臼杵の港 - Usuki Port

I wanted to write an entry about one of my favorite parts of town -- the Usuki port. I like ports mainly because of their earnest, sort of surly feel. Murder City Devils has a few songs about ports ("Press Gang" being my favorite, talks about a dead sailor who is hung by the townsfolk on the dock for his drunken behavior), which automatically makes ports a bit more somber and appealing in my book.

I think the port in Usuki is mainly for fishing and timber. There seems to be a pretty big wood processing factory near there, where people transport whole logs as well as chopped up wood -- mulch or sawdust? Here is a photo of a boat being loaded -- I like the green shine of the building behind it.


I have heard from other JETs in the area that there are periodically Russian and Filipino sailors who come into Usuki off the boats. I think that my reality will crumble a bit when I chance upon a few русские человеки walking down this small town in Japan.

I like to visit the port in early evening, it is a pleasant bike ride after work or painting. There are always people jogging or fishing off the docks. They have big 10-15 foot poles, and they use little mesh baskets filled with huge chunks of meat (not sure what kind) and just lower them into the water. They usually have a basketball sized chunk of ground something for bait. I asked a fisherman what it was and he was sort of surly about talking to me, so no luck there. Here are a few pictures of boats:




Another impressive sight, which is fortunately visible from my apartment, are the huge cranes that sit on the horizon, projecting high above the buildings. I think cranes are really amazing -- counterweights of several tons used to lift heavy objects. I think they are geometrically really beautiful -- very rigid and straight, with pretty angles that contrast well with the organic landscape here:



Usuki port, and maybe Oita city as well, are well known for two types of fish. Seki saba and seki ajii. My limited Japanese tells me that seki can mean "stone," but I am not sure in this case. There is some type of warm water stream right off the coast here, and it creates faster waves and currents. The fish there, a type of tuna I think, grow extra big and muscular from swimming in it their whole lives. The fish is caught here and sells for about 2000 yen a plate, which is about $24. I gather that it is known throughout Japan. Maybe one day, if I find myself with some extra money in my pocket, I will give it a shot.

I leave you with a picture of Tsukumishima -- "Moon Watching Island." I apologize in advance for the horizon not being level. It is hard to steady a camera with a touch screen! It is about 2 miles out from the port, and you can apparently camp there. There are boats docked there also. It is the basis for a painting that you can find at www.joshwalden.com.



I jokingly call it onigiri island, because it looks like one of these edible rice balls: