siratake

siratake1, originally uploaded by vibromama.

Shiratake ('White peak') has cliffs of white rock armoring its summit, and a primeval forest is preserved on its slopes. It was a pleasant hike and the view from the top was wonderful. However a 20-knot northeast wind was blowing on the summit and huge waves crashing into the rocks on the east coast were visible through our pocket telescope.

The wind was calming down by late afternoon when we returned to our boats, and we put in and headed west again. About 2 hours later, we were at Karasu-zaki, the northwest gate of Asou-wan, and entered the open sea once more just as the sun was setting. Aiming to camp at Ikeda beach just around the corner, we were surprised to learn in the quickly gathering darkness that the beach was actually composed of large boulders and concrete tetra pods, and thus was completely unsuitable for camping or even landing. However, we soon found a gravelly spot to land and an OK spot to camp by the road on top of the seawall. Later, the error in our research became obvious: Ikeda beach is not known for swimming, but rather for a stone wall that had been since a very long time ago, keeping back the frequently violent sea.