (Bonenkai – End of year work party) with my whole department. Wasn’t really in the mood to do a do with my colleagues but what can you do? Last years gathering felt a bit stiff, and I really wasn’t in the mood for another tight lipped, tight arsed gathering. Sooo many customs and drunken Japanese office men to deal with. . I was more there for the food than anything else, but I could clearly see it in the office workers eyes that they were all about the drink. Drunken Japanese men, how exciting, and all the freak’n smoking. One thing I can’t stand, or ever understand is the need to smoke heaps in such a confined space. Puff puff puff…

In anycase, I made my quick exit and prepped myself for a nice long overnight bus ride to Tokyo and a 25.5 hour ferry ride over semi-rough seas (a typhoon went by a couple of days ago) to Chichi-jima and another 2 hours of fun ferry riding over to Haha-jima. The ferry ride itself was pretty miserable for me… The rocking back and forth and I was pretty much seasick. Never quite had to throw up, though I can pretty much assure you that I was pretty blue in the face. During the entire ride from Sanjo to Haha-jima I pretty much had only a cup of yoghurt and an apple. Anything else, I simply felt very bloated or too sick to keep down. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a very easy 25.5 hour ferry ride for me at all. Just when I thought that I was good enough to get up, a few minutes later it was another quick trek over to the loo to check to see if I can hold whatever I had left in my stomach. The 2^nd class berth was totally full, and I was blow away with the fact that there weren’t seat available for the passengers. Well, I’m lying a bit. There are seats, but just less than a dozen for close to a thousand people. Plenty of people heading down south during the New Years Eve break, and I got to join in the fun. At times I wanted fresh air, but anywhere out of the berth, the place was full of smokers and smoke. So bad that at times so that I was wondering if they were testing a new way of preserving smoked meat. I will never be able to understand the whole smoking culture here in Japan.

According to the ferry captain, accommodation on Haha-jima was all booked up. I was a bit worried since I made my booking waaay back in October. Well, once on Haha-jima I made my way over to the youth hostel where things seemed to be quite mellow. A preview of what the seems to be like. Downtown Haha-jima is pretty much two small shops and the police box. Nothing much, but the whole village seemed to be there, well at least much of the ferry passengers. People were lined up around the entire shop to buy their groceries, and the fresh shipment which just came off the ferry. I guess that you can be quite limited with your choice of groceries when the ferry from Tokyo only gets down to Ogasawara Islands once a week.

Even after an hour on the island, I could tell that I was gonna enjoy my time relaxing here on the island. Plans to go hiking on the 31^st, enjoy some of the New Years festivities on the 1^st and may be go diving on the 2^nd. Since at the moment I don’t feel as though I’m 100 percent because of the ferry ride. Also being trapped in a very small space with heaps of people, and a few people coughing away for 25+ hours didn’t quite help with things as well. Anyways, time to enjoy my time off… had a great meal at a local restaurant (which looked more like home, but the inside was pretty much like a snack bar) and I sure hope that this feeling of swaying goes away. It’s been hours since I got off the ferry, but my body still seems to be swaying a bit and carrying around a headache. Well, anyways… I’ll do my best to enjoy my time here.