Machiyamaguchi River

matiyamaguti1, originally uploaded by vibromama.

The weather forecast called for calm seas this weekend, so we decided to get our act together and aim for the circumnavigation of the upper island of Amakusa (Kami shima).
Parking our car at work in downtown Hondo City, we paddled down the Machiyamaguchi River to the ocean. Heading northeast we paddled alongside the coast passing one village after another. Time seemed to race by as we got into the hypnotic rhythm of the paddling. In the afternoon a west breeze started kicking up surfable waves in the Shimabara Bay, which speeded up our progress.