Tuesday 5 October 2010

We have arrived in Japan

Hi All,
We’ve arrived safely in Japan. We have been travelling for over 24 hours and we are shattered. What were the chances of Japan and the UK announcing a terror alert the same time we fly for the first time in 20 years???  Well they did and it resulted in very slow moving queues at immigration. I know it’s right to put safety first but I was tired and I‘d eaten too much aeroplane food… then the car hire company had a problem getting our hotel into the sat nav, and the toll road… well let me just say next time someone holds up a queue of cars I’ll empathise a little more with their plight. We get to the hotel room, drop our bags …and …well, I’ve never seen  kettle this one before and there are no instructions….but we have worked it out and I’ve had my caffeine fix. The small Japanese bath is really comfortable (but then I am only 5ft 2”) and I’m relaxing.

Ooops, just remembered, in the eyes of some Japanese John and I are terrorists for just supporting Sea Shepherd. 

 I was having a moment earlier today (lots of time to think) and I was questioning what use I’d be in Taiji.  I was thinking should I just have donated the money this is costing us….I’m not comfortable with confrontation. John on the other hand is. Here in Britain gill netting is legal with a licence. We hate it….The tight 50mm mesh kills everything it traps although the netters (I wont use the word fishermen) might only be interested in one species, usually bass of any size. We have seen the mess netting leaves behind. We have cleared washed up nets from the beaches, and even put on our scuba gear to cut free nets that have been abandoned to float with the tides killing again… and again.. and again. I can’t begin to describe the smell of them filled with fish and crabs at various levels of decay.

So when we see gill netters putting out the nets John enjoys nothing more than walking up and taking a few photos. They swear at us and I feel scared (our soft golden retrievers wouldn’t help us if even if we needed it). I know this is only a fraction of the hostility I might have to face in Taiji,  but it’s still in essence the same situation … men doing a job they cannot be proud of and feeling shame when people watch them.

I’ve had people take photos of me when I’m litter picking on the beach and asking me if I’m “on tag” lol but at no time did I want to swear at them…. maybe because I’m not ashamed , because stopping the rubbish washing back into our oceans is a good thing to do.

Ok mini crisis over.. Dolphins we’re on our way…we'll be with you tomorrow...
For the Oceans, with Sea Shepherd, … our little bit..
Jackie

1 comment:

  1. Good luck in hope it is not too distressing in Taiji

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