Every year in August a group of restaurant workers meet up at the beach to play in the water and have some grilled food and drink. We can drive on the beach with 4-wheel drive vehicles so it’s easy to set up and unload right next to the sea shore.

Most people got there very early around 6am but I set of later with my wife. She was supposed to know where they were but unfortunately didn’t have a clue. I am getting used to this. Even with a map we usually go 10km out of our way trying to find places. So the obvious thing to do is phone people but the one contact we had had their phone off which is understandable.

So we turned onto the beach and randomly chose a direction to head in. After a few Km’s I decided we were headed in the wrong direction since all I could see far ahead were fishing boats. So we did a u-turn and headed the other way. Now it was becoming like a jeep safari, but without the jeep!

I was starting to think about all the fun we were missing out on and started to speed up to find them faster. I always fancied rally driving so this was the next best thing. Up over crest, desent into stream. Up soft, muddy bank. Dodge the debris on the beach. Keep the momentum incase we get stuck.

Finally we saw some jet skiis in the sea ahead and found them. This was Monday morning, so very different from the old commute to work LOL. Especially as a beaker of chilled draught beer was thrust into my hand once we said hello. This was a beach barbeque, Japanese style. In the UK we would probably have a bag of chips and a can of warm beer with the sun roasting our hides.

They had a canopy to shield people from the scorching sun, a grill with fresh slices of meat, people were harvesting shell fish from the sea and did I mention there were barrels of beer being piped through a box of ice to deliver it ice cold by the gallon. Oh it was free too!

After quenching my thirst I was urged to try the jet skiis out and compare them. What a hoot. I hired one once in Spain but got bored with it, I guess it was de-tuned. But these were full power with engines up to 800cc. I’m a sports motorcyle enthusiast so I am used to high performance. Well these jet skiis accelerate fast and are fast enough to start feeling dangerous so they were great fun. The most fun seemed to be going flat out and jumping your own wake after a turn.

The first time I tried a quick turn, I got thrown off so had to struggle to climb back on. But after this it was plain sailing so to speak. I just needed to lean into the turns more like on a motorbike. btw you need a licence to pilot these and it’s best if you are sober

Girls seem to like being thrilled on Jet Skiis:

“Come on somebody” :

About to do a beach landing:

Grilling the oysters found under the sand:

The dreaded jelly-fish. There were several around that day.

Chef knows how to handle it, thinks “yummy”:

Kids enjoying the Banana boat:

Pictures from the nightime festivities…

Another crazy day in the life of the people of Noto Peninusla. A long time ago the villagers suffered badly from some kind of plague which they blamed on evil spirits. So ever since, they do this annual ceremony to scare the evil spirits away by violently trying to destroy a small portable shrine with fire, water and smashing it about.

It seems to work since they haven’t suffered since.

I took alot of pictures so here is the first installment covering the early evening while it is still light.

Also there are a lot of these big things being carried along the streets with kids sat in them playing flutes and drums:

A dog dressed for the occasion:

The shrine being toasted and smoked:

Into the harbour with it:

Now turn it over and over:

The men are all 23 or 43 years old.

Haul it out of the water:

Now give it a roasting with the fire:

Turning it over and over smashing it down onto the flames:

Stay tuned for the evening action….

This is an annual event in the seaside resort of Notojima on the Noto Peninsula. There is a 10km and a half marathon held on the same day. I entered the 10km race for fun. My friend Bruce came along and tried to enter but had to settle for pretenting to be my personal trainer so he had to miss the start and finish areas.

It was raining alot up until just before the start and the race it self turned out to be rain free which was nice. The 10k was over some steep hills so it was tough work. In the end, I finished in a respectable 59 minutes 21 seconds.

Just before the start:

Just after a cold shower at the finish:

These are pictures of a garden up in the hills that is free for the public to visit and view. At this time of year, the Iris is in full bloom and the place is very pretty to see.

Here is a view of the pond area, you can see a fish below where I added a fish symbol.

Here are some of the Irises:

Also there were Hydrangea flowers:

Here is a view showing the maple tree and woodland in the background: