tokyo islands

One translation job I did last year was a pamphlet showcasing several of the Tokyo Islands. Tokyo has over 200 islands under its jurisdiction, and the main ones are trying to get better known as tourist destinations, hence the need for an English pamphlet.

Once I finished the pamphlet and it was published, the semi-governmental entity overseeing the islands decided to invite press and public affairs people from foreign organizations to tour certain islands free of charge, hoping they would publicize them. I was tasked with recruiting English-speaking foreigners.

Once I got enough people recruited, the powers that be decided I could go along on two of the three tours. The first tour was at the end of November and went to Shikinejima and Niijima. Here are some of the (iPhone=low quality) pictures.

Our boat was a jet ferry fitted with Boeing engines. This goofy-looking vessel went fast enough that the waves weren't very noticeable, and something felt cool about kicking cargo ships' butts through Tokyo Bay.

One of the first places we went on Shikinejima. The island is really small and quiet. While I'm sure the people we met were the ones most interested in giving a good impression, the locals seemed genuinely cool.

This beach is cool because it's interspersed with hot springs--hot springs that will either heat and heal you or boil you, depending on the tides.

This outdoor hot spring is free, and the locals all come out to soak in the evening. At night the stars and waves are pretty amazing.

My room. The minshuku (pretty much a bed and breakfast) where I stayed would cost $50 a night or so.

Dinner

This fellow owns a little minshuku and is sort of the ambassador for Shikinejima. He has been on TV shows and things about the island. He invited me to get up an hour early so he could show me the best beach hot springs (meaning those that wouldn't boil me).

Habushiura Beach in Niijima.

A vat of unadulterated putrescence called kusaya. This food is fish soaked in a foul-smelling fluid and then baked. It's surprisingly good.

Cutting fish open amid a smell that could only come from Satan's bottom? I'll rank this among the less pleasant jobs I've seen.

The islands used to be where political dissidents and criminals were sent from Tokyo, and this cemetery is where some of them are laid to rest.

The people on the islands seemed a few decades behind Tokyo people, in a very good way.