Voyage of the Good Ship Westward

 Weary of the unaccustomed bustle of busy Osaka, we took week-end flight to the nearest out-island reachable in a day—-small Ie Shima, located just south of  Himaji 40 miles to the west on a passage which took Westward beneath the Akasi Kaikyo Bridge (billed as “the world’s longest suspension span”) and into Japan’s fabled Inland Sea.

Ie Shima has a small, but busy, port which deeply penetrates the island’s rugged coast-line and shelters a fleet of small coastal vessels which haul rock & gravel from adjacent quarries to the numerous coastal land-fills (euphemistically called “reclamation projects“)—-an integrated (mining & shipping) enterprise which underwrites Ie Shima’s evident prosperity and, by which, Japan expands its limited resource of flat acreage for construction of  airports (Kansai International & Kobe), seaports, refineries, LNG storage, housing blocks, etc. 

Ie Shima harbor is home to a fleet of 250ft, house-aft, cargo vessels—-each with a crew of only three or four; the limitations of the harbor require that each returning ship drop a bow anchor, swing stern-to-the-quay, and raft-up to an adjacent sister-ship.  Each day brought continuous & noteworthy display of practiced seamanship & ship-handling skill by the small crews of these sturdy vessels.

Any remaining space in the small, steep-sided harbor was filled with small fishing vessels of all descriptions—–gill-net, purse-seine, Danish seine, single-rig & pair trawl, pot boats, sea-weed tenders, etc.  Westward was welcomed into moorage at a fish-boat basin for the duration our visit; we were there befriended by the local “cod-father” & seaweed cultivation czar—-whose family invited us into their home and hosted us for dinner at an excellent, small, family-run restaurant.  The friendship and hospitality that Westward engenders, stately & classic in these small ports, approaches overwhelming . . . . it is difficult to reciprocate to wonderful new friends, but we do our best.

We were content by day to wander Ie Shima’s Mediterranean-like shore, where narrow, meandering streets followed the contours of the shore & hillsides of this prosperous, welcoming & peaceful community.

But April fast approached, and with it Margot’s arrival in Japan, so we returned on the 1^st to Nishinomiya to secure Westward for ten days and catch a speedy “Bullet” train for the 2.5 hour ride to Tokyo—–where we found cherry blossoms in fullest bloom.

We’ve now enjoyed a wonderful, whirlwind four days in Tokyo: the Central Fish Market, Imperial Palace Gardens, Modern Art Museum, Meiji Shrine and grand reunions with business associates & friends, consistently delicious meals and varied & delightful shopping (despite the dollar’s impoverished state!).

We’re off to Nara tomorrow, then to Kyoto on Tuesday for two nights before returning to Westward in Nishinomiya; watch this space for further news!

Westward