Kappa Sightseeing Boat Oki Islands

 

The Kappa Sightseeing Boat operates three times a day for a one-hour-long scenic tour around the historic port area of Saigo on Dogo Island , Okinoshima, in the Sea of Japan off the north coast of mainland Shimane.

Tour participants meet at the Tourist Information Office near the ferry terminal, and a 5-minute walk through the back streets takes you to the jetty where you board the covered boats.

The boat first heads out to the narrow mouth of the sheltered inlet, where you can look back at the port and the high country in the middle of the island behind.

Some of the geologic features of the coast are pointed out by the guide, though the commentary is only in Japanese. 

The Oki Islands are a UNESCO Global Geopark, so geology is a well-covered topic throughout the islands with plenty of printed material and signs in English on it.

You may also catch sight of one of the huge car ferries or the high-speed passenger ferry coming or going.

 Before heading upriver, the boat makes a detour under the 260-meter-long Saigo Bridge, which carries traffic over to the island's only airport and to Shirataki Point, a favorite spot for sunset viewing.

After a few bends the river soon leaves the town behind and the banks are lined with reeds or trees. Here the guide points out a couple of the haunts of the Kappa, the mythological creature that is probably the best known yokai character in Japan and after whom the boat trip is named.

 Often translated into English as “water imp”, this green, scaly creature with a beak and turtle-like shell is known throughout Japan and is known for drowning horses and children. It really likes cucumber, so kappazushi, a kind of sushi made with cucumbers, is often left as offerings to appease it. At this point the guide sings a local folk song.

  After turning around the boat heads back and then takes the narrow channel that cuts through the middle of the old town. In some ways this is the most interesting part as the side by side houses literally come right down to the waters edge, with the older houses still with small jetties or steps down to the water. As you get closer to the port itself the sides of the river begin to fill with fishing boats.

  

Being an island, fishing has always been a major preoccupation with the inhabitants, but in earlier times the whole channel would have been a hive of activity because Saigo was a major trading port.

 Though much is made of the great roads built in the Edo period like the Tokaido or the Nakasendo, along which travelled the great entourages of daimyos travelling to Edo or the millions of pilgrims heading to Ise, it is worth remembering that Japan was basically a maritime nation, and the coasts and waterways carried much of the trade and communication.

  

Saigo Port was a stopping point on the Kitamaebune, a major trade route that ran from Hokkaido and the far north down the Japan Sea coast and then round into the Inland Sea to reach Osaka, the trading capital of the country. This was a safer and easier route than the shorter Pacific coast route, so this channel would have been filled with boats tying up, cargoes being tran-shipped, and supplies being taken onboard, and though not often mentioned, like ports everywhere in the world , there would have been brisk business for “female companionship”.

 To my mind this was the prettiest sightseeing boat ride in an urban setting. In recent years Ine in Kyoto has been heavily pushed as a tourist spot, but in my humble opinion, the area around Saijo is almost as good and not at all touristy.

The previous post in this series exploring the Oki Islands was on the Suijin Shrine right next to where the Kappa Boat is boarded.

Akiya Coast Ama Island

The Akiya Coast is a section of scenic coastline in the northwest of Ama Island.

Some of the inlets on the island are home to what I believe are oyster farms, though they could be another form of shellfish farming.

There are also numerous fishing harbours.

Like the rest of the Oki Islands, the sea is incredibly clean and clear, ideal for swimming, snorkelling, and diving.

Ama is the third-largest of the islands that make up the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan off the coast of mainland Shimane, four of which are inhabited.

Collectively the Oki Islands are a UNESCO Global Geopark and so there is lots of explanatory signboards, in English, of the volcanic geology you can see.

 The Akiya coastline is not quite as dramatic as some of the other sites like theKuniga Coast or Candle Rock, but is nonetheless picturesque, with views across to Dogo, the largest of the islands.

Apparently the site is being marketed as a "powaa supoto" for lovers as the offshore rock formation has an opening that is shaped like a heart when viewed from one end of the beach, and also because a nearby shrine has a myth of a goddess giving birth here.

The previous post in this series was on Tengawa no Mizu Spring.

Genbudo Caves

 

The Genbudo Caves are not really caves, but are nonetheless intriguing geological phenomena.

They are cliffs of basalt formed into columns. In the Edo Period local people began quarrying it for buildimg materials and created the openings in the cliff face.

Created about 1.6 million years ago, following a volcanic eruption the magma cooled causing cracks forming polygonal columns.

Different sections of the exposed cliffs have named after mythical creatures, Genbu, Seiryu, Byakko, and Suizaku.

The area is a registered National Natural Monument.

The site is also part of the Sanin-Kaigan UNESCO Global Geopark.

Genbudo Park is located on the bank of the Maruyama River in northern Hyogo, a few kilometers south of Kinosaki Onsen.

It has its own JR station, but on the opposite bank of the river which necessitates a short ferry crossing. The park has a modern museum and cafe with its own entry fee.

The previous post in this series on attractions of the Toyooka area was on Mugiwara Zaiku, the local straw craft.

The Undersea World of the Oki Islands

 

Shimane, on the coast of the Sea  of Japan has some fantastic clear seas and white sand beaches, and none better than around the Oki Islands about 20k-30k off the coast.

Long known as an excellent place for snorkelling and scuba diving, the sea is so clean that oysters caught here can be eaten fresh.

For those who can't snorkel or scuba dive, there is however another option, an undersea viewing boat.

The Amanbow is not a glass-bottomed boat, rather the hull has huge, picture windows, so passengers can sit in the middle and look out as if in an aquarium.

The boat leaves from Hishiura port on Ama Island, and heads out to view the Saburo Iwa Rocks, a group of rock pinnacles rising from the sea just off the coast.

Near the rocks the passengers then head below and look out into a surreal undersea forest of seaweed.

The crew meanwhile throw out food to attract fishes and soon they appear.

It is possible to imagine you are looking at what might be on your dinner table later that night. The seafood on the Oki's is superb.

The previous post in this series exploring the Oki Islands was on the Saburo Iwa Rocks.