Friday, May 13, 2005
Fresh fishermen, and fresh fish, in Japan
My favorite part of the city, Minato, the old fishing port, has been taken over....by fishermen. It is a part of the city appreciated mostly by weirdos like me, though weirdos with impeccable taste. The harbor has a small shipyard and a large bridge spanning it. At night, the reflections of the city in the calm water, and solitude of the waterfront make this one of the most romantic spots in town. There's a fabulous southern Italian restaurant, and a very good Southeast Asian restaurant, as well as a handful of comfortable bars, all well away from the glare of livelier parts of the city.
The fishing boats are mostly from elsewhere, Hakata's fishing fleet has dwindled, even by the usual dwindling standards of modern day fishing. A few miles offshore, though, there is a tiny island known as Genkai Island, where fishing is still the dominant industry. This is not because the fishing is better there (in any case, boats travel to the far reaches for fish, so a few miles one way or the other makes little difference), but because Genkaijima offers not much else as a potential livelihood. Even this scrap of a living was badly hurt a couple months back by a magnitude 7 earthquake in Fukuoka. It struck in the morning, and caught me in what would have been an embarrassing position to die in. As it was, the building mostly held, and I walked out with 2 young women covered in plaster dust, and looking like we were ready for deep frying. (No, no...it wasn't that. That would hardly have been embarrassing.) For us, it was mostly over, but for the fishermen of Genkaijima, their houses were gone, and their port was heavily damaged. God protects fools, drunks and children, and that has always set my mind at least two-thirds at ease. Decrepit old fishermen scraping out a threadbare existence, however, have no such generous coverage. So, the prefectural government of Fukuoka stepped in a rare display of benevolence to the underclass, and sought to build new houses on the island. That plan was nixed when they looked around and found no place in the jungle-like hills around Genkai harbor to build. Some bright rising star finally proposed building a temporary settlement on the mainland, at my beloved Minato, until the Genkai houses could be rebuilt.
Now that scenic waterfront has become an instant shanty town for the foreseeable future. We can hardly begrudge the fishermen the space, and I kind of hoped that we would have more access to fresh fish as a perk. So far, no. Anyway, the fish market is less than a kilometer away, and eating there brings no special deals. Yes, the fish is good and fresh, but the price is hardly bargain basement, though the decor certainly is. Yes, it's cheaper than Tokyo, but what isn't?
The fishing boats are mostly from elsewhere, Hakata's fishing fleet has dwindled, even by the usual dwindling standards of modern day fishing. A few miles offshore, though, there is a tiny island known as Genkai Island, where fishing is still the dominant industry. This is not because the fishing is better there (in any case, boats travel to the far reaches for fish, so a few miles one way or the other makes little difference), but because Genkaijima offers not much else as a potential livelihood. Even this scrap of a living was badly hurt a couple months back by a magnitude 7 earthquake in Fukuoka. It struck in the morning, and caught me in what would have been an embarrassing position to die in. As it was, the building mostly held, and I walked out with 2 young women covered in plaster dust, and looking like we were ready for deep frying. (No, no...it wasn't that. That would hardly have been embarrassing.) For us, it was mostly over, but for the fishermen of Genkaijima, their houses were gone, and their port was heavily damaged. God protects fools, drunks and children, and that has always set my mind at least two-thirds at ease. Decrepit old fishermen scraping out a threadbare existence, however, have no such generous coverage. So, the prefectural government of Fukuoka stepped in a rare display of benevolence to the underclass, and sought to build new houses on the island. That plan was nixed when they looked around and found no place in the jungle-like hills around Genkai harbor to build. Some bright rising star finally proposed building a temporary settlement on the mainland, at my beloved Minato, until the Genkai houses could be rebuilt.
Now that scenic waterfront has become an instant shanty town for the foreseeable future. We can hardly begrudge the fishermen the space, and I kind of hoped that we would have more access to fresh fish as a perk. So far, no. Anyway, the fish market is less than a kilometer away, and eating there brings no special deals. Yes, the fish is good and fresh, but the price is hardly bargain basement, though the decor certainly is. Yes, it's cheaper than Tokyo, but what isn't?
