Himeshima 4
18 August 2015 | Boat position at Himeshima harbor, Japan: 33 43.275'N; 131 38.825'E
Pam Lau
Picture: "Kwannon Bridge" shrine near the Northern end of Himeshima
Himeshima, which means "Princess Island" in Japanese, is famous for its production of tiger shrimps. We headed toward the shrimp farms on our bikes, thinking we might purchase some; however, the store at the farm was closed. Not to be disappointed, we followed a sign saying, "Kwannon Bridge" in Kanji, which is the same in Japanese as it is in Chinese. "Kwannon" is the Japanese counterpart of "Guanyin" in Chinese (Goddess of Mercy in the Buddhist faith). We parked our bikes and hiked up a knoll overlooking the sea. Then we followed a path along the crest toward the shrine on a cliff. When we got there we sat in shade of the shrine and feeling blessed that we have the opportunity to experience such beauty and tranquility. The shrine is built on a bluff consisting mainly of obsidian, a volcanic glass-like rock. Most obsidian is jet black but the color here is grayish to milky white, quite unusual.
We continued our bike tour of the island toward the lighthouse at the other end. Nearby stands an ancient stone building that is still used as a house and display room for a number of antique glass lighthouse lenses. The door to the building was originally very heavy because it was hung on huge iron hinges set into the stone with a lot of lead. The remains of the old hinges were replaced with modern ones supporting a smaller and lighter door. The lighthouse itself was made of stone but unfortunately locked so we couldn't go up.
Next stop was a nice hot bath at the local onsen (hot spring) after which we rode back to the boat and had dinner onboard. The evening, back on shore, was delightful with drumming, chanting and dancing. The drummer (different men taking turns) was on a small square stage while the performers danced around him in a circle. A man stood in front of the drummer and chanted into a microphone while two or three ladies stood nearby and chanted alternately with the man. The costumes and dances were unique, mostly humorous, and very interesting. Quite a few tourists were curious about our boat and our lifestyle. Many of them could speak some English. One man came aboard "Shuang Yu" and stayed with us during the show. He tried to explain about the function but we could not understand him very well. We appreciated his presence though. It was such good timing that we arrived on island during the festival. We felt lucky.