{"id":18,"date":"2015-08-20T02:25:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T02:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/?p=18"},"modified":"2020-04-02T06:25:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T06:25:14","slug":"superlatives-and-contrasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/20\/superlatives-and-contrasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Superlatives and Contrasts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tokyo was already one of the world\u2019s most populated cities way back when it was known as Edo\u2014a few centuries ago. At present, the greater metropolitan area is the most densely populated area on the planet with over 37 million last count. It could also be considered the largest city\u2026ever. The distance between the urban center and its most distant satellite is over 1,000km (660mi), but there\u2019s a lot of ocean in between. I refer of course to the tiny and remote extremity of the megalopolis, the Ogasawara Islands (administratively part of Tokyo). In 2013 the island chain enjoyed UNESCO World Heritage designation, as a place of \u201coutstanding universal value\u201d, one of four such locations in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only way to reach the \u201cGalapagos of Asia\u201d is by one boat, the Ogasawara Maru, which makes the voyage roughly once a week (http:\/\/www.ogasawarakaiun.co.jp\/english\/<\/a>). It takes a little over 25 hours in fair weather (each way) and considerably longer on rougher seas. If you are unaccustomed to traveling great distances by midsized boat at speed, it\u2019s kind of like being in a state of perpetual turbulence. However, the silver lining is two-fold; the constant rocking puts you to sleep like a baby in mother\u2019s arms, which makes the time pass much more quickly than you might imagine, and when you do get up for a stroll to the toilet or restaurant, you get to walk like an inebriate. Win! Both the toilets and restaurant are adequate, but I\u2019d recommend the numerous vending machines over the caf\u00e9. You can of course also bring pre-purchased food and drink onboard, which is not a bad idea, but not essential. For those who are susceptible to seasickness, two types of medicine are sold onboard to counter the effects, one for before, the other for after the onset of symptoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is certainly one of those trips where the journey is\nevery bit as important as the destination. I guess it should come as no\nsurprise that your fellow travelers are pretty interesting themselves. For this\ndistance, few opt for the old ways of travel. No airport? Pass. This is like\ngoing from Paris to Berlin by horse. Okay, it\u2019s not a junk\u2026that would truly be\nhardcore, but it\u2019s no cruise ship either. A middle-aged gentleman (oyaji<\/em>) I chatted with travels\nextensively and exclusively in Japan. He had completed the Shikoku Pilgrimage (88\ntemples) three times, and he reckons he\u2019s been to over 100 islands. A lady I\nmet had been to as many countries. There\u2019s a palpable sense of adventure here,\nnot just relaxing on a tropical beach, though (fortunately) there\u2019s that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re interested in diving, fishing, whale watching,\nswimming with dolphins, kayaking, going on night hikes to see bats (with red\nlights) and luminous mushrooms, or going on day hikes through anywhere not clearly\nmarked on the map, you\u2019ll need to arrange a guide. To ensure you\u2019re doing what\nyou want, when you want, at the best price, it\u2019s obviously best to book what\nyou can beforehand: http:\/\/www.ogasawaramura.com\/en\/<\/a>. There is also information available on the boat and at\nthe B-Ship tourist information center on the island (about 1000ft\/300m to your\nleft after disembarking).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The islands are (likely soon to be were) known in English as\nthe Bonin Islands, from the Japanese word bunin<\/em>,\nwhich is an old way of reading the Chinese characters for \u201cuninhabited\u201d. Though\nsome evidence suggests a prehistoric human presence on the island, they were\naptly named by the time a small group of Polynesian and European settlers arrived\nfrom the Kingdom of Hawaii and set up a small colony. They, along with their\ndescendants, were allowed to remain on the island after Japan sent its own\ngroup of settlers from Hachij\u014djima to formally claim the chain towards the end\nof the Edo Period. However, all inhabitants were relocated during the Second\nWorld War and the main island of Chichi-jima (Father Island) was used as a military\nbase. Some interesting remnants to that effect can still be seen throughout the\nisland, such as military tunnels, air raid shelters, artillery, and even a torpedoed\nship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For those who have either a Japanese or international driver\nlicense, renting a motorbike is a fun and easy way to get around the island.\nOtherwise, both electric and regular bicycles are available to rent at roughly\ndouble the going rate of more conveniently reached locations, but still well worth\nit. There\u2019s also a community bus that departs once every 60-90 minutes and connects\nthe main village of \u014cmura and Futami Port (where the Ogasawara Maru docks) in\nthe north with Kominato Beach in the south, passing by a couple great beaches\nand viewpoints along the way. The entire journey takes a mere twenty minutes and\nis good fun, as all drivers seem to think they\u2019re in a Formula One car racing\nfor pole position. Fares are \u00a5200, and it\u2019s\nprobably best to forgo the unlimited use tickets as you\u2019d have to try really\nhard to get value out of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As previously\nmentioned, there are quite a few beautiful small beaches on the island, great\nfor a swim or snorkel, but take care not to drift too far from shore or you\u2019ll\nbe whisked away by the rapid currents and find yourself in deep ocean and\ntrouble quickly. Remember, you\u2019re basically on a space station. Most beaches\ncan easily be reached by bus and a short walk; a few on the east side of the\nisland will require more stamina and a guide. The most remote beach you can\nvisit without a guide is John Beach, a five-hour round trip hike from the last\nbus stop, Kominato Kaigan. If you are up for this, make sure you thoroughly\nclean your clothes and the soles of your shoes at the trailhead (equipment and instructions provided)\nto keep the fragile and unique ecosystem of the island free of contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty\nof restaurants to choose from in \u014cmura, with a surprising variety of cuisine.\nHeart Rock Caf\u00e9 has shark burgers; you can eat local sushi at Maruj\u014d, and if\nyou\u2019re planning to be out for the day, pick up a delicious and hearty bent\u014d at\nIsland Deli. Ogasawara is also one of the few places in the world where you can\ntry sea turtle, either stewed or raw. A number of izakaya such as Radford, Fuku\nChan, Jinbe-an, Charlie Brown, and Bar Creyon serve up the evening\nentertainment with homemade sides until midnight, or a little after, and are\ngood places to mingle with the locals and hear their stories. Shopping for\noriginal handicrafts and clothing is another fun and nice way of supporting the\nlocal economy, but beware of truly envious hours of operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The best\ncoffee is served take-away out of a cute trailer and can only be found\noff-island at Fuji Rock. It’s called 30’s because the proprietor opened the\nplace when he was 30 years of age. Fair enough. He said it might change to 40’s\nin 6 years. I hope it’s called Hundies one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only\nother inhabited island is the even smaller and quieter Haha-jima (Mother\nIsland) further to the south. The Hahajima Maru departs almost daily, and\nconnects Mother with Father in about two hours. The attractions are much the\nsame, albeit with less people, and prior reservations more of a necessity. Do\nalso be aware that boat schedules are subject to delays and cancellations\ndepending upon the weather, so give yourself a little buffer when planning your\nholiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the time\ncomes for your departure, it seems like the whole island shows up to wave\ngoodbye and quite a few ships will even follow you out to sea for a moving\nfarewell. But you\u2019re just going to another part of the city. Ah\u2026Tokyo, truly a\ncity of superlatives and contrasts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tokyo was already one of the world\u2019s most populated cities way back when it was known as Edo\u2014a few centuries ago. At present, the greater metropolitan area is the most densely populated area on the planet with over 37 million last count. It could also be considered the largest city\u2026ever. The distance between the urban […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[15,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":436,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions\/436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}