Mikurajima

Between the first two camps of the summer my friend Emi and I slipped away to Mikurajima, a tiny island south of Tokyo. Mikurajima is known for the 200 or so dolphins that live in the surrounding ocean, wild but completely unafraid of humans. I was busy at the time and really needed some rest, but our departure date, July 31st, was well-chosen as it was during the brief period before the jellyfish have arrived and after the water has warmed up enough to swim in without a wetsuit.

This was our second visit and I'll direct you to my Mikurajima Dolphins post from two years ago for more information about the island.

 

The simplest way to get there from Tokyo is by night ferry (although it is connected to other islands in the Izu Shoto chain by airplane and helicopter) which takes about eight hours. It's possible to get a full night's sleep on the way, but there are a few hours at each end of the journey with views good enough to stay awake for. In the picture above you can see how the heavily industrial strip of Tokyo Bay, so ugly by day, actually can look kind of nice.

Several hours later the sun was rising and we were there. There isn't much to do upon arrival except head straight to your hotel or minshuku (family run inn), where some visitors get ready for a morning dolphin swim and the rest try to get some sleep. We chose the latter option. 

At noon we woke up and headed out for lunch. We chose a brand new cafe, which when it opened became the third restaurant on the island (or fifth if you count the two bars). From the small menu we chose ashitaba udon, thin wheat noodles flavoured with ashitaba (a healthful herb from the Angelica family that the grows abundantly on the Izu Shoto islands). Served cold, topped with fresh ashitaba and iwanori seaweed and dipped in a cold soy-based broth, it was perfectly refreshing. We noticed they had gelato, a nice selection of souvenirs, and one of those complicated glass contraptions for making cold drip coffee, and vowed to come back the next day.

In the afternoon we headed out to meet the dolphins with Sirius Nature Tours, the same company we went with last time (and that Emi, who's been several times, always uses).

The captain, guide and six tourists headed out in a small boat and began circling the island, keeping an eye out for dolphins breaching. It took a while to find them but there was plenty to see in the meantime. The island itself is beautiful and the sea creatures were plenty active--several times we saw sea turtles at the surface of the water, and there were plenty of flying fish shooting about.

Once dolphins are spotted the captain has to make a guess as to which direction the dolphins are heading, then he brings the boat ahead to the spot he thinks the dolphins will pass. Then we get out, sliding gently into the water so as not to scare the dolphins away.

Sometimes the dolphins are nowhere to be found, having changed direction, and sometimes they pass by far below us or off in the distance without taking notice of us. It's impressive enough to see them pass, but they are so fast that they are gone before you know it.

When we are lucky we land right in the path and the dolphins will head straight to us, slowing down to check us out.

 

And sometimes a dolphin or two will come right up for a closer look. It's hard to describe the feeling of being within a metre of one of these amazing creatures, of swimming alongside them, of making eye contact; suffice to say it's damn cool. 

And although it feels like much longer, it rarely lasts more than a minute. And then they're off, swimming into the distance and leaving you dumbstruck.

They were much more curious and interactive than they were last visit, and I wonder if it was my shiny new waterproof camera that attracted them (I was empty handed last year), or my crappy new snorkel that blows bubbles underwater--it's actually really annoying to me but might have looked pretty cool from their point of view. But for whatever reason I got plenty of dolphin attention this time.

The tou  rs are supposed to last about an hour and a half (or two hours total including pick-up and drop-off at your lodgings) but I'm pretty sure each time we've gone with Sirius it's been longer. They clearly love what they do: the guide's delight at seeing the dolphins is obvious, although she goes out twice a day for much of the year. And this time the captain, who on previous tours had driven gently, noticed we were a brave bunch and treated us to some fancy boatwork, jumping over waves to catch some air and speeding us through narrow rocky outcrops. The thrill of the ride was almost worth the cost of the tour, especially for the two little boys who got to take over the controls on the way back.

Back on land there wasn't much to do except get ready for dinner. We were staying on Mikurajima's only hotel, Mikurasou, which has little to recommend it besides the view. I vastly preferred the Nishikawa, the minshuku we stayed at last time, but as we had booked this trip rather late we didn't have any choice but the hotel. Let that be a warning to you: Mikurijima's popularity is greater than its size, and it's best to book months in advance, especially in summer.

The food was pretty good though, if a little insubstantial. Our dinner was tako carpaccio (vinaigrette dressed octopus sashimi and sliced onions served over mizuna greens), cold tomato cream soup, and grilled shima aji (a type of horse mackerel) with summer vegetables. Rice was self serve and all-you-can-eat, and dessert was blueberry jelly.  

