Inland seas 内海

The eastern side of Amakusa is characterized by inland seas with small rounded islands covered with lush vegetation. The islands act as a natural wind barrier leaving the water glass smooth on the leeward side. There is a slight similarity to the landscape in Canada's Northern Ontario, where lakes are dotted with small islands.
小さな円っぽい青々した島々は天草の東側の内海の特徴です。これは湖が多い北部カナダのオンタリオ州の地形と少し似ているので懐かしい感じがします。


This interesting 22km tour was made possible by spotting a car at the destination point (Tate Beach).  It weaves a path between small uninhabited islands; landing on any of these is convenient since the shorelines are gentle.  The final 5km crossing of Hachiman Strait rounds out the trip.  The strait is a bit tricky due to rather strong currents and the shipping route - the latter requires an alert approach due to the nearby turning points and because the ships tend to shortcut the official route.  We encountered the freighter, or rather it encountered us, almost a kilometer off route.
今日のツアー出発前に新和町の立海水浴場で車一台を置いておきました。そうする事によってこの22キロの片道のツアーが楽に出来ます。

A ruined house on stilts in the sea.  It used to be a fisherman's home; an art film (Monshen) was even shot here just before the roof caved in. At low tide, the sea recedes to reveal a small island. Yet this unique and scenic place is destined for a pathetic ending. Elsewhere in the world, it would probably be turned into a restaurant or some such tourist trap, but in Japan, I guess people would rather go to Disney World letting most of the true, fragile beauty of their heritage go to waste.
屋根が陥没する前にモンシェンと言う映画はこのビルで撮影されました。


Heading toward Kuroshima, we pass by the aptly named "Hadaka-se", which means 'naked rocks' in Japanese. Crowning the rocks is a beautiful banyan tree, already leafless in this dry autumn season.
裸瀬の上に立派なアコウの木があります。今年の秋は非常に乾燥していたのでもう葉が落ちました。


Beginning the final traverse (Hachinoshima, the northernmost point of Kagoshima Prefecture, is in the background).  The ever-present tidal currents have kicked up a bit of chop against the autumn breeze.
この写真の後ろの景色は鹿児島県の北端に位置している蜂ノ島です。最終地点への横断で海流と北風が打つかって波が出ている。



No day would be complete without a little excitement. The crossing of the Hachiman is only a mere 5km, but it contains a moderately busy shipping route. As we left Hachino-shima we first had to dodge an onslaught of speed boats, each passing close, perhaps to check us out. Next in the far distance I made out a miniscule white rectangle, which soon grew larger and larger, until we were looking at a freight ship heading straight for us. Perhaps buffeted by the currents, it kept weaving left and right, oblivious to our presence.  It was really hard to decide which way to go to effect an escape, and we changed tactics twice in the final ten minutes. In the end, the ship passed in front of us, but still nearly 1km short of the shipping route proper. We arrived at Tate Beach safely if a little frazzled.  By the way, that's not a giant squid attacking Rick, it's a piece driftwood he is hauling home for the aquarium.  Giant squids are rare in these parts.
何の刺激もない一日は物足りないでしょう。5キロの八幡瀬戸を横断するために航路を渡らなければならない。蜂ノ島から出て、いくつかのスピードボートを避けました。次は貨物船が現れました。航路が決まっているのに流れのせいか船が左右にうろうろしていた。どうやってこの船を避けるか悩んでいた。何回か作戦を変更して、最後に貨物船はやっと私たちの前を通り過ぎた、航路より１キロ外れ。私たちが立浜に着いた時は体より精神的に消耗していた。

ところでリックのカヤックの後ろでリックを攻撃にしている巨大なイカに似ている物体はただの流木です。：）