when i started diving, it was just my friends and i fooling around. there was nobody older than us that gave us tips and advice. we had to learn the hard way but i think that we learned more, and remembered more. these days, the kids are lucky. there is skin diver tv, magazines, videos, and so many people with knowledge. is it good? i’m not too sure about that…
take gen for example. gen just started out diving. for me to even see an ulua, it took over 10 years. and for me to even take a shot at one, 15 years. i take the kids to an ulua house where you can spear one blindfolded. was it the right move? now that i think about it, i don’t think so. it was just too easy and i don’t want them to think it’s like that all the time. and i also don’t want them to think i’m going to take them there all the time. i leave that hole alone for long periods of time for many of reasons. one is to let the fish replenish, and another is to hunt for other spots. if people keep on going back there, they will kill all the fish, scare them, or chase them away. in the past 4 months, i think i went there too many times. we pulled 6 Ulua’s out of there. yes, there is like 20 or so in there, but not it’s time to replenish and move on. i probably won’t go back there for a few years again, and hopefully things will get back to normal. that hole is just too magical to exploit… i just hope the kids understand what i’m saying because i’m sure their waiting for me to take them back there right now…. instead, i’ll take them to another ulua hole but there is one thing that it different. this ulua house in 62′ deep. come on boys, step it up!
i guess another thing i’m trying to say is that spearing fish this big is no joke. if you take a bad shot and the line gets wrapped around your arm or leg, your going down with the fish and if you panic, your dead. that’s why i always carry a knife with me.
Beginner or Expert…
Namaste!
I love Japan!
Heaven on Earth
on the long drive to Hakone, we were watching a movie in the car. it was called “The Way.” it’s about a father who went to spain to do the same thousand mile pilgrimage in his sons footsteps where he died. i was blown away by the amazing sceneries in spain. then looking out of the window and getting blown away from the sceneries in japan. i was thinking of spain while looking at japan’s beauty. one part of me wanted to go to spain, and another part of me wanted to explore japan even more. if i had to explain yesterdays drive, i’d have to say it was “heaven on earth.”
no, this is not a postcard, this is a photo i took with my iPhone. as i look up to the top of this beauty, i could see and remember placing my grandma’s little owl on the very top of Mt. Fuji looking down to where i was. shortly after my grandma passed away 7 years ago, i climbed Mt. Fuji to be in my grandma’s footsteps and to feel her way of life. it was one of the best moments of my life. and watching the movie “The Way” during all this, i could really feel how the father felt.
then i arrive at the onsen, get pampered by professional staff, and was led to my room. i open the back door and there it was, my private outdoor hot onsen calling my name. i jump in, felt my body go from freezing cold to sleepy hot, and i thought to myself, “welcome to heaven on earth.”
then we had an amazing authentic “puffer fish” dinner, sat at the bar for a drink, i jumped in the onsen again, and slept like a baby. thank you Inaida-san and Yuki-san for always taking me to “HEAVEN ON EARTH.”
