goodbye, Shikinejima

I woke up this morning with like 248395 mosquito bites, despite wearing sweatpants and a sweater (in 38 degree weather!), using a can of mosquito spray, and wearing two anti-mosquito bracelets. My entire back was swollen (I have no idea how it got there), and even my ankles and fingers were bitten. :(  Of course, the person sleeping next to me was completely fine, but that’s always the case when I’m around. =\ 

We explored the southern part of the island today, which, in my opinion, is the nice part of Shikinejima. Our first stop was at Ishijirogawa Beach, which is located at the southeastern part of the island. The temperature of the water was much warmer than yesterday, which made it perfect for snorkeling, but since we were leaving later in the afternoon, I didn't go in.

Ishijirogawa Beach
石白川海岸

The water here was filllllllled with algae and seaweed of all different colors, shapes, and sizes.

I didn't manage to catch any pictures, but there were a lot of fish in the water. They weren't as brightly colored as the ones from yesterday, but there were still a lot swimming around.

Next to this beach was this cafe that sold gyuunyuu senbei! Thank goodness! because you can only get these particular senbei at the Izu Islands.

I liked the Niijima designs more, though, because there were pictures.

For lunch, we went to a restaurant for some fresh fish.

Nedai, a fish found in the waters of the island. I have no clue what it looks like and cannot find the kanji for it.

After the beach, we went on a walk around the shores of the island. The view was really nice, and we were actually able to see Niijima and the rock that we climbed the last trip.

Niijima — by Kai Kienzle 

The Rock!   

We then stopped briefly at this public open-air onsen. It reminded me of the one we went to in Niijima, except this one had murky colored water (because there’s iron in it). The water was a thousand times hotter, though. One of them was actually so hot it was impossible to enter. I placed my foot on top of it and was scorched by the steam. I can withstand a lot of heat, but I don’t think I would ever be able to enter that particular bath, even if I built up resistance slowly from the other ones.

After that, we needed to get back to the camp to grab our stuff to catch the Tokyo-bound express boat.

air-dried seaweed

Tomari Beach, located at the northern-most point of the island.
photo by Kai Kienzle

愛、夢、虹、友
Niji

We arrived home around 7 pm. I was really tired and my fridge was empty, so ate out around Nishikawaguchi. The restaurant I went to was a Thai restaurant called Joe’s Cafe. The food was pretty authentic (made by Thai people), but the people weren't so great. Everything was good until the bill came. For some reason, each of us was charged ¥300 - ¥400 extra. I asked the owner if the menu price was different from the actual price to confirm it, but he played the “I’ll-just-pretend-I-don’t-hear-you” card. It annoyed me and I was frustrated, but I was too tired to be bothered, so I just let it go. But will I ever go back? Never. Nor will I ever recommend anyone to go there.