Hike to the Port

As we were camping right on the shore in tents, we got woken up early by the sunlight. I was actually one of the first ones to wake up so I decided to lie down and wait for the others. As the day went by, we didn’t have any activities until dinner. I decided to go on a hike back to the port and the little town with my german and Japanese friend. I kept practicing my Japanese and learned a couple of words my Japanese friend taught me.

As we kept hiking the scenery from the island was magnificent. Just the view of the shore and the extension of the sea into the horizon made the trip worthwhile. The whole roundtrip hike took us about two hours. As we arrived at the port, we stopped at a local food place. They were selling different types of sea food like oysters and fried fish. You could see that these types of local foods were the diet of the island’s residents. In addition, these types of food places and restaurants were scarce. Aside from that place, we only encountered two other restaurants and their open hours were very limited.

Thus, as we continued, we encountered a resident and asked her for directions to the local shrine as we had gotten lost. To get to this shrine, we had to go up a hill, to which the scenery from the top was also mesmerizing. Afterwards, we rested on top of the hill and then decided to go back to the camp site. As we got there, I went to the tents and took a nap until it was time for dinner.

At Night

As I woke up from the nap, dinner preparations were being underway. I helped the other members get wood from the beach shore for a campfire we were going to make afterwards. Meanwhile, the campsite owner was cutting the big logs with a chainsaw and the girls from the group were preparing the curry for dinner.

After we ate, we made the campfire in another designated space and stayed socializing the rest of the time. It was indeed a very relaxing and unique experience. My Japanese skills were put to the test and in the process, I learned other words and expressions Japanese use.

The next day, we returned to mainland Japan and went to a traditional Japanese Sentou. This is the same style of baths to that of an Onsen, but is indoors. Afterwards, we went to Kobe, the other port city, and finished our adventure by having Okonomiyaki for dinner. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake which is made by mixing eggs with other ingredients such as meat and cabbage. In addition, it is topped with their own Okonomiyaki sauce and Mayonnaise.