Miyako, Japan

There are days when we are sightseers, then there are days when we see God in God’s glory. Today was
the latter.

It’s Jen’s birthday and the day started on a celebratory note with a “Welcome to Miyako” on the dock as
we sailed in. A group of elementary students in costume with props, the town’s mayor, flag bearers,
and an entourage of parents and supporters enthusiastically welcomed us to their town. I tried to
attach a video along with photos, but it didn’t send. Apparently, the town gets only about 6-7 cruise
ships per year, so they are grateful for the economic boost.

First to note as we drove in our large tour bus was the 20-foot, thick wall that was built in 2011 after the
third (!) time the town had been demolished by a tsunami. Now there is a wall; yet due to fishermen
who protested of the lack of sight out onto the ocean, a set of windows was installed into the wall so
that they can look out and judge the sea prior to setting sail. Fishing is the main economy of this island.
We had a tour with about 40 others on a bus to see three different sites. The first was called
Jodogahama Beach, a long rocky shoreline with lovely volcanic rock jutting up in picturesque ways. We
drove toward the beach area, expecting to see a surfer area with roiling water. Nope. Instead, it was a
hand-sized rocky beach whose name means, literally Pure Land Beach. Pure coming from the Buddhist
idea of paradise, which is the true goal of each Buddhist believer: do good and go to heaven/paradise.
(Yup, “works righteousness” is everywhere) About 80% of Japanese are Buddhist, according to our
guide.

Our second destination was a chance to visit the above beach from the Pacific Ocean, on a fairly large
tourist catamaran, appropriately called the Pelican Boat. Why? The Japanese evidently enjoy feeding
the seagulls from the boat, therefore inviting a large number of the large greedy birds doing fly-bys
throughout the trip. Sigh. You’ll see some photos. Please feel sorry for us. Sigh.

As we drove between sites, our guide who spoke English well explained that their vehicle license plates
are in three colors to denote size, purpose, and tax levels: green for commercial vehicles, white for large
motored vehicles and yellow for small engine vehicles who paid half the tax for their car.

Our third spot to visit was a peaceful park up in some elevation on the volcanic island. Suddenly we
were driving in a narrow forest on a narrow road filled with hairpin turns to get to the top. What a
lovely view overlooking the town and the port. On our way, we passed the Taro (town) Tourist Hotel
which is now a monument showing the tsunami’s destruction to the first 3-4 floors of the hotel. On
March 11, 2011, a tsunami of over 17 meters, reaching to the 4 th floor. The tsunami was caused by a 9.0 earthquake. Approximately 18,500 people were killed by its aftermath as the flooding progressed about 6.2 miles inland. Highest level recorded by the waves was 133 ft.

We drove back to the ship and found food trucks and some local crafts and food spread out on the dock
in small booths. As we meandered toward them, a young Japanese man approached alongside a young
woman who had an interpreter badge on her blouse. She asked, for him, if we’d be willing to be
interviewed for their local newspaper. This type of Asian give-and-take is routine for us, so we went
back into Chinese mode to compliment and to share. Somehow it was important for him to know our
year of birth (so he can figure out how old we are). Jerry still has his requisite business card.

Yes, we celebrated Jen’s birthday. When we boarded the ship earlier this month, a bottle of champagne
welcomed us in our room. It’s been in our refrigerator for weeks, so we grabbed it as we swept out of
our room decked out in gown and tux to eat in the specialty Italian restaurant. There’s a nice grand
staircase on the 4 th floor, so we had some shots taken there beforehand. What a fun night!