Miyakojima Island: A DSC Quick Guide
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| Who are you looking at? |
It’s only April and
already 2020 is turning into a year to forget. The Covid-19 virus is front and
centre in everyone’s mind with half the world’s population going into house
arrest, economies going bankrupt and every Tom, Dick and Harry coming up with designs
for new ventilators, which it turns out may not be the best way to treat
patients. Then there are journalists, politicians and academics the world over
systematically blaming China, Donald Trump and each other for the handling (or
lack of it) of the situation.
So, to try and take your
mind off the calamity unfolding outside of your window let’s take you back to
2019. You remember 2019, it was the year that journalists, politicians,
academics and media commentators the world over told us we’d all die of
starvation because of Brexit or that bearded Jihadis’ would brutally murder any
man who let their wife go shopping without covering their ankles first and of
course, it was all Donald Trumps fault. Oh and a certain Jeremy Corbyn would
become Prime Minister of the UK. We’ll give you a minute to stop laughing about
the last one….
In September 2019 we were
boarding a flight from Paris to Tokyo eagerly anticipating the thrills, spills
and crunching tackles of the Rugby World Cup. We would have loved to flown
direct from Heathrow but such was the draw to this particular tournament that
half of England, two thirds of Scotland and Ireland and seemingly the entire
population of Wales were heading in the same direction. Consequently flights
from the UK were either full or so expensive that we would have had to
re-mortgage our own homes and most of our neighbours ones as well. Fortunately the
French clearly believed their team had little or no chance of doing well in the
tournament and so flights out of France were bereft of rugby fanatics and
consequently very reasonably priced. At least that’s what we thought, turns out
the reason our flight was so reasonably priced and so bereft of rugby’s hordes
was because it was an Air France flight and no one it seems wanted to travel
Air France. Something we now fully understand. Air France has the hardest, most
uncomfortable seats you could imagine, the in-flight entertainment was
appalling, the food inedible and they only had one can of beer aboard which
apparently was being shared amongst the first-class passengers. We were offered
wine of course, but since we consider wine to be at best, a drink for old women
and children and at worst, even less appealing than badgers spit we declined
and settled down for a cramped, grumpy sleep.
Japan is a long, long,
long way when your buttocks are imprisoned in a seat that would make a spiked
railing feel comfy, but our aching behinds were forgotten when we finally
arrived in Tokyo. Fans from twenty nations mingled gleefully with the locals
sharing beer and jokes whilst bemused Americans wandered around the neon lit
streets wondering what on Earth was going on. The whole city throbbed with
expectation. Japan has been involved in the world’s greatest rugby tournament
from its inception but had only recently made its mark, having beaten the South
Africans (rugby royalty) with a last ditch try in the previous tournament in
2015. Now every citizen of Japan seemed to have donned the red and white
striped samurai shirt of the national team and confidence imbued by their teams
coming of age against the Springboks, felt they too could now discuss the finer
points of a rolling maul, line out plays and the need to earn the right to go
wide with their peers from England, Australia, New Zealand and of course South
Africa – all former world champions. Japan awaited, electric, primed, glory
really could be theirs. This was going to be a tournament to savour. However,
anyone who knows much about Japan would probably tell you that holding an
international sporting event in the middle of Typhoon season is not a very good
idea and they unfortunately would be proved right but that was in the future
and as the tournament progressed and Japan began dismantling reputations with
their fast and relentless style of rugby we took the opportunity to take a
break from the beers and funny shaped balls to head south to Japan’s version of
the Caribbean. We are the Dangerous Snorkelling Club after all and never miss
an opportunity to get wet on the outside as well as the inside. So we boarded a
flight to Okinawa and then onto Miyakojima.
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| Marine Garden |
Miyakojima is a green
jewel embedded in an azure sea. Its beaches are wide strokes of pristine white
sand and its waters are crystal clear. This at least, is what the tourist guff
will tell you and in normal times we are sure it is true. But we arrived on the
island between those two future typhoons that had suddenly loomed onto the
radar, the first having only just cleared the island as our plane touched down
at Miyako airport, the next was due to make landfall within forty eight hours.
So the air was dense, clammy and claustrophobic and the water would be murkier
than a Chinese government report but we’ve snorkelled in worse conditions and
Miyakojima boasts some of the best coral reefs in the world. So braced for
disappointment and yet keen to dive in we headed to the southern coastal resort
of Shigira. Japan can be a perplexing place at the best of times, its language
seems to hark back to the days of hieroglyphs and although the Japanese have developed
a taste for all things modern and electric they haven’t managed to master the
art of using a knife or fork yet. That said nothing could be more perplexing
than finding a colossal Bavarian castle smack bang in the centre of Shigira. To
make matters worse it's pink. And no, we weren’t drunk; there really is a giant
pink German castle in Shigira. It’s part of what’s called the Ueno German
Cultural Village and it was closed for the duration. Our first thoughts were a knee-jerk assumption that it was linked to Japan’s military past when they were
part of the Axis alliance but not wanting to upset the locals (Japan’s WW2
history is a sore point at the best of times) we avoided too many questions on
the subject. Turns out our assumptions were wrong and its existence is all down
to an act of heroism by the locals when they rescued survivors from a German
ship back in 1873. Read about it here.
