So here’s a bit of news. Labor Day weekend plans have changed. Dramatically.
Those of you who read my earlier post about Lilly’s summer at Bard College and our plans to visit the Hudson Valley know that an extended Catskills fishing trip was very much on the table this summer. And for a while it was. I’ve never spent any real time in the Catskills, and the idea of finally fishing some of that legendary water was really exciting. But life has a funny way of rerouting your plans, and I’m not exactly complaining about where this particular detour is taking me.
The Catskills will have to wait. The Smokies, which have traditionally been my end of summer destination of choice, will have to wait too. Because instead of fishing either of those places, I’m going to Japan.
Specifically, Tokyo and Nikko, and with my Tenkara Angler comrades Matt and Anthony. And I leave the last weekend of August. Which believe it or not is this Friday!
The full picture is more or less set, with air travel and hotels booked, so I figured it was time to actually share what this adventure is going to (hopefully) look like.
Shibuya
After a 16+ hour flight, I land at Haneda airport on Saturday afternoon, get checked into the hotel in Shibuya, and promptly try not to fall asleep immediately. Maybe pop in a 7-11 or Lawson for a snack and some essentials I choose not to bring along. The full Shibuya day is Sunday, and I’m hoping to mix the cultural stuff and the fishing stuff effectively, we’ll see… Either way, Proshop Sansui Shibuya #1 and Johshuya are both on the agenda. Thank heavens for a friendly US Dollar to Japanese Yen conversion…
Nikko
This is the part I’ve been most excited to share. Our friends Hiro and Takashi, remember them? We fished together in Colorado a few years back. Well, they’re going to pick us up in a van on Monday, and from that point forward the logistics are handled. No trains to manage, no navigating with luggage, just a drive out to Nikko for a few days of fishing with those guys at the lead.
Tuesday takes us up into Okukinugawa, fishing the Kinugawa and the Ogawa en route before checking into the Okukinugawa Onsen Hacchoyu, which is a proper deep-mountain ryokan with outdoor onsen baths.
Wednesday and Thursday, September 2nd and 3rd, are the full fishing days on the main stream and headwaters of the Kinugawa River. Two full days of tenkara in the Japanese mountains, which I’ve been imagining for a long time and still can’t quite believe is actually happening.
We pack up Friday morning and make the van ride back to Tokyo, checking into the our hotel in Asakusa that afternoon. The fishing part is going to be oh, so brief. But this is all time really allows (or rather, my work allows) at this time of the year.
Asakusa
The final full day in Japan is built around a home base of Asakusa, and once again we’ll try to mix Japanese culture and fishing. On the fishing front, I’d like to try and visit two places I’ve had on my radar for a while. A few train rides will be in order, but first is Tsuruya Fishing Shop, a fly fishing specialty shop that’s been in operation since 1931. Second is Tosaku in Inaricho, an eighth-generation maker of handcrafted bamboo wazao rods, which is basically a living museum of Japanese rod-making heritage. We’ll hopefully add in some temples, parks, Ameyoko Market, possibly the Tokyo National Museum, before heading back to Asakusa for a final dinner before the flight home Sunday.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been trying not to completely lose my mind about this trip. I’ve watched so many “What to do” and “What not to do in Japan” videos on YouTube my head’s going to explode. And I only know how to say like three Japanese phrases… Just stay calm man. An invitation to fish tenkara in Nikko is not the kind of thing that happens every day.
Trip reports will follow. If you think the latest Driftless series was bad, you have no idea…
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