Oshima
Oshima is a volcanic island in the pacific about 50 miles south of Tokyo. Our trip there was a bit of a washout; we were on the island for a single full day, and it poured with rain and blew a gale, so we never got to climb the volcano (that we viewed from the air two weeks previously) as planned. Still, we did a bunch of other fun stuff instead.
The journey out was by jet foil, which was pretty cool. The boat is a passenger ferry that carries about 250 people, powered by jet engines (like a jet ski) and using hydrofoils which lift the hull completely out of the water, allowing the ship to travel faster than pretty much everything else at sea level. The route was another interesting angle from which to view Tokyo bay. The ships we overtook didn't look so big when we flew over them in an aeroplane, and watching the planes taking off and landing at the airport was fun.
I admit that I was at first underwhelmed by the guest house that we stayed in, but it turned out to be friendly and comfortable, even if in the western style and a little run down. Breakfasts at the guest house were nice and tasty with a mix of western and Japanese food.
Dinner the evening we landed was at a restaurant run by Haruyo's friend, up the hill in the town. They made us pizza and curry, very nice (especially the curries). The walk back in the dark was interesting!
Hotaka was performing some of her theatre at a couple of nurseries on the island, and for wont of something else to do in the pouring rain, the kids and I tagged along. Hotaka's performances are always good (much better than the theatre in Hiroshima!) but we skipped the second and went for a walk instead (in a lull in the rain). This turned out to be a bit of a mistake - we missed the turn and never got to anywhere interesting, while the rain came back on with a vengeance and soaked us. Luckily, it was warm anyway.
Lunch that day was at a place called Pension Subaru; it's a guest house / restaurant that we stayed in last time we visited. This trip, we just ate there. The main draw is camellia tempura and pickled camellia. Camellias are an Oshima delicacy and both the tempura and the pickles are delicious. The guest house also had a piano, so Akira managed her first piano practice of the holiday, which she was very happy about.
That afternoon it was still windy and a bit wet, but we went to an outdoor onsen anyway. The water was nice and hot regardless of the weather, and as the weather cleared we got a view of Mt Fuji. We also saw a buzzard riding the wind directly overhead a couple of times. There was also a cool dragon nearby...
The evening's food was at a fried food place, cheap and cheerful tempura and katsu. After that the kids and Seiko's folks went back to the guest house, and Seiko and I went to a wee walk by the sea, looking for squid. We never found the squid, although we just about managed to find the sea. When we got back to the guest house, the owners had their budgie out of his cage and flying about, landing on people's heads and suchlike. So that's another pet added to the (long) list that the kids can't manage to live without. They also spent ages playing with the guest house's big fat fluffy cat.
In the morning we ate breakfast, and found that the ferry back to Tokyo was leaving from a different port (due to the prevailing weather conditions). The guest house folks agreed to give us a lift to the other port. We had a quick walk down to the beach (black volcanic sand!), then left for the new port. At the port, we bought souvenirs while waiting for the boat, which was bobbing like a cork, even while docked. The start of the journey was rough and Sophia struggled a bit with sickness, but ultimately managed to hang on to her stomach. It was better once the boat lifted off, but really choppy while it tried to get airborne!
The journey out was by jet foil, which was pretty cool. The boat is a passenger ferry that carries about 250 people, powered by jet engines (like a jet ski) and using hydrofoils which lift the hull completely out of the water, allowing the ship to travel faster than pretty much everything else at sea level. The route was another interesting angle from which to view Tokyo bay. The ships we overtook didn't look so big when we flew over them in an aeroplane, and watching the planes taking off and landing at the airport was fun.
I admit that I was at first underwhelmed by the guest house that we stayed in, but it turned out to be friendly and comfortable, even if in the western style and a little run down. Breakfasts at the guest house were nice and tasty with a mix of western and Japanese food.
Dinner the evening we landed was at a restaurant run by Haruyo's friend, up the hill in the town. They made us pizza and curry, very nice (especially the curries). The walk back in the dark was interesting!
Hotaka was performing some of her theatre at a couple of nurseries on the island, and for wont of something else to do in the pouring rain, the kids and I tagged along. Hotaka's performances are always good (much better than the theatre in Hiroshima!) but we skipped the second and went for a walk instead (in a lull in the rain). This turned out to be a bit of a mistake - we missed the turn and never got to anywhere interesting, while the rain came back on with a vengeance and soaked us. Luckily, it was warm anyway.
Lunch that day was at a place called Pension Subaru; it's a guest house / restaurant that we stayed in last time we visited. This trip, we just ate there. The main draw is camellia tempura and pickled camellia. Camellias are an Oshima delicacy and both the tempura and the pickles are delicious. The guest house also had a piano, so Akira managed her first piano practice of the holiday, which she was very happy about.
That afternoon it was still windy and a bit wet, but we went to an outdoor onsen anyway. The water was nice and hot regardless of the weather, and as the weather cleared we got a view of Mt Fuji. We also saw a buzzard riding the wind directly overhead a couple of times. There was also a cool dragon nearby...
The evening's food was at a fried food place, cheap and cheerful tempura and katsu. After that the kids and Seiko's folks went back to the guest house, and Seiko and I went to a wee walk by the sea, looking for squid. We never found the squid, although we just about managed to find the sea. When we got back to the guest house, the owners had their budgie out of his cage and flying about, landing on people's heads and suchlike. So that's another pet added to the (long) list that the kids can't manage to live without. They also spent ages playing with the guest house's big fat fluffy cat.
In the morning we ate breakfast, and found that the ferry back to Tokyo was leaving from a different port (due to the prevailing weather conditions). The guest house folks agreed to give us a lift to the other port. We had a quick walk down to the beach (black volcanic sand!), then left for the new port. At the port, we bought souvenirs while waiting for the boat, which was bobbing like a cork, even while docked. The start of the journey was rough and Sophia struggled a bit with sickness, but ultimately managed to hang on to her stomach. It was better once the boat lifted off, but really choppy while it tried to get airborne!
posted by Tony @ 14:07
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