Category: Japan 2005

I’m back! And a dolphin trip to boot! IMAGE: #040 Mituhoshishakure showing off a young calf to the adoring crowd

So yes, the ferry was cancelled! After dropping off the poisonous gas enthusiasts at Miyake-jima, our little ferry sailed right on by Mikura and on to Hachijo-jima. The weather was terrible again some more, so the captain decided not to dock. Ugh! I knew I was in for a long day. Most likely we would go back from Hachijo to Tokyo since the weather was not improving. Then from Tokyo back to Mikura for another attempt.

Back on the ferry – where I could be for a long long time IMAGE: My new home?

The final leg of my journey back to Mikura has commenced. I am waiting here in Tokyo for my ferry out to the Izu islands, including Mikura. I’ve been informed that the weather is terrible out by Mikura, so the chances are pretty good that the ferry will be cancelled by the time our ferry approaches the island tomorrow morning –so we won’t be able to dock.

Justin’s mysterious adventures  Image from the Danish Film Institute website http://www.dfi.dk/dfi/english/featurefilms/702.htm

So I’ve been gone from Mikura for almost a week now, and I am ready to get back in the water with some dolphins! I took a short trip over to Ireland to record my voice for an animated movie currently in production. It was rather unfortunate that I was on the other side of the earth when I got the call that I landed the part, but it was an opportunity not to be missed.

An excellent trip, and another run-in with a gang of subadult males IMAGE: A stunning Mikura sunset

Ichiro-sensei was kind enough to pick up some researchers for a quick dolphin trip after his usual Saturday morning tourist boat survey. It proved to be quite productive – we got some good shots of a group of mothers and their calves. #086 (Hamu-chan) and her calf Hamlet were there again – I am always glad to see them.

Quiz answers and some dolphin humor IMAGE: Post dolphin-collision – see below for explanation

First things first, here are the quiz results. Quick off the mark were two talented contestants: Miki and Avalon, both of whom I will award top honors for their answers for this quiz.

The answers are (and/or could be):

1.    The Orca or Killer Whale
2.    Maurice Wilkins
3.    Now this question was troublesome.

More bad weather means I only see dolphins on TV todayThe weather was weird again today – sometimes rainy, sometimes windy, but generally nasty. No boat, no dolphins, no fun. I worked on more video logs – only virtual dolphins to be seen today. I also swung by the school for a quick English class, which was a lot of fun (as usual)!

So since I have nothing super interesting to write about for today, I will provide you (the loyal field report readers) with a mystery quiz! Here goes – five questions in total.

Ferry cancelled, dolphin boats cancelled, everything cancelled IMAGE: A picture of Henk the giant spider who lives in our bathroom

It had to happen eventually – the weather finally turned nasty. Wind wind and more wind. The water was way too rough for any boating activity, so everyone stayed indoors. This gave me the chance to tackle the mountain of video logs that have been piling up. Again, not glamorous, but very much needed. I also squeezed in an evening of badminton.

Mikura dolphins were in the mood today IMAGE: Picture 1 is of #404 (Ketsushakure) with her head buried in some Tosaka, looking for fish.

This might just have been the coolest trip ever! Another rainy cloudy morning yada yada yada… you know the story by now. Luckily, the waves were much calmer and the water was nice and warm. We did not see a whale shark, which was unlucky, but we did stumble across a dolphin love-in.

Mostly successful boat trip with the biggest wave ever! IMAGE: Hang up your boots – the sun is back!

Another boat trip this morning! My streak of trips continues… 10 days and counting.

It was raining again this morning (big surprise), but the sun actually came out in the afternoon much to my delight! I had actually forgotten what it looked like, and I had to have one of the local kids explain to me what the funny orange ball in the sky was.

A very long but productive day. IMAGE: Ketsushakure and Iganii; dolphin bouncers.

We were lucky enough to get out on the water with Ichiro-sensei again today. This trip was three and a half hours! A mammoth! We ran across a huge group of females with calves, including #064 (Yakedo-chan) who appeared to have a very young calf at her side. So teeny-weenie-tiny-ultra-small that it must not be more than a few days old. #404 (Ketsushakure) and #353 (Iganii) were really interested in the camera today.