Ogasawara

I went to Chichijima for a week. It was the greatest and best trip I've had in Japan. Even better than Hokkaido which has been the high benchmark until now. The main goal of this Chichijima trip was to relax and have fun. Many of my trips have been about sightseeing; hitting all the main spots as quickly as possible in the three days that I am staying at the hotel without really appreciating where I am. This time it would be different. Off we go!

Chichijima is a remote island and the lack of light pollution means that you can see the stars very clearly at night from high ground. Chie was very excited about this. So we took our bikes and rode up the mountain road. Actually, as soon as the road got too steep (read: not completely flat) we got off the bikes and pushed them. Actually, I tied a ribbon from my seat to Chie's handle bars and pulled both bikes up the mountain.

The town at night

The winding road up the mountain had no street lights after a certain point and because there were so few buildings down in the town and so many trees around the road it was pitch black. We had torches in the bike baskets to light the way forward, but looking back there was nothing. As if the world was falling away behind us. It didn't feel magical or romantic, I was just scared. The night sky looked as you would expect an Earth sky to look at night. Honestly it wasn't really my thing. I was thinking mostly about monsters and from where they would attack. Two men arrived in a car and I thought, We're dead. But they just looked at the little satellite dish and at the wooden barrier and left. Then a family with three kids came up and their shouting broke the atmosphere of terror.

Garlic chicken, yakiniku, a saucy fish on top of some rice, vintage Japanese posters. Paku Paku had it all. We ate there almost every night and once or twice for lunch. The only problem was the head waitress who was scary as Hell. The tone in which she asked for your order suggested that she didn't want you to be there. One night she brought the wrong dish out and I mumbled "This ain't what I ordered." "But it's what I heard you order," she replied. I wet my pants and said, "It's okay, it looks good so I'll have it." I tried to smile but anxiety was descending.

Gates of Castration

She held the plate and looked at me and repeated "This is what I heard you order." Pause. "I'll bring out the right order." "No, it's okay I'll have it." This conversation repeated a few times and eventually she gave in and slammed the plate down. She screwed up and I let it slide, but the way the conversation played out, with her seething hatred and my anxiety, it didn't feel like that at all. It wasn't a foreigner thing because I saw her being a bitch mean to entire families.

Old war bunker. Less scary than the waitress.

One night our bill came to 3,100 yen and she said "Do you have the 100 yen?" and I said Yes quietly because I was scared and as I was searching my wallet for it she kept saying "Do you have it? Do you have it?" (ありますか？ありますか？) actually getting louder and louder each time. I gave her the money and ran.

Dolphin swimming. This wasn't really my idea and it was the only thing we made a reservation for all week, it was the only tourist thing we had planned. Small boat. Me, Chie, two other girls, and Captain Little George. Little George was pretty interesting and funny and he spoke English. But I already did the big thing about the scary old waitress so I don't want to get into another long description of someone. Basically, he smiled a lot. Except when Chie didn't jump into the water quickly enough and he shouted "What the hell are you doing!" ( 何やってんだよ!)

There were five runs and on the second run I jumped in without putting on my goggles and on the third run and I jumped without putting my snorkel in my mouth. But when Little George shouted Go! Go! Go! I just wanted off the boat and didn't have time to think - about not drowning. So I swam with the dolphins. At one point three of them came toward us and they were close enough to touch (you're not allowed to touch them - preservation etc). When they swam away I dived down into the water after them, as did the girls. Swimming in the sea with wild dolphins was pretty cool.

"Heart Rock"

Last year we went to Kamagawa Sea World and there I decided that I don't really like seeing dolphins and whales trapped in aquariums. Swimming with dolphins for a few seconds in the sea was way better than staring at them in a little pool for ten minutes. I admired the natural beauty - which became the theme for this trip.

There are plenty of beaches in Chichijima appropriate for snorkelling. We did snorkelling a bunch of times and it was much more fun than I thought it would be. When there were lots of fish around I just lay there still and fish trying to swim against the current would be stuck in position next to me. It was tranquil.

Coral at the port

We fed the fish some rice and they crowded round us. As with the dolphins, it was very special to be with the fish in a natural environment. A tiny fish the size of my little finger dashed toward me and I was worried that he would try and swim up inside me or something. So I rolled around and tried to get away but he was too fast and I looked into his eyes and he wanted blood. After maybe two seconds the little guy gave up - and it ended in a draw?

Imagine fish in there

I saw some swordfish and one of them was lying completely still but I knew he was watching me. I kept my distance and he let me pass. Then Chie pointed out a massive eel and told me that they have a very strong painful bite. This sent me over the edge and I panicked and frantically escaped and then worried that my distressed movement in the water would attract sharks and I ended up in a shallow area with too many sharp rocks and I thought about my blood floating in the clear tropical water. Overall snorkelling was fun.

We hitchhiked with some maintenance men to a beach for some snorkelling. Upon arrival they told us straight up that they wouldn't give us a lift back. The only way back was along a 1km mountain path that led over to the next beach where there was a bus stop. It was the day before we left and walking on this path felt like an adventurous finale.

In the heat and humidity, the way up wasn't pleasant, but once the path flattened out it was great. We were surrounded by tropical trees and you could just see out to the horizon. I couldn't stand around taking pictures of specific leaves that caught the light perfectly because we'd probably miss the bus. As we walked I just pointed the camera at points of interest and took pictures - this resulted mostly in pictures of dark trees.

Note the safety rope

But we didn't rush, I took my time and continued the trip's theme of appreciating natural beauty. There were lizards and hermit crabs and spiders and birds. I had no love for the spiders. The path started to descend and we emerged out of the trees to find some crumbling stone steps that led down the mountain.

You could peer out and look at the sea below, which was both beautiful and scary. It wasn't really dangerous. If we were dumb then there'd be some danger of us doing something stupid and dying, but we played it safe and lived.

The final curve going down toward the beach revealed some great views, and would've have produced some great photos if a decent photographer were present.

I accomplished my goal of enjoying a holiday, instead of doing a sightseeing tour. I'm not that eager to go back again because the twenty four boat ride wasn't easy. Vomiting, and sleeping to avoid vomiting sums it up. In closing here is a picture of a sunset.