The ferry was cancelled in the morning, leaving me concerned for the afternoon.
The return trip to Tokyo from Mikura was uneventful but very full of people. About 400 tourists returned from Hachijo Island and about 100 from Mikura. Today marked the end of a holiday weekend in Japan: Marine Day. That is, 19 July is “Umi no hi” – A day in celebration of the oceans. As far as I know, Japan is the only country to have a special day celebrating the oceans. The previous emperor was an avid amateur marine biologist. Though I watched for several hours, I did not see any dolphins or whales. I did take a short nap as the motion of the boat was gentle and caused a bit of sleepiness. Our arrival in Tokyo, after about a 6 hour ride, was uneventful and I was greeted by hot air. Tokyo temperatures are hotter than Mikura! I have a few days here to rest and visit with a couple of researcher friends. The weekend brings another visit to Enoshima for me to give a lecture and another workshop. It should be fun! I’ll keep you posted. In a day or two, I will post this year’s summary for data collection. Cheers Kathleen