Nov 20, 2012

大島で潮流体験 Tide Ride at Oshima Island

大島で潮流体験船に乗ることにしました。
このあたりは、島と島との狭い隙間を潮が満ち引きするため、潮が川のように流れたり、渦巻いたりするんです。

The tidal currents around Oshima Island is very fast.  It's because the tide has to come in and go out through the narrow gap between those small islands.  So, it sometimes flows like a fast river, and sometimes makes swirling whirlpools.

幸い私たちが大島に行ったのは大潮の日。
絶好の潮流体験日和です。\(^o^)/
朝のうちに電話で何時ころが一番いいかも確認。
やるからには、一番おもしろい時に行きたいですからね。

To experience this fast currents, we decided to take a boat at Oshima.
Luckily, the day we were there was the day of spring tide, and it means our boat ride would be even more exciting! \(^o^)/ 
I even called the boat house that morning and asked for the best time, to make sure it would be VERY exciting. 

言われたとおり、1時ころ宮窪瀬戸に到着。

So, we got there, at Miyakubo Seto at 1:00.
風が強く吹いていました。 It was windy.

 物産館兼魚食レストラン「能島水軍」。
ここで乗船券を買って待ちます。
(七輪で魚介バーベキューもできますよ。)  

This is where you buy your ticket and wait. 
    (If you want, you can have fish barbecue, too.)



  大漁旗が鮮やかです。 vivid tairyo-bata (fishing boat flags) on display

私たちの乗る船が乗り場に帰ってきました。大勢降りてきましたね。
Our boat came in.  A lot of passengers were getting off.


さて、次は私たちの番。
ところがにわかに空が暗くなったと思ったら、雷、雨、風の大荒れの天気。   ((+_+))

Now, it was our turn!
Then suddenly, the sky changed and here came a big thunderstorm!   ((+_+))
およそ30分近く待ちました。

でもありがたいことにお天気は落ち着き、船は出発。
すごくおもしろかったです。

We had to wait there for half an hour.

But it was OK.
It was worth it!


うず潮 whirlpool

まさに川のように流れていました。 Water flows like a river.



前方に見えるのは全長1230メートルの伯方・大島大橋。

Ahead is Hakata Oshima Ohashi (1230 meters).

橋を下から見上げて。bottom of the bridge.

村上水軍が拠点城郭能島城を築いた能島。
Nojima Island where the pirates, Murakami Suigun, built their castle

この辺りの潮流は最大で10ノットにもなります。9世紀ごろより、この海の難所で潮の流れや大小の島々を知り尽くした海賊が跳梁するようになりました。中でも強大だったのが14世紀から16世紀くらいまで瀬戸内海全域に影響を及ぼした「日本最大の海賊」と呼ばれる村上水軍です。船乗り場のすぐ前に村上水軍博物館があります。

Pirates flourished in this area from the 9th century.  This is because the fast currents, which get to 10 knots per hour, made it a dangerous sea for ordinary seamen.  Pirates knew the currents, coastlines, and every island. The most famous, the most powerful one is Murakami Suigun in 14~16 century.
You can learn about them at Murakami Suigun museum in front of the boathouse.   

さてこの急な潮の流れは魚をおいしくもします。
今治の友人が郷土料理「法楽焼き(ほうらくやき)」を作ってくれました。

This fast currents also make tasty fish.
Our friend in Imabari made their local cusine Horaku-yaki for us.

大きな鯛、海老、まつたけにさつまいも。そんな食材が黒い小石を並べたほうろくの上にのっています。
まさに絶品でした!

A big sea bream, shrimps, Matsutake mushrooms, and sweet potatoes on black pebbles in unglazed earthenware.
Do I need to tell you it was so delicious?  (^_-)


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10 comments:

Minoru Saito said...

こんばんは。 楽しそうですね。 新鮮な魚料理もとても美味しそうです。地元に知り合いの方がいらっしゃるのは羨ましいです。
 大島と言うと何処の大島になるのでしょうか。
 私は数年前、四国八城回りをしてきました。
松山では名物の鯛麺を食べてきました。

Merry Witch said...

Minoru さま
大島だけではわからなかったですね、しまなみ海道で今治から一番目の島、大島です。(今治市です。)

四国八城回りですか?私は今回の帰省で今治城と松山城に行きました。

松山出身ですが、鯛麺はまだ食べたことがないんですよ~。なぜか松山では昔よく行った唐揚げ屋さんとか、おうどんやさんとかに行きたくなります。

Rurousha said...

That looks like more fun than a rollercoaster!

Pirates! Shiver me timbers! I didn't know about the pirate Murakami Suigun, so of course I Googled him. There's a Suigun festival that looks very interesting. Link here.

PS: You guys are making me hungry with your talk about めでたい ^^ fish. Maybe it's because I haven't had breakfast yet?

Merry Witch said...

Rurousha,
Shiver me timbers? Thank you for teaching me a new expression! (^^)

That Suigun festival seems fun.
When I was little, I enjoyed reading "Treasure Island." So I fancy pirates!

めでたい鯛! だじゃれ上手ですね~。(^_^)v

Tall Gary said...

i’m sure that Hiroshige was just practicing at Naruto before he planned to travel further West to try his hand at Oshima. Ah, but the “best laid schemes...

Merry Witch said...

Tall Gary,
You are very good at finding those interesting pictures. (^_^) Hiroshige's whirlpools are so dynamic I could almost hear the rushing water.
"Best laid schemes" is another new expression for me. Thank you!

Tall Gary said...

We often substitute “plans” for “schemes” as in: The best laid plans of mice and men...

Things don’t always turn out the way we want or expect no matter how well we plan.

There is another Hiroshige of Naruto here and a Hokusai woodblock of Naruto here.

Merry Witch said...

Tall Gary,
Wonderful pictures! Very powerful water. Edo artists were very good at expressing sea water, waves, whirlpools, splashes.

But no Oshima pictures? Probably they were afraid of getting near the pirates?

Tall Gary said...

I think you are on to something about the artists being afraid of the pirates, after all, most artist’s materials are flammable so this could have terrified them.

Merry Witch said...

Tall Gary,
That would have scared the artists away! \(◎o◎)/! No wonder there is no Oshima pictures.