2006 Pirate Ship, a photo from Kanagawa, Kanto

Photographer's Note

Gyorgy remarked on the note to my last upload being very short. He’s right, every photo has a story behind it… why not share it?

Have I mentioned how easy it is to travel in Japan? You get seamlessly transported from a busy but efficient airport to a modern city criss-crossed by fast and affordable transport links (I noticed when visiting in 2018 that the ticket prices had not changed since at least 2004, the year of my first trip to Japan). Then, in the blink of an eye, you step down from a superfast bullet train into the paradise on earth which is Kyoto…

And so on and so forth. This is the way normal people travel. And when it comes to travel - there are normal people and there is me…

I don’t know how it works these days, but about a decade ago, I found it notoriously difficult to book transport and accommodation in Japan online. In Europe, there was already a number of websites such as hotels.com and it was a normal practice to book airlines, trains and car rental via the internet. So it was in Japan, but a lot of those sites where in kanji/hiragana/katakana mixture with not a lot in the Latin alphabet, never mind English. I can understand – at those times a lot of people who travelled around Japan where either Japanese, who had no problem deciphering the above-mentioned alphabets, or Americans/Europeans who used respectable travel agents, instead of wandering, unsupervised, around the country. I kid you not – I met people who spent their whole stay in their hotel, except for day tours organised by a tourist office.

Anyway… a Japanese friend of mine offered to make an online booking for me for a minshuku (traditional Japanese guesthouse) in Hakone. She also put me on a bus that would take me straight to my destination, with a convenient stop by the minshuku door. I know, I know, that sounds easy, but wait… As I arrived at the guesthouse, it turned out, to my panicky surprise, that the receptionist could not find my booking in the register.

“In Hakone two minshuku, same name” he explained in broken English. “Maybe you need other one”.

“Arigato”, said I in broken Japanese. “So… the other minshuku… how can I get there today?”.

“Walk right, turn left, lake, pirate ship, then ask way other side of lake. Last ship – twenty minutes from now”

The situation was already a tad surreal in the wrong sort of way… status: late afternoon, me - somewhere in the mountains, in Japan, with two bags and my bus already gone… the mention of the pirate ship, as the only means of transport, with the last one of those in just 20 minutes, didn’t really help. But I did as I was told: I walked right, I turned left and there it was – a beautiful lake and… yes, a pirate ship. As I found out later, it’s a popular tourist attraction, but for me, at that moment, it was a lifeline.

And “the rest is history”. I found, in a phrasebook, how to ask for a ticket, then, on the other side of the lake, I managed to ask the way to the other minshuku. The next morning I took a photo of this wonderful view. But ever since, whenever I hear the words “pirates ship” I always think of that moment, when I felt really lost in an unknown to me part of the world.

This photo was taken on a rainy morning on the last day of my stay in Hakone. Two more shots in WS.

Again, apologies for the quality, I still haven't got a computer to work on. :-(

GyurMaster, PiotrF, rychem, Silvio1953, pajaran, holmertz, bukitgolfb301, jhm, ChrisJ, papagolf21, macjake, maloutim has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (130061) 2019-07-23 14:39

Hi Kasia,some problems during your trip there as i can read in your note...ehehe..but it's interesting to discover too this ship in this lovely composition,in effect it seems a pirate or ghost ship in this foggy moment. Useful WS too,a tea for you after the difficult day is the minimum prize..ehehe..have a good night and thanks,Luciano

PiotrF (52330) 2019-07-23 16:28

Czesc Kasiu
To calkiem normalne ze w kraju szybkich kolei podrozuje sie tez statkami pirackimi :-)
Po otrzymaniu takiej odpowiedzi mozna poczuc sie dziwnie.
Ciekawa opowiesc, a zdjecia - po prostu ja uzupelniaja
pozdrawiam
Piotr
Cos mi sie zadzialo i nie moge edytowac zdjec/notatek , ale doszedlem ze po wrzuceniu jeszcze 8 kolejnych juz bede mogl to robic

Nicou (193806) 2019-07-23 21:08

Hello

quel navire de pirates quelle vue avec cette brume marine tout se fond dans ces tons bleus juste le voiles pliées sur les mats qui ressortent en brillance fantastique vue et captage
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

rychem (72179) 2019-07-23 21:41

Tajemnicze zdjęcie i ciekawa przygoda, jaka mialas, gdy sie podrozoje duzo, to ciezko przejsc przez wszystko bez przygod, a zdjecie troche oddaje Twoje owczesne odczucia :)
pozdrawiam Ryszard

Silvio1953 (205890) 2019-07-23 22:34

Ciao Kasia, fascinating view of fantastic ship, magic atmosphere full of mistery, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pajaran (102782) 2019-07-23 22:53 [Comment]

Show Comment

Tue (82360) 2019-07-23 23:04

Hello Kasia,
A beautiful view of the wonderful ship, which emerged so beautifully here from the fog and the many bluish tones. Its masts look so great and graceful here. Well done.
Lars

jemaflor (135520) 2019-07-23 23:19

Hi Kasia,
Interesting mood with this foggy weather, well managed, nice ship, good idea for the title, tfs.

