Category Archives: Japan

Air & Water

As qualified sports divers we have experienced swimming with the fishes but that was a long time ago so we were delighted to come across an underwater observation tower where we could observe fish in their natural environment without having to don wet suits and breathing gear. Built to celebrate the local area becoming Japans first National Marine park in 1972 it is popular for snorkeling and scuba diving due to an impressive coral reef teeming with fish and other sea creatures.

Descending internal stairs we found ourselves seven metres below water in a large circular room with portholes at different levels all the way around. We were mesmerised by not only the variety of fish but the dramatic rock formations, corals and shellfish clinging to the rocks. People came and went but we were so captivated by the variety of fish and the constant ebb and flow of both individual fish and large shoals that we totally lost track of time. Another gem to store in the memory banks.

Walking back along the shoreline to the car park we began to appreciate why this area had been designated a marine park as the geology created a beautiful coastline that erosion by strong wind and waves had created interesting rock features in the approximately 5000-year-old sandstone

En route to the observatory we stopped off at a local war museum hoping to get an insight into Japans perspective of World War Two. However the whole museum was dedicated to a WW2 Japanese plane salvaged from the ocean with all its relevant parts and pictorial testimonials to some of Japans pilots who flew that type of plane. We came away thinking they had missed an opportunity to educate people more by not having a section that informed about Japans Pacific War at a national level.

Shinya Yoneda & family
Testimonial of Shinya Yoneda
At foot of plane the pile of colour is folded paper cranes symbolic of remembrance

Earth Celebration -Sado Island

What is the Earth Celebration event ?

Kodo is a taiko drumming group based on Sado island which began in 1981 and a major founding member was Toshio Kawauchi who wrote in a 1983 newsletter that he would like to see an event that becomes an experiment in strengthening the community ties of all the worlds inhabitants, and through a mutual understanding of the music establish a new Earth culture that brings people one step closer to a world where people can truly live as human beings. Thus was born the Earth Celebration festival and its aim is simply to deliver his vision that “Under a star filled summer night sky, with the beats of the drum carried far away on the oceans roar the sound of Gamelon and sacred Shinto music fills the air.

Having followed the Kodo drummers since we saw them way back in 1987 when they visited Sadler’s Wells we have long held a dream to see them perform at their annual celebration on their home territory on Sado Island and this trip around Japan was partly about making that dream come true

Having, months earlier, stayed up until the early hours Charles managed to secure tickets for the 2 main shows we wanted to see so the first thing we did on disembarking the ferry was to collect our tickets from the site box office. We then headed to our pre booked campsite next to the beach on the outskirts of the town.

Our first show was the evening of our arrival using the shuttle bus service laid on from the campsite we arrived in Ogi Port about an hour before the show admissions began which gave us an opportunity to browse the various craft and food stalls. The show featured the Kodo drummers accompanied by singers and dancers whom I am sure were telling a story but not speaking Japanese I can’t be sure.

We were lucky enough the following day to be treated to a personal appearance from one of the shows drummers at the campsite, it appeared that he was being awarded the official outfit of “Redlist” a community group who are part of the wider Kodo collective, who after the demonstration led a beach clean up. We were so pleased we had decided to have a lazy day on site.

Part of the 3 day festival involved lots of day time cultural events around the town including drum workshops for those eager to try taiko drumming. This was open to all ages even really young children who brilliantly gave it a go as the photos show.

The grand finale on the Sunday evening also included an accapello group from South Africa, What a show this was Kodo at their best the energy was palpable and to see two totally different cultures come together and perform as one I think Toshio Kamuchi’s would feel his dream had come true.

NB as an aside I wanted to share a bit of Japanese history unbeknown to me. As part of our stroll through the various stalls we were approached by one of a group campaigning to repatriate Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. The abduction of Japanese citizens took place over a six year period from 1977 to 1983 North Korea wanted them to train their spies in Japanese language and culture or to steal their identities so that their agents could masquerade as Japanese for espionage aimed mainly at South Korea. Although many have been abducted Japan has only identified seventeen.Since North Korea admitted abducting Japanese citizens in 2002 only five have been repatriated while discussions as to the whereabouts of the others are still ongoing. We were both shocked to hear yet it is still happening in various parts of the world and close to home we have the current situation between Russia and the Ukraine?