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

Disasters in Japan

Image via Wikipedia

 Japan has many volcanoes, for example Mount Fuji and Mount Asahi.

Japan has many earthquakes too.

There was a huge earthquake at Tohoku on March 11, under the sea at 2:45 pm. People were at work and schools. After the earthquake a tsunami was produced and it was 10m high. The wave traveled very quickly and it hit the coast.

The tsunami broke a lot of buildings. About 27,000 people were killed, and many more people were injured. The people who were safe ran to the schools. About 500,000 people were made homeless.

Image via WikipediaThere is a fuel and food problem because everything is broken. There is also a bigger problem at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power station which had some explosions. For me it is very scary.

My dad went to Tohoku and he gave medicine to the survivors.

by Tomoro (11)

Let's do our bit, Luna family

I had an argument with my wife this afternoon & the "Well, what are you doing?" comment she dropped on me cut a raw nerve. All I am doing is gawping at the TV and trying to keep my eye on a couple of websites (IEAE, USGS, BBC World) and key words on twitter.

I've got a spare room in my house. Pack away the Hina Dolls. Move a few bags. For a family on the run in need of shelter, I think that would be enough for a while. Access to a hot bath, running water, kitchen & hot food, heating and a dry bed. Anybody else manage a spare room?

Shinshu JALT President Mark Brierley agreed with me that at the very least, this would be an offer we could make on behalf of our local teachers' organisation, confident that our membership will back us up. We have no idea what the response will be. We have made an open invitation that through Shinshu JALT we will provide accommodation to families in need of refuge. We may need to back up that offer.

Luna's family: if you are willing to take in a family, contact Jim or Yukari directly please. Who knows, you might get a lot of free English lessons.

Let's do our bit