abmdsudi (88621) 2019-07-23 23:25

Hi Kasia
An informative opening narrative and a wee bit of story there too with this rather atmospheric photograph of that iconic ship in midst of the lake! A decent record shot of the day with sufficient detail and colours of a real situation despite its weather conditions.
Arigato...
Best regards

holmertz (92938) 2019-07-24 0:41

Hello Kasia,
The photo is fascinating, and those in the WS are also nice, but it's a pity they're so small. You have long been the best note writer on TE, and this time the note is really better than the photos, if I am excused for saying that. The main photo owes a lot to the blueish mysterious haze, and the strange experience of finding a pirate ship on a Japanese lake, but it owes much more to the hilarious story. But adventures like that are what make travelling meaningful, not staying in the hotel waiting for the next organized tour.
Kind regards,
Gert
PS Thanks a lot for your comments yesterday.
PPS Now you're under fire from two directions! Johnson or Kaczynski - who is your worst leader? ;-)

bukitgolfb301 (53894) 2019-07-24 5:09

Hi dear Kasia

Yea I know but not yet been to ASHINO-Lake (Ashino-ko in Japanes). Mist or thick fog has made so fantatsic output. Long apotle result is so dynamic.
I am so happy to read your long note.

I hope to see you again in Tokyo.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

jhm (203133) 2019-07-24 6:00

Hello Kasia,

Your daylight picture is the most beautiful of the three, with fantastic colours.
Pleasant picture with a high quality, photographed.
Your photos are well exposed and with very good colours.
Wonderful presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

emka (152388) 2019-07-24 12:46

Witaj Kasiu,

Jak zwykle arcyciekawa notka o twoich przygodach. Choc może na mnie zrobiła mniejsze wrażenie niz na innych, bo płynęłam tym pirackim statkiem i wiedziałam o jego istnieniu wcześniej. Nie musiałam nawet czytać, zebu wiedzieć że to Hakone. Byłam w Japonii cztery lata po Tobie, w 2010. Kupiłam w Londynie (! ale przez internet) Japan Rail Pass i mogłam wszędzie juz jeździc shinkansenami nie płacąc nic dodatkowo. To było bardzo opłacalne. Zachwycona byłam tymi pociagami, ale teraz juz wiem, że chińskie sa lepsze :). Podróżowanie samodzielne po Japonii, jak i po Chinach to wyzwanie. Uwielbiam te trudności. tez miałam rózne przygody, na przykład w Nagano, miałam zapisaną nazwę hostelu na karteczce, ale nie mogłam znaleźć tej karteczki. Pamietałam tylko, ze hostel jest dwie minuty od świątyni. Nikt nic nie wiedział i oczywiście nikt nie mówił po angielsku. Ale w końcu sie udało.

Fajne zdjęcie z mgła. Miałaś wiecej szczęscia, bo nastepnego dnia zobaczyłaś Fudzi, nam sie nie ukazała, niestety.

Pozdrawiam MAłgorzata

GyurMaster (21397) 2019-07-24 13:03

Hello Kasia,

I'm happy to state that you are back to practice again! :) Though - as you acknowledged - the quality of the photo is not the best, it is the one that moves my imagination even without reading the long, 'Kasia-standard' notes: a ship sailing in a misty weather, heading to an unknown destination. It makes me think of the Flying Dutchman. Not if your story wouldn't be interesting enough without it! By the way, do you have a book on your travel experiences? I guess you could fill a book by now.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

PS: I only saw it now, that you had two WS pictures. They are nice addition to the main story.

ChrisJ (160138) 2019-07-25 21:17

Hi Kasia

I have crossed Lake Aichi tWice in these pirate ships. They were doing maintenance on the section from Owakudani, so I had to go back the way I came. Tfs!

papagolf21 (152601) 2019-07-25 23:03

Bonjour, chère Kasia,
Un joli rêve à travers cette composition (l'on dirait une image d'un livre pour enfant sur lequel celui-ci s'endort pour partir à l'aventure).
J'aime beaucoup cette réalisation.
Amitiés.
Philippe
P.S. : Félicitations pour votre français.

macjake (96157) 2019-07-26 11:32

Hi Kasia
reading your note, its the main reason why I havn't travelled to Japan yet. Japan is also a love/hate relationship for me. The fact english isn't widely spoken, and the people are so shy, its scares me. But I'll still go - one day soon I hope.
your story is one we can all relate to on some level, we can say we've all been there :) Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. And seeing the Pirate ship in the WS is so funny bc its SOOOO different in the main post. it goes from spooky haunting (main) to comical and touristy (WS) in 2 seconds hahaha. great post. cheers
Craig

maloutim (13617) 2019-08-12 0:14

Hi Kasia,
This old ship in the mist gives it an authentic look of centurie ago ! The story that goes with it is pricelass !
I am glad you have such precious memories of long ago.
Kindest regards.
Marie-Louise.