There are many great spots
to go snorkelling in Miyako but in the short time we had on the Island we opted
for three spots we’d been told by the locals were the best. The first is
Yoshino beach located on the Island's Southeastern corner and a short drive from our base in Shigira. Yoshino beach is one of the most famous snorkelling spots on the
island. It sits beneath a precipitous cliff face and is reached by a steep,
winding road off highway 83. You can drive straight down to the beach but since
parking spaces at the bottom are limited it’s more prudent to park up at the
top and pay a few hundred Yen to use the shuttle service that operates from the
small diving shop. The beach is long enough to find a quiet space all to your
self and although the recent typhoon had done considerable damage to the reef,
the marine life was still there in abundance, including several green turtles
who patrolled the coral with languid strokes, our presence in their midst
prompting little more than the occasional nonchalant glance. Yoshino is a
spawning ground for the turtles and its shallow water and normally calm
conditions make it a great spot for snorkellers of all abilities but try to
arrive early if you want to see the turtles as they tend to drift away into the
deeper blue once the beach becomes crowded.
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Clown Fish
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The second spot is the
wonderful Nakanoshima beach on the western flank of Irabu Island located to the
North West of Miyako. Irabu Island is reached by driving over the Irabu-Ohashi
Bridge, a 3500 metre long undulation of steel and concrete that spans the
glistening waters between Irabu and Miyako. It is apparently; the longest
bridge in Japan and driving over it brought back memories of cruising over
7-mile-bridge in the Florida Keys. Nakanoshima (referred to by the locals as
Kayaffa beach) is a wide bay protected from large waves by the coral reef which
makes the waters relatively calm. Although we did find areas of the bay subject
to some strong currents so caution is recommended. The waters here abound with
clownfish, zipping in and out of large anemones, and puffer fish can be found
loitering in rocky crevices. There is a small shack located on the beach where
a local rents out oversized wetsuits to tourists but like all of the beaches we
visited amenities are limited. There are also no lifeguards on duty and the
island authorities lean towards the “your life, your responsibility” attitude
which we found quite refreshing. That said if you are a poor swimmer or have
never snorkelled before, stick close to shore and never go in the water alone.
On the way back to our
hotel we stopped off at a small bakery and experienced one of the most bemusing
incidents we had in Japan. We selected some sausage rolls, something’s that
looked like custard tarts and some cream buns. We then watched perplexed as the
cashier slowly and methodically wrapped each individual item in highly
decorated paper, taped them and then placed them into another bag, which was
then wrapped up again. The whole process took at least ten minutes and by the
time we had paid a large queue had formed behind us. We kid you not she wrapped
our cream buns up like a Christmas present. The result was typical Japanese
perfection, each item a delightful parcel of paper and tape, including a little
bow on some. The downside was all the cream was smeared over the inside of the
paper, which does tend to ruin your cream bun experience.
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| Puffer fish at Nakanoshima |
The third and last spot we
visited was the Imugya Marine Garden located on the edge of Shigira. The Marine
Garden boasts a unique eco-system due to the fact that natural spring water
bubbles up from the ocean floor to mix with the seawater. The waters here are
calm and sheltered, even in bad weather, making it a Mecca for snorkellers of
all abilities. We arrived just as the sun broke the horizon and spent a few
lazy hours amongst the corals. Anemones proliferate here, as do sea turtles and
the ubiquitous shoals of coral fish. It was a great way to the end the few
short days we had on the island and as the second Typhoon neared we packed our
bags and headed back to Tokyo for the final array of rugby matches.
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| Waiting for kick off |
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| Shinjuku, Tokyo |
As most know that second
Typhoon impacted Japan with a vengeance sending the country and the tournament
into chaos. Yet despite some bleating from Scottish quarters and the threat of
legal action, only a few games were actually abandoned. Scotland got to play
the hosts for a place in the quarter finals and no doubt regretted their
screams of “get the lawyers” as Japan not only weathered the early highland
charge, they blew it away with a series of devastating attacks that tore the
tartan defence to shreds and left Scottish dreams lying in tatters all over the
pitch. Japan went on to face South Africa in the quarterfinals, there would
however be no repeat of the 2015 glory. Despite endless and valiant attempts to
play the game at speed the South African’s were not going to be humiliated
again. In a brutal show of defensive strength they suffocated the life out of
the brave blossoms and Japan’s world cup was over. The South African display
against Japan should have made England, the other eventual finalists, take
notice, but sadly they appeared to have overlooked the tactics the Springboks
used. For despite putting on the most complete display any English rugby team
has produced in their demolition of New Zealand, England had no answer to the
South African’s stifling defence. England simply couldn’t cope with the
Springboks defensive precision or strangulating tackles and what should have
been a glorious free flowing game of rugby descended into a battle of brute
strength that only South Africa were ever going to win. South Africa took the
crown for a third time in their history (the first final they’d actually scored
a try in) and what for many fans was the greatest tournament ever in the
history of the world cup was over.
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| That is a bloody pink castle |
If you have no interest in
rugby then you’re probably not in the least bit interested in the excitement,
the thrills and the sheer unpredictability of the 2019 world cup. A tournament
in which the world order was over turned, reputations were made and reputations
were destroyed. New Zealand were beatable, England were superb and hapless in
equal measure, Wales failed to impress again as did Australia, Japan were
bewildering, phenomenal and a pleasure to watch and South Africa were brutal,
boring and immovable. Likewise if you have no interest in snorkelling then
there is no way we can make you feel the sheer exhilaration of diving beneath
the surface, of swimming over coral reefs and drifting alongside turtles. But
snorkelling and rugby aside if there is something we would implore you to take
from this post it’s this: Go to Japan. Yes the Japanese language is almost
incomprehensible and the failure to evolve the chopstick into a something that
resembles a fork can be frustrating and waiting for what seems eternity to have
your sticky buns wrapped up in tinsel defies logic, but these are small bug
bears. Japan is a nation that beguiles, bemuses and inspires in equal measure.
From the hustle and bustle of a crowded subway train and the neon seediness of
Tokyo nightlife to the sound of gentle waves creaming a coral sand beach, Japan
is series of mini adventures and we can’t recommend any of them highly enough.
Oh but don’t fly Air
France, your buttocks will never forgive you if you do.