Japan part 1

Japan.

Mt. Fugi.  Iconic symbol of Japan.  Or so I've been told.  Despite sailing past it 3 times we never  even caught a glimpse of it. Socked in with clouds every time we got close (stole this picture from the web)

Land of the rising sun. 

Well not so much anymore (more on that later). In August, it seemed like anywhere on earth other than Phoenix would be cooler and more tolerable. Boy was I wrong. The difference in weather between Phoenix and southern Japan in August is humidity (not temperature). Japan has lots of it in summer! 105 degrees at 90% humidity means you don't wander around for long outside.

Japanese are some of the most polite people in the world - once they let you in their country. Getting into Japan is not trivial.  You will have to produce a passport, have an in-person interview with customs agent (where they make sure you are scheduled to leave), have your fingerprints taken, and have your temperature checked. Temperature taking seems silly, however, this policy is credited for stopping the SARS virus. Today, immigration officials around the world are trying to use this technique to detect the Corona virus (doesn't work well).

Once they let you in the country they are happy to see you:

Harbor pilot boat pacing the ship after dropping of the pilot (at first I was worried he'd sprung a hydraulic fluid leak.)

Then I worried he was pumping out the holding tank for the heads

I'm guessing the crewman in charge of boat scrubbing absolutely HATES it when cruise ships arrive.

The greeter at the dock is your first clue that Japan may appear fairly westernized - but isn't.

No clue

Food

I was under the impression that Japanese eat loads of sushi.

Sushi is very labor intensive

Turns out, they don't. They eats lots of raw fish, but not that much sushi.  My impression is that sushi is a popular way to get Americans to enjoy raw fish.  Japanese need no such enticement.

One popular way to dine is to visit a large fish market. The stalls are individually owned and operated.

The way it works is that you buy a bowl of rice with a tray at one stall, then wander around shopping for the servings you like.

Fin of flatfish tasted like any other whitefish

Baby Kraken

Japanese spider crabs can grow to be huge (this mounted one was on display at a completely different location from the fish market above). One leg alone would feed two people. 

Spider crabs must be able to get along with each other and don't use their claws for fighting.  This claw would give you a good pinch but an American lobster the size of that crab would have claws big enough to rip your arm off.

This juvenile spider crab was not for sale 

They are kinda cute though

I was in heaven. The flying fish roe in Japan (the yellow clumps in the bowl) is even better than the stuff we get in the US (different species of flying fish)

You can also shop for take-home fishies:

Not recommended for the squeamish

I'm not entirely sure just what these were, much less how to prepare them.

These look kinda crunchy.  I'm guessing you have to marinate them for at least a couple weeks.

It would be unusual to find scallops in the shell in the US. Years ago my son and I had a salt water aquarium that we stocked with all kinds of strange critters.  Turns out the clams you buy in the grocery store are actually still alive.  We were able to bring them home and revive them in the tank.

This fish stall worker was my first introduction into just how polite Japanese are. After buying some fish I asked him (mostly pantomime) if he knew where to get a diet coke. I was hoping he would just point me in the right direction. To my surprise/chagrin, he dropped what he was doing and, with customers waiting, proceeded to wander around the large market looking for diet coke for me.

That's not coke milk. It's just a white plastic bottle, the coke itself was normal color/taste

Japanese prefer their seafood to be as fresh as possible.  One way to attract customers is to let them catch the meal themselves:

Calamari on the hoof

Snagged 'em!

Loved the hat

Even mom got in the act (the weird colorization is from the awning - the kids aren't actually sunburnt, or embarrassed)

Adding to the fun is that when the squid is pulled up it immediately squirts out water like a super-soaker. One nailed me from 2 stalls away.

The preparation was fascinating

At an outdoor market I came across an expert preparing uni (sea urchin)

Uni is one of the few sashimi varieties I don't like (and it's not from being stabbed by the damn things as a kid diving in southern California)

I wasn't the only one captivated by his skill and speed

Note the Styrofoam container. I'd be willing to bet these sea urchins were imported from Southern California. I've watched the scuba diver fishermen unload their catch each night at the Santa Barbara marina many times. The Japanese will pay a premium for them and it helps keep the sea urchins from over-running the California kelp forests.

Restaurants are always looking for ways to announce what the fresh catch is.

Outside this restaurant you can find signs for the seafood du jure rotating in a glass display

This information is facilitated by the way Japanese write (top to bottom). It wouldn't work as well in the US.

Fishing

Japanese are world class fishermen, but their boats and rigs will give you some insight into the Japanese psyche.

One tried and true method of fishing is to light up the water at night.  This is the preferred method for squid fishing, but other creatures will surface as well.  

The Japanese night fishing boats were floating museums of light bulb evolution. I believe these are old fashion incandescent.

Here we have LEDs

Here you have the most god-awful mess of lights I've ever seen.  The generator to run this collection is probably larger than the main engine that powers the boat itself. While there is some utility in having these many lights, I suspect that there is an ulterior motive - one-upping your neighbor. I came to this conclusion by counting the number of VHF radio antennas clamped to every available railing.  This boat had no less than 37 antennas.  That's absurd.  Not even Russian spy trawlers have that many antennas.

Low tech solution for those who can't afford a generator

These boat lights had nothing to do with fishing, but looked way cool.

Note the bulbous bow.

A bulbous bow is of use ONLY when it is submerged. As you can tell by where the red anti-fouling paint line is, this bow was never intended to be of value while underway.  It's strictly decorative. That being said, however, most of the fishing boats had the feature.

Some fish (swordfish, for example) loiter at the surface and can be harpooned. I wasn't able to reach a conclusion on the wires attached to the harpoon above.  They might have just been detachable barbs, however, I wondered if they were actually electrically charged to stun the catch immediately.

Possibly the most absurd piece of deck hardware ever mounted to a fishing vessel.  

On the subject of boating:

Coast Guard patrol boat

Check out the large sign board. I thought this was an innovative, usual feature for communication.

I may be wrong.  I'm not sure if the sign can scroll a message or not.

I have no idea when this ferry was built, but I'd bet it was designed around the time Star Wars was released.

One type of boat rarely seen in Japan are pleasure boats. For some reason, Japanese boating regulations are draconian. You can't just buy a small boat and go out toodling around.