More species hunting fun in Japan : Yanagawa, Hiroshima and Saga.

On our last day with Fukuoka as our base we decided to visit Yanagawa to take a cruise along its canals so we got up early and caught a train south. Before going to Yanagawa though we stayed on the train and went a few stops further to Arao on the Eastern shore of the Ariake Sea. This inland sea experiences enormous tidal ranges that have created massive mud flats. On them live all sorts of crabs and also the great blue spotted mudskipper! I was hoping to at least see these weird fish and perhaps if we found some try to catch one. After arriving on the shoreline we didn't see any until we reached the mouth of a small harbour. It was particularly muddy and to our surprise there were quite a few mudskippers crawling around on the surface. When they spotted us though they all quickly waddled (or perhaps skipped) off and disappeared. Sitting still they eventually reappeared again so I set up my rod and had a go at catching one. Casting out onto the mud my rig just disappeared into it and the little fish were easily spooked too so after a while I gave up and we just spent a little while observing the bizarre amphibious creatures going about their business.

After trying to fish in the mud I gave up and was happy enough just watching the weirdly entertaining little fish.

When two mudskippers meet they have a bit of a stand off, display their impressive fins and open their mouth up. We actually witnessed this type of aggressive behaviour several times and found it rather hilarious.

Quite happy to have seen some mudskippers but mildly disappointed not to catch one, we headed back to the train station to catch a train north again to Yanagawa. At the platform Lillian was just about to sit down on a wooden bench when I noticed the seat was already taken, by a rather large joro spider that was on the wall behind the bench!

These are fairly common in Japan and can grow to 20cm in length. I think they're pretty cool but Lillian isn't a fan at all.

Back on the train we soon arrived in Yanagawa, a city that has an extensive waterway system and is known as the Venice of Japan. After making the short walk from the train station to the stretch of waterway where the boat cruises begin we were soon afloat aboard a punt with an older Japanese gentleman pushing as along with a very long bamboo pole at a leisurely pace.

Quite a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Eventually the old guy was tired so I took over for a while. I think he was impressed with my skills.

The cruise took just over an hour and was very nice. The old guy even gave us a song at one point as we went under a bridge. Before heading back to the station we went for a walk along a small section of river that was flowing into the waterway. I had a quick fish and caught a few bluegills as well as a solitary silver fish that I'd later identify as a Japanese chub.

Another new species added to my tally.

The following morning we got up very early and headed to catch a special bullet train to Hiroshima. The bright pink Hello Kitty themed bullet train.

I want to go fishing from time to time. Lillian wanted to travel on the Hello Kitty themed bullet train. Fair's fair.

Arriving in Hiroshima before we could check into our hotel we made use of the coin lockers in the train station and caught a tram to begin exploring the city. The first place we visited was the Peace Memorial Park. The Atomic Bomb Dome is probably the most well known landmark in the park and serves as a stark reminder of the horrors that occurred on 6th August 1945.

The Atomic Bomb Dome is what remains of the former Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Due to its reinforced concrete construction it was the only building left standing in the area when the atomic bomb exploded almost directly above it.

Other monuments and installations in the park, like the Bell of Peace, deliver a message of hope that one day peace will prevail and nuclear weapons will no longer exist.

I found visiting the park educational and thought provoking, it stirred many contrasting emotions. Before leaving we rang the peace bell.

Continuing our exploration we headed north to visit the grounds of Hiroshima Castle which I would discover was also known as Carp Castle. The original castle was destroyed in the atomic blast but a replica was built in 1958 which also serves as a museum. To reach the castle grounds we had to cross a bridge over its impressive moat that was full of koi carp.

I don't think I've ever seen so many koi carp!

The replica of Hiroshima Castle contains a museum.

After leaving the castle grounds we then started heading east in the direction of the train station. On the way we visited the Shukkeien gardens and were pleasantly surprised at how incredibly beautiful they were. We took our time wandering around and when we came to the main pond the chance to feed the fish in it was taken.

We really enjoyed the Shukkeien gardens. A stunning place in the heart of Hiroshima.

Fish food purchased.

As well as koi carp the pond also contained black seabream which I thought was quite unusual. They were a little cautious, taking their time to slowly approach the pellets before quickly taking them with a splash and swimming off quickly.

After leaving the gardens we walked alongside the Enko River on our way to the station. Strolling along I spotted some black seabream in the margins that swam off as we got closer to them. After collecting our bags and checking into our hotel we returned to the spot and I had a go at catching one but we didn't see any in the shallows and I didn't have any luck fishing further out.

By the time we got back to the spot we'd sighted them the tide had gone out and the levels were very low. I suspect the black seabream had moved downstream.

In the evening we treated ourselves to some Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. Having tried and loved the Osaka version the previous year we wanted to see which was best. Hiroshima style has a few more ingredients that are cooked in layers and its now my favourite.

