Today we hiked to Nango to see the biggest tree in Japan
Today began early because the DRT team had a skype video chat with our families back at Pine Point. It was great to see everyone and share a bit of our trip. By far, our favorite event so far was the dolphin swim. (Side note from Kathleen: our DRTs are well trained, budding scientists and remembered several of the identified dolphins and saw new scars. They identified about half a dozen individual dolphins!)
The hike was 1 km each way with much uphill, downhill and some flat pathways. The tree was huge around. We could view it from a platform that was built to protect it from curious visitors.
The definition of a big tree in Japan is that it is 3m or larger in circumference. If that definition were applied on Mikura, then we would not have an accurate count of the trees of that size. So, the definition was modified to be 5m or larger, which yields 600 (!) large trees on Mikura alone.
The hike was the morning and the afternoon brought us to the Shinto Shrine on Mikura Island. The Viking’s capstan and anchor are next to the monument with the plaque dedicating the friendship between the crew of the Viking and the Mikura people. It was amazing to see and compare to our memories of the same plaque at New Bedford.
Tonight, we visit Yamaya, the island’s only restaurant.
Till tomorrow, cheers
The DRT team