A few hours until we return to Hawaii...

We have now spent 2 full days in Fukuoka.  Yesterday morning was the unloading of the fish.  This is a big deal in Japan and all of the parents and news crews were there.  We then got to see the dormitory where Sean and Mr. Tanaka would be staying for our time on land.  They took us to meet the Mayor yesterday and we also got to see two different temples.  Leolani, Reiko (our translator), and I did a home stay with a wonderful couple by the name of Kawakami.  Today was another very busy day.  We visited Suisan High School and got to experience multiple classes; these included diving, food processing, marine biology, and calligraphy.  We then went back to the dormitory where we had a tea ceremony where we wore kimonos. Tomorrow is a visit to the Governor, another temple, and a museum.  Then we head back to Honolulu tomorrow night.

When we got off the boat there was a wonderful welcoming ceremony.  All the students of the school were there, along with parents and family.  Sean gave a very good speech to the crowd talking about how honored he and Leo are to be in Japan and to have been a part of the trip.

 Unloading fish.

Tea ceremony.

Day 17:  Saying goodbye to the Kaiyu Maru

Today is our last morning aboard the Kaiyu Maru.  We will be unloading
the fish today and then headed towards the welcoming ceremony where Sean
will be giving a speech to represent Leo and himself.  It was a good
trip, and the students especially had a wonderful experience.
Hopefully, we will have access to internet in these next few days so we
will be able to update you on our journey through Fukuoka.  Please enjoy
the photos of the beauty we saw once arriving in Japan.

Leo: 

I am very sad to be leaving tomorrow because we won't be seeing the
students at school. Last night, we had a little party since it was our
last night together. We had orange juice, Japanese cheetos, and other
random candy. It was a great way to end our journey together. Im very
happy that I got to go on this boating adventure:).

Sean: 

Well, Its time to leave the Kaiyu Maru for the last time. Im a bit
sad to leave the ship but as I look back on the experiences that I had
onboard, and the people that Ive met I feel special and glad to have
been a part of this journey across the Pacific. It's my first time
traveling internationally and I finally have a stamp in my passport to
show that I've been away but when I look back on it I think of the
journey I went through to get to Japan. When I went in the bridge to
shake the Captains hand after he parked at the pier and congragulate him
on completing this leg everyone emphasized that "Its been a long and fun
trip" and I think they're all right it really was.

 Sunrise...

...and sunset.

Day 15:  Off the boat tomorrow!

We are now near Japan!  You can see it as we are anchored out to sea a
little ways.  We will be passing under one of the bridges this morning,
and then we will be officially docked as of 9am tomorrow.  Today is a
ship cleaning day and then tomorrow afternoon, after they get us though
customs, the Captain and his wife are going to take us shopping and with
them for dinner.

Day 13:  Almost to Japan

28.44 degrees north, 138.31 degrees east.  Happy Halloween! The boy who
was sick yesterday is fine.  He was back on the boat and we were leaving
the island before 2pm.  The students and crew alike were all very
excited to see the island since nearly all of them had never been there
before.  Watching the Halloween crowd last night was a blast.  The
students had such a good time, and even some members of the crew, the
Captain included, brought the kids some candy when they said "trick or
treat."  The pictures today include a Halloween shot and some shots from
the afternoon of deckwork removing paint from carts.

Leo: 

Yesterday was Halloween aboard the ship and I told several of my
friends to help out.  After Yuwena got her face painted, about a dozen
others got their faces painted too.  In other words, Halloween was a
success!  Yuwena told me it was the best birthday party ever (as it was
also her birthday yesterday).  It was a memorable day.

Sean: 

Yesterday was Halloween and we had a little party on board for
every one.  People were walking up to me asking for candy, but I had non
on me.  That was probably the funniest night on board the ship!

 Deckwork!

 Leo with the needlegun taking paint off some carts.

 Sean doing the same.

Happy Halloween!

On a side note, 1300+ views and no comments!?

Day 12:  Land!  Sort of.

27.01 degrees north, 142.09 degrees east.  Today we are going to be
docked in a bay off of Chi Chi island (chi chi in Japanese means
"Father").  It is quite lovely seeing the rocky desolation within the
vast ocean.  This will not, however, affect our arrival day in Fukuoka.

Sean: 

Hello everyone.  Today is Halloween aboard the ship and I am a
little excited because Leo is planning to give out goodie bags to
everyone.  Yesterday I had watch from 4-8am and 4-8pm.  That was very
tiring but enjoyable because there are many more things to see as we
approach Japan.  Today we are making a stop at an island.  It is nice to
see land even though we can not get off the ship.

Leo: 

I woke up this morning to find out that we were anchored quite
close to Chi Chi Island.  One of the students has been a little sick and
they are going to have him looked at by the island doctor.  Today I get
to pass out Halloween candy.

Day 11: Day 10 takes a break

25.24 degrees north, 144.47 degrees east.  We had some rough seas
yesterday and could not go out on the deck, but today things have mostly
cleared up.  There is still a pretty good wind though.  Tomorrow, Leo
and Sean will share the American Halloween tradition with the students
on board the ship (since we are one day ahead).  We even have some
Halloween makeup, so it should be a good time.  The picture for today
represents some of the beauty we get to experience while out at sea.

Day 9:  We missed day 8!

Emails from the boat, sent via satellite, are getting expensive, so there was no update yesterday.

24.18 degrees North, 156.27 degrees East.  Mr. Tanaka and I continue to
run our English class each morning.  We have our last one tomorrow.  It
has been even better as we added in a new portion where we have the
students write out questions using question words (who, what, when,
where, why, how) and then share then in pairs to give the question and
answer.  The students are able to write English quite well, so giving
them the chance to write first and then speak helps them out.

Leo: 

Yesterday I had deck works from 7-3.  We had to take the buoys and
put reflectors on them.  It took me about 10 minutes for 1 buoy and we
had to go through about 150 of them.  I was quite tired after deck
works, but ended up playing cards with everyone until curfew.

Sean: 

Yesterday I helped teach the English class with the teachers.
Teaching English is very fun, especially since you can feel slightly
good about the mastery of your own language.  I had afternoon deck work
after that.  I did the same thing as Leo, except I also had to throw
buoys up and down between decks.  Today (10/28 aboard the ship), we
should see a Japanese island in the late afternoon (South Bird Island).
I am looking forward to that.  I also signed up for a 4-8 am bridge
watch and will let you know how that goes later.

 Repairing longline fishing floats that can go several hundreds of feet underwater.