Snorkeling, fishing, and beaches, oh my!

With the arrival of spring I got a few opportunities to enjoy the beautiful beaches and marine life here in Setouchi. On Wednesday, April 5th, some friends, some friends of friends, and I gathered on the Koniya dock and waited for our guide for the day. The plan was to eventually make our way to the backside of Kakeroma, fishing and snorkeling along the way, before coming back to Koniya.

As we sailed west out of Oshima Strait separating Amami from Kakeroma we tried to go whale watching, but since peak season is in the winter, we didn't end up seeing any, although we did hear a few sing through the underwater mic we had on board.

Soon it was time for lunch. Some of the more skilled fishermen and women among our group caught a bucketfull of various fish, keeping the bigger ones and letting the smaller ones go. Our guide docked the boat on Yoro (the island west of Ukejima on the map above), and we all got out to get a bit of solid land under our feet again.

Miso Soup!

Mizuno-san preparing sashimi

My friend Mizuno-san, who runs an amazing restaurant in Koniya, got to work making miso soup with the fish we caught, and put another one of our group members to work de-scaling the fish. The biggest one was to be prepared as sashimi, and the others tossed into the soup. Paired with some pre-made onigiri, it was the freshest meal I've ever had in my life.

When we were finished, we changed into wetsuits for snorkeling. The water temperature was still too cold to go in with only swimsuits, and was cold even with wetsuits, but everyone got used to it quickly. The clouds were clearing around this time too, so having the sun out helped.

Hanmya island

Our last main stop was Hanmya island, a tiny uninhabited island between Ukejima and Yoroshima whose main attraction is a large sandy slope, about 60 meters from bottom to top. The island has no dock, so we had to swim to shore. Apparently climbing the sand slope is a must for visitors, but it was particularly challenging because the sand was completely dry and difficult to get a purchase on. It also didn't help that the slope itself was about 40 degrees, so because of the angle and the loose sand, with each step you took you slid down about half of it. But all of us made it up eventually, where we sat and enjoyed the sunshine before running back down and swimming back to the boat.

On the way back to Koniya I saw a flying fish, but I was unable to snap a picture of it before it disappeared under the surface again.

Barbecue over a campfire. Delicious!

Setting off sparklers at night

That evening the same group (plus/minus a few people) went to a small campsite in Sumiyo town to barbecue, set off sparklers, and stay the night. Mr. Mizuno had prepared a lot of food and by the time we finished everyone was stuffed! Thus a long day ended with good company.