We had come on the second day of the island's four-day summer festival, and although we missed the fireworks and mikoshi (portable shrine) parade, we did get to see a bit of the fun. After the sun went down the local shrine was set up with lanterns, food stalls and a drumming stage and little by little the islanders stopped by to celebrate. We recognized lots of them but here they were no longer in tourism mode, and although we were made welcome this was very much an event for the locals. Still, Emi and I enjoyed some festival food and cheap shochu (a vodka-like liquor) while watching the local folks doing taiko drumming, dancing their version of bon-odori (the summer festival dance), and making merry.

The next morning we took another dolphin tour, this time with a different boat (Sirius was booked). I enjoyed it less, partly because of the aggressiveness of our five fellow tourists--I was bumped several times, kicked in the head once, and many of my pictures had more people than dolphins.

Still, we saw plenty of dolphins and I even got to play with a mother and baby (and looking at Emi's pictures it seems they spent some time with her too). They came right up close to me, close enough to touch (although touching the dolphins is strictly prohibited) and circled around me a few times, swimming ahead and then waiting for me to catch up before circling me again.

Although the baby stuck close to its mother's side, as all young dolphins do, it was interesting that it always stayed on the side closest to me--I would have expected to mother to keep her baby on my far side, for protection.

Was the mother trying to teach her child how to act around humans, or was she merely curious about me and knew I was safe enough that she didn't need to protect her baby? I'm not sure, but it was an amazing and moving experience and I'm glad they stopped to check me out.

When it was over we returned to the hotel, ate a late breakfast, and packed up. Arranging to have our bags to be brought down, we walked to the harbour, stopping at Fukumaru for a coffee and picking up some onigiri to eat on the ferry, some souvenirs and a gelato. The hotel and minshukus have pick up and drop off service, and upon arrival it's well appreciated, as the roads up to the village are steep. But it feels a bit odd to be whisked around the village by car without ever seeing anything, so we were looking forward to seeing the island and stretching our legs.

That's Emi up above with the festival grounds in the background. It was a nice walk, half on the road and half on a series of little paths and staircases that we hadn't noticed before, that snaked through people's gardens and offered some nice views. The gelato made it even nicer, and we got some envious looks from tourists being driven down to meet the ferry. This is the way we're going to do it from now on.

We took a few pictures on the dock before boarding the ferry, and between seeing Mikurajima fade into the distance and watching the sun set over Tokyo Bay we had a nap. And then suddenly the lights of the city were upon us and we were home.

 

 

See more pictures here (note that some of the pictures here and in the album were taken by Emi). For more posts about Mikurajima, see: 2006 visit, 2009 visit.

For more information about Mikurajima, see:

Mikurajima Information (Japanese page)

Mikurasou (Japanese page)
Rooms from 8500 yen per person, including dinner and breakfast (we paid 10,500 yen each for a twin western-style room)
No English spoken

Sirius Nature Tours (Japanese page)
7000 yen per tour, rental equipment available
Guide speaks Japanese only, captain can speak some English

JapanSoc it!

Comments

[mina]

How gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this amazing getaway!

[Carlyn]

AMY!!!!
Your mini vacation with Emi and the dolphins sounds wonderful!!!! ...and looks so exciting!!!!! Glad you had a good time.

[David]

I wonder if they have age minimums for these tours. I'll check the links later. These pictures of the island remind me of Enoshima, near Kamakura. I'll try to convince my in-laws to take us to Mikurajima next time.

[tokyoastrogirl]

Your photos are amazing. Looks like you had a nice trip!

[ferroever]

Oarsome!!

[Hayley]

What a fantastic trip. Glad you are back and posting again Amy, I've missed checking in with you.

[Tamakikat]

Fabulous photos, fabulous post. Notes taken. Will go.

TK

[David]

Too late. Aiko says she has already been to Mikurajima. She also said there is nothing to do on the island other than the dolphin tours. I mentioned that they now have gelato there, but it was not enough to sway her. Too bad.

[JoeInVegas]

You are a very good guide, the pictures nice as always and it does look like a nice time. Thanks.

[Robin]

What beautiful pictures! I've asked before but I'm gonna ask again; what kind of camera do you use? Even you far off shots look so vivid.

[Amy]

Thanks for the comments!

David, I think most tours have a minimum age of 5. From what I've heard the village has changed a lot in the past decade and there is now a little bit more to do now. But for sure the dolphin tours are the main event here and since you're only allowed to go out once a day there is quite a bit of downtime.

Thanks Robin! Most of these were taken with my Pentax Optio W30 (a few were taken with my friend's camera, no idea what type).

[Jacsy]

Hi! Wonderful entries you got here! Keep them coming. It's nice to know that a fellow gaijin is having a wonderful time in Japan, too. It's inspiring! ;)

[kagami]

Hello Amy!

I came across your blog and it captured me from the first glance! I am amazed! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I admire your interest in Japanese cuisine too and I am looking forward to your new posts.

Please keep up the good work. I hope you have a wonderful year 2009!

Best wishes,
Mila (born in Bulgaria, lived in Japan, now lives in England)