#geibikei

Again, I was up at 5.30 and on the first shinkansen for the day at 6.40 to Ichinoseki. Here I transferred to a local train all the way out to Geibikei where I arrived to start my day at a reasonable 8am. I checked the bus timetables to confirm my plans for the afternoon and then took one of the long-tail boat tours on the Satetsu river through Geibikei Gorge. I was the second person to buy a ticket for today, following a German girl that seemed to be able to speak decent Japanese, she had this high and mighty air about her though so I wasn't in a rush to be friends! There were 5 of us on the first boat out at 8.30am, myself and aforementioned German girl, a Japanese guy in his early 40s carrying a sling containing not one but two white ferrets, and a Japanese couple in their 60s with dad also carrying a sling with their grey poodle in it. During the boat ride the poodle sat cuddled in mum's arms, its eyes were cloudy so maybe it was blind and couldn't see the commotion of the ferrets running around the boat on their tiny harnesses and leashes.

It was a really tranquil ride down the river, our guide was making some jokes in Japanese as the others were laughing. It was more just background noise to me, along with the scraping of his paddle on the river bottom. He pointed out the different rock formations along the cliffs that lined either side of the gorge such as the reflective "mirror rock", and an overhanging rock face where the boats could shelter from rain. There was a little shrine in a cave in the rocks and ferret man threw a coin from the boat which landed inside with a loud chiming noise. At the end of the river we all got out of the boat and walked through a passage way to another section of the river where there is a "wishing hole". You can buy 5 small chalky rocks with a kanji symbol on them, if you can throw it into the hole on the opposite rock face it is said that you will have good fortune. I tried 5 times but the one that got the closest ended up smashing into pieces on the rock - I hope that's not also symbolic of my prospective fortunes... On the ride back down to the pier our guide sang the traditional Japanese boatman's song which echoed around the gorge and even the ferrets were calm enough to sit back and listen.

Japan One Day One City : Iwate

My second day in Japan was started by a surprise occasion, an earthquake around. I know that earthquake in Japan happened almost every time, and people who lives there already get used to that. The same case happened with my cousin’s family. While I abruptly woke up in panic, because it was quite long, but my cousin and her daughter slept soundly like nothing happened. She said it happened too…

Kazuro Sato of Ichinoseki City Mr. Sato has been working at Geibi Gorge since 1989. Since he had done carpentry work before, he asked if he couldn’t help build the boats as well, and so now he builds these massive boats that can take up to 70 people up and down the Satetsu River.

“These boats last about ten years. But the materials have gotten much better, and our craft evolves with time, so some boats will last 13, 14, even 15 years. If you were to have them built by an outside contractor, they’d be very expensive. But we build them here (smiles). We had a typhoon strike here in 2002, and ended up losing 7 or 8 boats. We couldn’t rebuild all the boats ourselves so we had to ask a place in Kesennuma that builds Japanese traditional boats. One boat cost 3 million yen. That’s the kind of boats we’re building here. My favorite part about making the boats is that there is meaning to the work. I made the boats with my bare hands, and then I paddle with my bare hands. Riding in a newly-constructed boat… I mean, it’s just like a new car. It’s a refreshing feeling. And that I can show the passengers around in a boat that I made… it’s a wonderful thing. You don’t get that every day.” 

One of the traditional boats worked on by Mr. Sato

“What’s fun about being a captain? Well, what are our passengers looking for? A good trip, looking at pretty scenery. They’ve come here for a good time, so I try to give them that. If we’re not having fun, our customers won’t have fun. If the captain is in a bad mood, then the customers won’t feel very good, will they? But there’s lots of people out there. Some people just want to watch the passing gorge peacefully, without any chatter. Some want you to make a good time for everyone. As you set out, you have to gauge your passengers’ mood and what they want. That’s a tough part, even if it is fun. There are a lot of places to see in Japan, and a lot of boat rides out there, but at Geibi Gorge, we have a quiet river with pretty scenery, and a captain that sings live for you – there’s no other place in Japan where you can experience that.”

Miyuki Chiba of Ichinoseki City Ms. Chiba became the first ever female boat captain for the boat tours at Geibi Gorge. She prides herself on taking passengers for a smooth ride every time, whether the waters are choppy or calm. She also has a fantastic set of lungs; don’t miss her traditional folk song on the way back!

“I started working in the office at Geibi Gorge when I finished high school, so I always saw people in great spirits after finishing their boat rides. My boss used to talk about how nice if we had a female boat captain, since there never had been one before. Once, I blurted out, “I wonder if I could become a captain.” And my boss told me if I was serious, he’d discuss it with the higher-ups. They thought about it, and I was eventually able to become a captain. I admit, in the beginning, I was a little worried whether I could do it or not. Most days the river is pretty gentle, but as I began training, there’d be days where the river would overflow, or there’d be strong winds. It’s physical labor. The captains had always been men, and I only really understood how rough it is once I actually became a captain myself. But my colleagues were great; they trained me and followed up with me. Now there are three female captains. I’m still pretty new at this myself, so I wouldn’t say I’m their leader, but I do feel like we’re in this together. But we’re not any different from the male captains. All of the men here care just as much about the customers and doing their best.”

Ms. Chiba, paddling up the river

“There aren’t many jobs where you get people cheering you on, telling you to do your best. People take photos and send them to me. I get a lot of goodwill, and I think that’s pretty rare in a job. But we always have to make sure the passenger is having a good time. Sometimes you have days where the winds are blowing at you as you make your way up the river. If you don’t really use your strength, the boat is going to be washed down the river the other way. Sometimes I’m huffing and puffing to try to get us going. But in the end, there are a lot of (motorized) boat tours in Japan, yet very few where the boat is made of wood with a very traditional feeling. You can only find this in Geibi.”