Until I get the internet at home, It looks like I will be perpetually catching up here. I took a day off to go fishing with Mori on Tuesday, then I had an orientation Wednesday through Friday, then it was the weekend, and here I am now, with practically a week's worth of stuff to catch up on.

Monday

Just a quick note - on Monday night Megan, Cory, and I went back to Okushi beach. It was still barricaded, swept, bulldozed, and clean, but I understood some of the appeal. It may not be the best beach when you look back from the water, but when you look out to sea - what a view!





Tuesday

Tuesday was fishing day. I took one of my summer vacation days, and Mori and I agreed to meet at his boat at 6am. Up at 5:30, it was already hot out and getting hotter. I biked down to the dock and waited for Mori to show up. After a few minutes he came chugging around the seawalls, flicked the heavy 30 foot boat into a neat 180, waved and shouted his usual greeting of "Hey! Ben!" I walked down to the boat and we got ready to go.

When I say we got ready to go, I mean for most of the time I was entirely confused as to what was going on. Mori's father showed up and began going through the bait shrimp with Mori one by one, randomly throwing out certain shrimp. Mori turned to me and apologetically said "The shrimp are not strong." I nodded vigorously in agreement and continued to watch as Mori and his father sorted shrimp, muttering to each other and apparently sorting out the weak shrimp. At about 6:30, we got under way.

We followed the island's shore, stopping in a narrow straight. Using two anchors and two winches, Mori's father anchored the boat perpendicular to the flowing tide, and then we got to fishing. The fishing was traditional Japanese fishing, no rods, no lures, just a line that you hold in your hand, a hook with a little weight and a shrimp on it, and your reflexes. You drop the line down, wait for a bite, and then yank the rope as hard as you can. If the fish is still on, you haul it in, throw the fish in the live well, and go again. A big fish causes problems though, Mori caught a Red Snapper that was about a foot long and the line pulling through his hand cut two of his fingers in two different places.




Mori's father: a really scary dude at first.




Me, fishing.

The boat was a great old wood boat with a small cabin about two thirds of the way aft. The seats across the front were just planks that you could slide around for ideal fishing position. The whole thing had a great tough utilitarian feel to it, and I would be remiss in my foreigner-with-a-camera duties if I didn't photograph every inch of it.


The post that guides the anchor rope - at one point it was straight and square.


The cabin - as far as I can tell you lie on these blankets and operate the instruments.


From the back of the boat, looking forwards.


Mori's father spent most of his time sitting on an upside down bucket, but I guess if he gets uncomfortable he can sit in the captain's chair.


And then I caught a fish! A medium sized Red Snapper! Mori's father had some gruff words of congratulations for me, and then he walked back and offered to take my picture with the fish. What a guy.


Netting a Snapper.




An octopus trap boat from Akitsu, on the mainland. He laid a line of nets across our anchor line, which prompted some angry shouting. When we tried to pull up the anchor and found it stuck on a line of octopus traps, there was talk of cutting the guy's line. In the end the line was not cut and we went home. Mori's month in Australia must have included a lot of swearing because while sometimes he will call me and say "OK, I will come your home in 20 minutes ago," when the Octopus boat steamed off, he perfectly fluently said "Fucking stupid octopus boat. What the fuck." Bravo, Mori.

Just as we were about to leave I spotted something moving in the water. We scooped it up and it was a giant beetle (though apparently this was a relatively small one). They are prized as pets in Japan, boys collect them, and keep them for a few weeks, feeding them and making them fight other boy's beetles. After the few weeks are up, they let them go.







We got home at around noon. As we were going back in, Mori invited me to his house for dinner. He came and picked me up (on foot, carrying his skateboard) and we walked to his house. On the way he pointed out some local landmarks: "This shop is so fucking expensive." He would say, or "Fucking nice house, man."

We got to his house and I met his mother, sister, three dogs and two cats. The dogs were well trained, and at one point I realized they understood more Japanese than I did. The meal was delicious, we had Snapper sashimi, yaki soba, chicken, tofu, and egg salad. Mori and his sister translated for me, and at the end of the night I was invited back out for night fishing. I don't know when I'll go, but I'm looking forward to it.

I've still got to do Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but it's time to go home and apparently there's another festival tonight at the beach. Tomorrow, then.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 at 3:37 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.