Postcard from... Kata Bay, Mie coast, Japan

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to explore this lesser travelled road down to the south of Nagoya, south of the Ise Peninsula. I took R42 to get south, then bailed onto the more rural R311...slow, windy, and unforgivingly beautiful vistas around every corner. An absolute gem of a coastline road, demanding frequent jaw drops/stops for pictures, and checking the map for shrines and the like.

Asuka Shrine, Katacho

Asuke shrine was one such beauty spot; unassuming yet pristine a few yards from the shore of Kata Bay. Not far away, the fishing boats of Sonecho sat in tranquil waters as the summer heat & humidity drilled into the day. And I say 'tranquil' with a very big Japanese caveat - exactly a week later this whole coast was under tsunami alert following the huge earthquake off Kamchatka...on any coast in Japan you MUST be aware of your escape route (uphill!) and heed any warnings seriously. My trip would have stopped instantly had I ventured along this coast a week later - happy to report, there was not a tidal wave of note, and no damage reported.

Although steamingly hot, the blue skies reflected the azure sea; the inlets and bays are mostly natural (not the concrete monkey puzzles that blight Niigata's shoreline), alternating rocky headlands and forested scarps, with sandy beaches and tiny fishing ports. Ashamed to say, on this trip I was on camera safari with road to burn, not a culinary exploration (next time, when I slow down to tackle restaurants!).

Despite driving for hours, I barely saw a soul - and not a single influencer with a selfie stick :)

The beaches were bare, the rock pools inviting some snorkelling. Every single bay begging a go-slow vacation, reminding me a lot of the Tokushima coastline, south of the city itself. 

I was planning to blast along to see the shrines of Kumano - but decided they could wait for another day. This gorgeous day needed my full ocean-side attention. If you have the chance to drive this way, I couldn't recommend it more strongly. Don't be in a rush like me - stay local, go for a swim, and detox!

Sonecho fishing boats

Kajikacho fisherman's hut

Kata Bay

The Mutiny on the Bounty - Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. That is the British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. It consists of the four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno. They are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and the total land area is about 47 square kilometers (18 sq mi). Only Pitcairn, the second largest island is inhabited.

There are no inhabited islands 300km around. Why do people live in this solitary island far off in the ocean? The Bounty mutineers who are famous in the several movies serve as a trigger. The people in this island are the descendant of the sailors who took part in the mutiny of the Bounty.

Their religion is Christianity. All islanders are protestant of Seventh-day Adventist. Basically they don’t drink nor smoke. The alcohol and cigarette are sold in the government store which is only one convenience store and the Christian’s café which is only one café in the island but is thinly distributed.

There is a rule for the food, they don’t eat pork nor shrimp. This is because they are dedicated to their passion in the practicing Christianity. After the mutineer lived in the island, some of drunken islanders killed each other. The Adams who was the last person in the accident sought help from the Bible and the islanders have practiced hardly and don’t eat pork nor drink in the end.