Okonomiyaki means "all you like grilled". In Osaka everything gets mixed and grilled together. It's all about the layers in Hiroshima.

The following day we caught a tram and then a ferry to visit Miyajima island. The main attraction there is the large Torii gate out in the bay in front of the Itsukushima Shrine. It appears to float when the tide is in. Unfortunately what we didn't know was that it had been covered by scaffolding since June so that restoration work could be undertaken.

The scaffolding will give you an idea how big...

...the huge red Torii gate is.

Luckily there's plenty of other things to do on the island and I also had my fishing gear with me so we still enjoyed a full day there. Amongst other things the island is also famous for its deer, various shrines and temples and some great street food.

These deer freely roam around the streets and were totally unfazed by all the tourists.

Miyajima is also home to this rather impressive five story pagoda which is a buddhist temple.

The street food was great and we tried lots of it. The local oysters were superb and we enjoyed them raw, grilled and fried. My favourite snack however was this steamed bun filled with conger eel. I probably should have taken a photo of the inside but it tasted so good it didn't last long enough!

Sadly the fishing on Miyajima was pretty disappointing. Most spots were fairly shallow and there were incredible numbers of ravenous puffers around. Other fish getting an opportunity to bite was nigh on impossible at the areas I tried. Eventually a marbled rockfish took my creature bait before the puffers could destroy it.

A welcome change from endless puffers and destroyed lures.

Later in the afternoon we caught the ropeway up to the top of Mount Misen before heading back down and making the journey back to Hiroshima. Arriving back in the evening it had been quite a long day and despite eating a fair amount of street food we were pretty hungry so we treated ourselves to yakiniku for dinner washed down with several glasses of cold Asahi which were included in the price!

The grill in our private booth was very hot indeed. A few ice cold Asahi cooled me down though.

Beef and tripe. Delicious!

The following morning I got up fairly early for one last go at catching a black seabream. This time the tide was flooding and reasoning that the bream would probably hunt for crabs and shrimps on the river bed I tried slowly working creature baits along the bottom but sadly this didn't produce any fish. Just before I left I switched my tactics and fished a small hook baited with a section of dried ragworm on a running ledger further out in the middle of the river and caught a few yellowfin goby.

My first and the only species I caught in Hiroshima but it was another new goby species added to my tally.

Our next stop was Nagasaki back on Kyushu but to break up the four hour train journey we visited Saga along the route. A fellow angler named Shirouo I had contacted via an online forum had very kindly given me some information on a good spot to fish for tanago. Leaving our cases in the coin lockers in Saga Station we made our way to this spot on foot, doing some more mudskipper spotting along the way.

All the manhole covers in the city of Saga have mudskippers on them.

After a while we reached the spot but having passed multiple ditches, streams and followed a small river north to get there I was left a little puzzled about why this particular ditch was special. I could see some small fish though so I quickly got into position and set up my tanago rod.

A pretty ordinary looking ditch I thought.

Mashing up a grain of cooked rice between my thumb and forefinger until it went glutenous, a tiny blob of this was then used as bait by dragging my hook through it until some got stuck on the point. I did have a float on my line but as I was able to see the fish taking the bait I used this to merely set the depth. Watching carefully I was able to simply lift into the bites as soon as the bait disappeared into the tiny fishes even tinier mouths and was soon catching my first Japanese tanago. Over the course of an hour or so I caught a few dozen of these and also a few small silver fish that I'd identify later with some help from Mindaugas and Shirouo.

My first Japanese tanago. This species is called Aburabote (アブラボテ) in Japanese. Its English name is oily bitterling.

This one has no English name. It is called itomoroko (イトモロコ) in Japanese.

This one is a dark chub.

I carried on fishing away hoping to catch a different species of tanago. After unhooking yet another oily bitterling I looked down again to drop it back into the water only to see a large snakehead slowly swim out of a pipe below me and into the ditch! It stopped a few feet in front of me and sat there motionless. Luckily as well as my tanago rod I had my Rock Rover with me and quickly rigged up a chartreuse heavily scented lure on a chinu hook and added a single split shot directly above it. Jigging this twice in front of the snakehead's face had the desired effect and it aggressively lurched forward engulfing it. All hell broke loose as the large fish thrashed about and I had a difficult time landing it due to not having a net with me. Eventually it tired enough that I was able to reach down and chin it out.

My first northern snakehead. What an amazing bonus capture!

Still slightly in shock I packed up shortly afterwards and we headed back to the station to continue our journey to Nagasaki. On the way however I decided to briefly get my tanago rod out again and tried my luck in a ditch near the station. To my surprise I quickly caught a few more oily bitterling. I now think I have a much better idea about the type of areas that tanago seem to like for future micro fishing sessions.

Tight lines, Scott.