Kushiro

Position N 42 58.897. E 144 23.004

Well the remote post worked.  Not sure yet which sister to give the credit too.  They are both very busy right now so it was a hit or miss if they even saw it.  But one of them posted it from Michigan.  As neither live there we are not sure who it was.  But thanks!

Well, we arrived at about 11 last night in the very dark and very foggy.  We crept in barely moving as we could not see the walls and the entrance is quite narrow.  There were lights on the ends and that is what saved us, we could sort of make out the looms as we passed them.  Once in the harbor the fog thinned a bit so we could figure out the river and where to tie up.  This place looks very interesting and we are nice and snug in here.

Had a few issues on this trip, will check them out before we leave.  Next stop will be Alaska.  A boat turned around last year after leaving early but this year one boat has already left.

We  hope to spend a couple of days here.  There is a low that looks like it will be passing about that time so it will be constant weather checks for the next few days to get a feeling how the weather is behaving.

There are 6 yachts tied up here, all waiting to go to Alaska.  It is the most yachts that Kushiro had seen in recent years.

Midnight Position

Position  N 41 d 44.907  E 142 d 35.148

Well we are back out in the Pacific.  We left Hakodate at 0400 or roughly first light.  We are only heading as far as Kushiro and hope to get there with in the next 24 hours.  But we have had some minor trials on this trip not the least being contrary weather.  

Road Trip!

We have hired a car and are going to drive to Sapporo for a couple of days.  The car we hired is a Toyota Aqua which is the right hand drive version of Mom's new car.  We got a good deal on a real nice hotel in Sapporo.  It is about five and a half hours drive and supposed to be quite scenic.  We are going up one way and back another so hope we have a nice trip.  It is raining right now but supposed to clear up soon.

View From Window Of Our Hotel Room

We Have Hot Water

Our new hot water heater has arrived and has been installed.  We also spent the last few days converting the boat from mainly 240 vac to 120 vac.  A few hiccups on the way but the jobs are finished and had a hot shower after.  This doesn't sound so important but the high today was only 9 degrees Centigrade and that hot shower felt GREAT!

Hakodate

Position N 41 d 46.016
              E 140 d 42.990

We just arrived in Hakodate, Hokkaido.  First for us both.  Neither of us have been to Hokkaido before.  And we pulled in and tied up to a spot right in the center of all the tourists.  And a famous hamburger joint right behind us.  As we were tying up, the Japan Coast Guard arrived and we did our formalities.

We still had some nasty chop until about midnight but are very glad we left when we did.  Gale warnings forecast for all of Japan for the next few days and we feel pretty snug in here.  We were not going to stop in Hakodate but the Akita customs guy talked us into it and we are are now glad we did.

The water heater burst a leak right before we left Akita so a last minute panic ripping that out and bypassing all the hoses so we could have water and engine.  We need to order a new one from West Marine.  Wished it could have waited two more months but it is better now than in two weeks as we leave or worse, happen after we left and then lose a bunch of fresh water.

Sari Timur with Monkey Fist rafted up to her.  Taken from the burger restaurant 

Waiting a Day

We got up early this morning to check weather and get ready to leave.  The forecasts changed slightly  and the winds increased.  The winds are only 25, but from the direction we need to go for about 4-5 hours.  Then it will be beam seas.  And the temperature has dropped.  So though not terrible we would be miserable for most of the 30 hours we need to get to Hokkaido.  The forecasts tomorrow shows things a lot nicer.  Though we need to get moving soon, we delayed until tomorrow.  There are a couple of lows coming through mid week and we want to be tucked in before they hit.

Akita

Position  N 39 d 47.292
               E 140 d 02.249

We just arrived in Akita after an overnighter.  Customs and Coast Guard inspections and check in are over so it is settle down and see what is here and what the weather is like.  We have been told town is a far place.  Nice but we will have to mooch a ride from some one.  Or we could just stay here and sleep.  The marina is really nice but closed today.  will post more later.

More On Sadogashima

This was supposed to be posted on the fifth but the problems with internet can be extreme.

Well a low was scheduled to pass through yesterday.  So we took the opportunity to stay put.  First we filled up with diesel and lightened our wallets.  Having said that we were pleasantly surprised by the diesel price.  We were led to believe that prices were going to be more expensive but in fact it cost us only one yen more per litre than it did in Tannowa where we last filled up. 

We had many more pleasant chats with the locals being plunk in the middle of all the tourists we always had a couple of curious people to chat with.  We learned that Sado is a famous and formerly a wealthy place.  Gold and silver were mined here and it was a famous shipbuilding centre.  We were told now it was famous for its heritage sites, red Ibis, diving, bamboo carving, and what really peaked our interest pottery and sake.  We already knew that Niigata prefecture was famous for their rice and therefore their sake but what we didn’t know was Sado is the best known.  Their rice is supposed to be of the top most quality and as one of the people we talked to said also the water is very good.

So while we were out we stocked up with a few bottles went to a famous Soba restaurant and then buttoned down for the storm.  Today is Pauline’s birthday so some more sightseeing today.  We went to the old ship building part of the island.  It is a heritage site, with all the buildings dating back to the Edo period.  There was also a mock up of one of the traditional boats built here so we had a wander around it and the old museum.  It is off to Akita tomorrow.

Sadogashima (Ogi Town)

Position. N 37 48.870. E 138 16.827

Well we just did a three night passage.  I forgot to clear it with my sisters to figure out who wanted to do our position updates so sorry no positions enroute.  Hopefully will rectify that on next leg.  Good news is the transmission was truly tried and tested.  We motored the whole time nearly 78 hours.  We had the main up helping us when the occasional catspaw came around.  But basically it was a slog north.

We have not explored here yet but because of Golden Week it seems everyone is festive.  There are some funny wooden tubs that some ladies in funny costumes are rowing visitors around in.  Plus boat rides are going out every few minutes.

Zoom up to see the tubs and crew