Kuzuhara

Heading out to Rabbit Island today, a train, a bus and a ferry. What could possibility go wrong?
Okunoshima is a small island located in the Inland Sea of Japan. There are campsites, walking trails and places of historical interest on the island. But, as great as all that is – we were there to see the bunnies! Once 2000 of them, they have been culled to around 700 and come in all manner of colours and varieties. Many happy to be hand fed, lots of them hiding in burrows under bushes to get away from heat of the sun, some hiding in drains and others just laying around next to the road.
It has a dark history though – in 1929 the rabbits were brought to the island and used to test the effectiveness of the poison gas used in chemical weapons. They say that workers released the rabbits at the end of the war and they were left to fend for themselves and breed freely. The down side of the island becoming a tourist attraction is that the bunnies’ life span has been shortened to an average of 2 years due to visitors feeding them food that is inconsistent with their nutritional needs.
Having lost his fav cap on the flight over, PC discovers with much joy, a large box on the reception desk of the information centre sporting ‘lost and found’ items and secures himself a ‘new’ piece of headwear, which he is determined I fear, to proudly wear the entire trip. Ho Hum. Ditching the bottoms of his cargo pants due to the heat, we continue on our mission to walk the island. We are surrounded by the most magnificent ocean and outer islands ever seen. It’s so quiet, hardly any vessels on the water, just miles and miles of crystal, clear blue waters and uninhabited islands. Looks like Thailand minus the throngs of people.
Heading to the only hotel on the island for a sticky beak, we venture through the items on display while PC decides if he wants one of the t-shirts on display. Deciding they were too expensive we call it quits and begin the walk back to the ferry, only to discover PC no longer has his prescription sun glasses on his person. Now being worn by previously mentioned rabbit. Rush around, asking staff if anyone has handed them in (very unsuccessful – they thought we wanted to buy a pair of sun glasses!) we give up the ghost and head out. Great, day 3 and now we need an English speaking guide dog to assist his Lordship around.
Time to head back the way we came, ferry to mainland – bus to train, train to hotel. Sounds such a simple task really. Get back to mainland after one hour wait for ferry (had the wrong timetable) to discover the bus is another 1.5 hrs off. Go to only taxi driver and get quote. 5000Y he says (about $70). Start accosting people at bus stop (all appear to be looking as dismayed as us) and suggest to any one who could understand us that we grab the only taxi and share the cost. A lovely couple from Warsaw on their honeymoon jumped in and we had a great chat with them about what’s going on in their country and a very pleasant trip back to station.
Awaiting the train PC starts feeling the chill and decides to put his cargo pants back to together. Anyone who remembers our Europe blog will now be thinking, this sounds familiar. Sadly. And yes, you guessed it – after a frustrating ten minutes trying to get the zippers to co-operate, PC becomes so frustrated he actually pulls off the zipper tag, rendering the left leg of the pants to forever be a short. So, we now have his ONLY pair of pants for the entire trip (did I not say to pack another pair???) useful as shorts only. First the hat, then the sunnies. Now the cargos. It’s day three. If he keeps this up, I’ll be bringing him home naked.
Finished the evening by joining some fellow travellers from Norway for a fantastic version of the Hiroshima pancake (different to the one I make). Great night. Lovely people. Father and son travelling together to celebrate the end of his studies in Brisbane.Read more