Log

WE did it! With the help of others I windsurfed round the four main islands of Japan. For the final hops the weather and sailing conditions were glorious. The planning - from beginning to end - was last minute but somehow everything fell into place: 14 months after departing from Onjuku beach, I landed there again to reunite with Paul, Shizu, Aika and Eurika. To mark the spot "WELCOME HOME JONO" had been drawn in the sand. Alongside that stood Yumiko - beaming - and her presence made the welcome party complete.

Much of this journey has been a fight against wind and tide. Just a week ago, it seemed that I was at least three weeks away from closing the loop of the circumnavigation. A double dose of typhoons could easily have prevented completion. In actuality, I got lucky with the weather. A string of days with settled weather and kind south-westerly winds set up a trio of crossings that now puts me one short hop away from Onjuku, where the journey began.

No movement for a few days as we let big seas calm down. Before that I had a very satisfying trio of days.

Groundhog Day section. Wind is a distant memory. Every day since forever is paddled in part or in full. Trickles of breeze come and go, and are almost always on the nose. I no longer stow the paddle, since it will soon be needed again.

A great run yesterday down to Kushimoto, the southernmost tip of Wakayama Prefecture. This comes after 2-days-previous when I only made 4 nm, before nearby thunderstorms and my own tiredness advised as early stop; and yesterday when I put the hours in, but the very light headwinds limited progress to about 9 nm.

Lots of paddling lately. The last bit of wind was before a rainy rest day at Kochi City. Kochi sits in the middle of a roughly 150 km wide semicircular bay. The east side of the bay runs out along a peninsular - Cape Muroto - that juts out into the Pacific Ocean and is triangular and pointed like a shark's tooth.

We are overdue a catch-up. Here goes...

As with my previous windsurf journeys, the Japan Journey website features a Contact Network where people can offer to support me when I reach them. Around Britain and Europe, there were many subscribers to the Contact Networks and I relied heavily on their support. The Japan Journey Contact Network - by way of contrast - has only attracted a few generous-hearted subscribers. The previous of these in a geographical sense was Rob, who is in Hokkaido!

The Kyushu mainland was shrouded in fog when I emerged from my tent this morning, but the islands and my peninsula - pushing out into the Bungo Strait - were enjoying a sunrise with broken cloud and good visibility. This enabled an early getaway and I was sailing by 6 AM. The mountains of Kyushu had now faded from the horizon but would soon reappear.

Yesterday, proper SUP paddling for 12 nm on a calm sea. The last miles were behind an island where I could relax. I took some video of the fish because it was drier underwater. The other pic is from a few days ago.

Today started foggy. It's an OK day now but remains windless. I could paddle, but prefer to wait because of the excellent facilities here: a konbini, with a covered outside area, wifi and charging points. It makes no sense to paddle a few miles and lose these conveniences, especially when there is supposed to be some wind tomorrow.

Sunday

Very light winds lately, and now rain too, which makes a day off a sensible option. That allows for recovery from air-rowing and paddling. Seeing the poor weather on the way I pushed hard yesterday, using a land breeze in the morning and then the faintest trickle of sea breezes through the afternoon. At best there was maybe 4 knots of wind. Thankfully, the sea was very calm. I passed 3 or 4 beaches and headlands that were well stocked with local surfers and paddleboarders.

While I dry out after a wet 24 hours, and instead of procrastinating about what to do today, I'll update on recent good progress.

The big news is that I got round Cape Sata. This is the southernmost tip of mainland Japan, at the end of the Ōsumi Peninsula which itself forms the east side of Kagoshima Bay.

No tracker movement for a few days as my permission to be in Japan needed a refresh. I made it to Korea with a day to spare, and met up with Yumiko (who was taking a well-earned break from work) in Seoul. Time flew, but we had fun and went up the Namsan Tower for a view of this immense metropolitan area, population 26 million. Mind-boggling that cities function at all, and even more impressive that they seem to function remarkably well.

From Nagasaki, where it rained a lot, I sail and paddle to make it round an outcrop and officially into the East China Sea. The next hop is a crossing of about 13 nm (25 km). Come midday, there is still no reliable wind, but I decide to head out in search of some. I struggle seaward, and about 3 nm from land finally find breeze. Through the middle of the crossing there is sufficient puff to tempt a more ambitious target. I recognise the trap and stick with my plan A: that being the fastest route to land.

Japan Sea to East China Sea

It depends upon who you ask whether this boundary has been crossed. Most reference sources would say that the west facing coast of Kyushu is on the East China Sea, but the authority I usually go with (International Hydrographic Organisation, Limits 1953) puts the boundary meeting the coast at Noma Saki (32°35′ N), at the southern tip of the Nishisonogi Peninsula, a few miles south of Nagasaki.

Some postcards from Honshu and Kyushu. Lots of support coming my way. At Kohaman port, I was particularly grateful to Hironori Arai-san for a lift to a konbini and provision of a shelter on a rainy night.

The following morning took me out to (yet) another impressive exposed headland. The steep slopes a patchwork of countless trees. So many trees... The different greens painted in blotches like an oil painting.