Funky Tour of Iruba-Jima

Later on our first afternoon two more guests arrived. A pianist in her 80's and her adult pianist daughter.

The next day Raito-San took us all on a tour of the island. He used in small pick-up truck with a pallet in the back to sit on and since there were so many of us and we had a car we followed him. Now back home people sitting in the back of a pick-up at speed is a no-no, but then no one wore seat belts or used infant car seats in the islands.















We went by pretty beaches at low tide until we got to a small parking area where there was a board walk.

It looked like a moonscape. I imagine the rock to have originally been volcanic with a mix of limestone from the coral which eventually washed away from acid rain and left this really weird black, sharp pockmarked rock.

As we approached our goal we saw the first of the seawater filled caves.  Of course there was a fence.

When  we got to the end of the board walk our guide handed out gloves to everyone who wanted to hop the fence and go down to the cave.

You can just make out the scuba divers in the cave we are heading to.




















In order to make our way down we had to go into a small cave ourselves that led to the larger one.
I was apprehensive.

The person behind me

Looking back to the small entrance

Getting closer

Now we can talk to the divers.

Afterwards we visited some beaches

Then we went to what seemed like an abandoned UFO but it turned out to be in the shape of a seagull. It looked abandoned as much does on the island. Lots of wind and salt contribute to rust and stains. However the bathroom had running water so it couldn't be to bad.

These are the views from the "seagull". You can see the bridge they are building which will obsolete the ferries in just two years.

It was an exciting day but there was more in store for tomorrow.

Birafuya Addendum

I forgot to say I learned how they cook fish on Irabu island.
Watch the video

Birafuya Guest House on Irabu-Jima

A light rain was falling as I walked into our new guest house in the early afternoon. It was a bit of a shock. I turned to Eriko and whispered "we've found the hippies!" Every person there looked like they belonged in San Francisco during the late 60's except for the tall guy with dreads and wearing Jamaican colours, though he fit right in long hair and all.

The place was really cool. Artful in its' details. Warm with touches of colour. The people really inviting.

This is the guy who was/is building everything including making the doors. His name is Raita-San. He used a hand drill to decorate the steps behind him. The pattern forms a tree.

This is his partner, Aiya-san. She is in charge of guests.

I tried to convey a sense of the place by focusing on details rather than a large view.

In the kitchen you can buy either brown or white rice by the cup which is great for travellers. Eriko and I prefer to cook rather then eat out all the time. The quality is better plus we save money.

The bath/toilet facilities along with the laundry are outside and very clean. I really enjoyed the shower while looking out the window at the lush surroundings. No picture of that moment.

Construction is on going and everything is done by hand often with re-cyled materials.

                                                                                                     

Like all good things there is a reverse side. Here they also do not believe in screens over the windows. The mosquitos had a good time.

At night large rats would invade the kitchen knocking over tins. With them and the rats there seemed to be fleas. As usual Emma was the target. This picture was after the first night. It got worse on her face as well as both arms and legs.

As odd as it seems we miss this place.

Raita-San took us on a free tour of the island on our second day, he was a good guide. Next I'll show those pictures.

Ferry to Irabu-Jima

We rented a small Suzuki boxy wagon. An amazing 2 stroke car with AC, GPS, that holds 40 L. of gas. Our plan was to take the ferry in the morning to the next island. A 25 minute ride. When we awoke it was raining lightly and windy as usual. I don't think there was a day during our southern sojourn that the wind wasn't around 20 Knots, gusting to 30 and sometimes 40. When we got to the ferry they warned us the trip would be rough.

Emma and I went upstairs to the cabin just as the boat left port. The boat was moving so I could not take a still picture.

There was enough salt spray to hit the vehicles on the car deck.

This must be a regular affair because they were

ready with a large hose and spray nozzle for each

car.

Emma had been looking a little odd upstairs in the cabin so I went back to the car with her. As we were navigating our way across Irabu-Jima Emma suddenly tossed her cookies. Lucky for her I was busy trying unsuccessfully to catch what I could in my hands or I would have taken a picture to her lasting embarrassment.

I didn't know it yet but we were about to enter the 60's.

First Island Miyako-jima

We left our nice hotel in Kyoto and had no knowledge that we would soon miss such luxury. Our taxi took us to the bus terminal near the train station and there we took a bus for the long ride to the Kansai airport.

The bus ran along an elevated expressway over the city for over an hour, all the way to a bridge that led straight to the airport. It seemed designed for that one purpose.

The Airport itself seemed barely above sea level and is on a purpose built island. It was there that I discovered my favourite sweet potato ice cream was available. Yum!

Soon we were on the Boeing 777 heading south.

When we arrived at Miyako-Jima we were a little disappointed as the neighbourhood looked quite run down. The concrete was all stained in in some cases rust could be seen from re-bar. Gates were askew and the taxi driver was so slow he didn't show up on my camera. There were a few hints of flowers and an occasional well kept home. It was very 'Key West' like.

After the really slow taxi we found our way along some tortuous side streets to the guest house 'Hiraraya'.

Inside the guest house was a different story, at first. The room was really nice, the guests and owner really friendly and as we had arrived late they offered to share dinner with us which was really great as we were hungry, the kids were sleepy and it was now dark.

The downside we were to discover is that they don't believe in using mosquito screens on the windows. What they do is burn mosquito coils in every room including under the dining table. I am allergic to cigarette smoke as it makes it hard for me to breath, I found out the coils do the same thing with the added 'benefit' of a sore throat. The mosquitos bit us in any case. Emma fared the worse with Kaji second.

I walked around the neighbourhood with one of the guests, Yano-San. He brought me to an old shrine when the original islanders believed in nature worship.

I also saw a new shrine being built, probably Shinto. They were using story sticks. These are long flat sticks marked with the heights and lengths of walls and openings with out having to use a tape measure. This is a traditional boat building technique that I was surprised to see used for a building but since the shrines must conform to some norms it makes sense.

Emma was often taken care of by other guests which gave her parents a break. This person from Tokyo spent a lot of time with Emma playing at making food with the bits of coral rock.

We also had some reservations about the bathroom. The shower was an empty space in the laundry room by an open window which was another mosquito expressway. There was no standard Japanese bath nor did it seem there was one in the surroundings.

Still we enjoyed Hiraraya, the people and the island style.

We rented a small car for the ride on the ferry to the next island where there was no public transport and the price of taxi service would be more than the $30 for the rental. We were looking forward to a change.