Hegura-jima...the non-bird post

Hi all,

seeing as I was told that my beautiful and loquacious tales of birding in Japan were worth putting into a separate blog, I thought I'd split the Hegura-jima trip into two; a non-birding tale and a birding tale of magnificance that will blind the imagination of the birding fraternity who read it. I am not complaining in the slightest as I am sure that those amongst you, with no passion for the greater art of birding, loath the sight of another birding adventure.



Herein lies the tale of the trip to Hegura. It started off by getting into the Nova Ace (better than a Hiace, it has windows) and being driven the 6-7 hours north to the Sea of Japan. The night passed without incident except in my dreams as I slept in the back of the automobile for the majority of the trip. When dawn appeared the rain came with it and our dread that the ferry would not go mounted. However, the skipper was happy to go so with much glee and anticipation we boarded and set off with 8 other fellow passengers, fishermen and birders. Before boarding the ferry, I went to a local convenience store to get some water and there on the window, with a poster of Harry Potter for a background, was a tree frog...he was pretty damn cool (see above)!!! The island is 90 minutes off the coast by ferry and the crossing was rough with a heavy swell throwing us around a bit at times. We stood out on deck for most of it because we're birders. It was so refreshing spending that time out on deck, smelling the clean sea air, and reminiscing on my many trips to Cape Clear with Ciaran and Jim. I was buzzing. We hit the island in the pouring rain and it didn't stop for the first 24 hours. We put our belongings in our room in the inn, a simple room with tatami mats on the floor and that's it. Beautifully simplistic. The outside of the inn reminded me of the buildings on Nantucket that the whalers built in the 19 century,long lengths of wood making up the framework and structure. Weatherbeaten and rough. A very simple way of life but they looked so content.


After a day wandering around the island we went back to the inn, showered, changed and sat down to dinner. There are no animals on the island so the staple diet is fish and vegtables. Dinner consisted of a whole fried fish, raw fish, misu soup with seaweed, turnip, fried mackerel and of course, rice. It was one of the best meals I've had in Japan, simple but wonderful. The island is tiny, it takes an hour to walk around it but it's wild and feels very remote. There are approx. 30-50 inhabitants who make a living by accomodating fishermen and birders alike. The place had a very old and traditional feel to it and it was so so quiet. Although there is nothing there of any note, the place was truly beautiful in its serenity and cleanliness. The locals were very friendly and enjoyed our sometimes loud conversations after consuming many bottles of beer. However, it was lights out at 10pm so to bed we went.

We awoke at 5.30pm to sound of the dawn chorus and a clear sky. The rain had passed during the night and it was a fresh, breezy autumn day. Quite spectacular, not a cloud in the sky and a hangover from hell. That hangover reminded me why I never drink when birding on Cape and I'll never do it again on Hegura either!! We spent the morning and early afternoon walking around the island again taking in the wonderfully rare sights and enjoying the sunshine. With heavy hearts we departed the island at 3pm and boarded the ferry back to Wajima and the long drive home. Upon leaving the inn, there upon the washing line, hanging up with the shirts and trousers, an octopus freshly caught being dried in the sun. Unfortunately my camera was packed away and we were rushing to the boat...next time. There will definitely be a next time. The ferry back was glorious, beautiful blue skies, a fresh wind and a gentle swell. On the way back we saw some flying fish and the biggest jellyfish I have ever seen!!! Seriously, the bell of the jellyfish was easily 5-6 feet in diameter and 6-7 feet in height!! The tentacles(?) were massive!! Crazy beasts.


When we got to shore at 4.30pm it was into the car and off we went. Neil drove like a man in need of finding a bathroom and we made it back in 5 hours to Kyoto! So I was home by 10.45pm and in bed by midnight. As I said in my previous post, the most expensive part of the trip was inn and the cost of driving there. The cost of the accomodation, for 4 of us which included breakfast and dinner as well as a place to sleep, was 30,000yen (about 200yoyos), while the cost of petrol and tolls came to 24,000yen!! It is SO expensive travelling within Japan and accomodation is expensive also. One gets used to it quickly otherwise one has no money left by the end of the month. So, don't complain about the expense of the tolls readers in Dublin (I believe there's been a bit of a furor of late)!! It's pittance. Regardless of the expense, it was a fantastic trip and I hope to get back there again in the spring but this time it will be for more than just one night. I really felt relaxed there, a wonderful place to visit.


And so, my non-birding tale ends. I hope you enjoyed it. Now, it's off to bed and sleep for me...goodnight.

PS: this week I've mostly been eating dried squid, which was nice