March 5
We booked a birding tour with EIJI through Go With Guide. He got rave reviews, and they were spot on. He only takes 1 or 2 people so it was just us here. The docking process started later than planned as a local ferry had priority. I think this was the first ship that Amami has had.
Today was no exception to the cloudy, cool days with bouts of wind and rain. We did manage to get in a couple of hours of birding before the rain hit.
We started with hiking in Amami Nature Forest. Eiji (Agee)was such a nice guy and great nature guide. He knew the birds by sound and didn’t even bring binoculars. We saw 9 Species here with 7 being new. (bolded ones are new) Asian Tit, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, Large-billed Crow, Lidth’s Jay, Pale Thrush, Ryukyu Robin, Varied Tit, Whistling Green-Pigeon, White-backed Woodpecker
He then drove us around the
island to see the scenery and we stopped at Ose Beach and did some birding. We
saw a total of 7 Species here with one of them being new. Blue
Rock-Thrush, Eurasian Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Long-billed Plover,
Northern Shoveler, Pacific Golden-Plover, White Wagtail.
It was in a beautiful forest setting and the various stations
were laid out on a trail winding through the forest. The name of the factory is
Amami Oshima's Pride Natural
Garden.
It was interesting to see the
techniques of hand weaving and mud-dying that has been used for 1,300 years and
is said to be a "National Cultural Heritage". Everything is all made with 100%
silk and the various processes we saw were dyed in and hand weaving, plain
weave, the process of weaving using warp and weft, hand weaving warp and weft
and woven together. They had a room where you could try on Kimonos for a photo
op (or buy one), but layered in wet clothes it wasn’t even tempting.
There were some vendors set up
at the pier, but I wasn’t sure if they had magnets (looked more like foods and
crafts) and I asked Eiji if there was a place where I could get a magnet. He
took us to a store like a small Walmart and I did find one there.
Back at the port the wind and rain had really picked up. The poor vendors were trying their best to cover their items. I took a run through and didn’t see magnets, so I was glad that I had already found one. We rushed back on the ship. Even in the crappy weather the vendors waved until we sailed away.
Tonight, the entertainment was
Dennis Lau, a violinist.
Naze, Amami Oshima, Japan https://photos.app.goo.gl/Em4ozTmSeK49x1xT6
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