Japan 2014, Day 5

I did not get a lot of sleep last night, the anticipation of fishing with one of Japan's best Mr Koji Hasegawa I was like a kid waiting for santa to come, I did however manage to fall alseep and wake up to a stiff 30NW wind and light snow fall - to say it was cold was an understatement.

Kotaro and I made the short trip from the hotel to Lake Biwa - along the way we glanced across the lake to see 1m chop and white caps. Knowing how bad things were we thought it best to leave the fishing decision to the one who knew best Koji. We arrived at the small rural marina where our guide kept his boat, for those who do not know garage space is a premium and although a 21 foot bass boat does not take up a huge amount of room most people keep them at a marina as the simply dont have any where to store them and there is very little in the way of public launch facilities in Japan. We got the all clear with the knowledge that it was going to be very tough for the type of fishing we had planned on doing.

After a slow putt out of the marina Koji gave the boat a little juice and the 275 Yammy sung like a bird, now if my marine mechanic could see the report  from the engines computer I am sure the word abuse alert would have been used a lot spending a little time in the air as we motored to our first spot.

We arrived at spot 1 which was an artificial break wall built to protect a fish nursery that was built to encourage spawning, we worked the entire length twice without as much of a sniff. We made a further 3 moves with the same results. The wind was howling making casting a task and the snow was falling which made it very difficult for my fat thumb to control the

bait caster. A few hours had passed and the decision was made to go and get some lunch. We pulled the boat up on a small beach where a Hawaiian themed cafe was located. Cool little place even had a menu for visiting dogs. After a warm (much needed warmth) feed we again motored out in search of the big bass that this place is known for. We tried a lot of water for not even a bite, we called it quits as the weather had got some what worse. The trip home with a following wind was a lot more comfortable  but let me just say - no matter how many layers you have on, or neck warmers or beanies or glasses the ice cold air of this region will always find a way in. I love the cold weather so it was not too bad but this was extreme cold, so cold in fact that the tap at the marina was frozen and had icicles hanging from it.

The fishing done we made the dash to our hotel in Kyoto where we met with Noriko who went to school in this area so she knew her way around which was handy, I had a quick change and uploaded some pics then we were off again to look for a feed. The scenery in this part of Japan is awesome, much of it has remained unchanged for years and there is a lot of heritage listed buildings here. We ended up in a small BBQ restaurant where I ate all sorts from tongue to cheek, not my taste but when in Rome. Afetr smashing down a heap of meat and some soup from the BBQ place it was decided we all needed to drink some local poison to finish warming up after a cold day. Noriko knew a place that was so small it only had seating for 10 people and was very cool. You would never have known a bar was there unless you were told it was. We got onto the topic of Geisha as Kyoto is very well known for its genuine traditional Geisha's. There is a common

misconception about what a Geisha Girl is in western cultures with the thought that they are some kind of prostitute. I found out that this is far from the case and they are only contracted at a very high price to sing traditional music and play instruments. They also host you as in cater for your convenience with food, drink and conversation. I was also amazed to hear that Kotaro who has lived in Japan all his life had never seen one. Sure as shit would have it while we are all getting our drink on 2 Geisha girls come into the bar, it must take them hours to get all the hair and make up done let alone the costumes they wear. It was explained to me that they undergo years of training  to become a Geisha and not only is the tradition of the role very well respected it is seen as having a high position in society.

Half cut we decided that a midnight Ramen trip was in order so off to the nearest Ramen bar for a quick bowl as a night cap. Today was an amazing day - ot only did I have the chance to learn a thing or two about a thing or two with Bass fihsing from one of Japans greatest but I also got to enjoy the company of a couple of awesome people in Kotaro and Noriko in a place that I will remember fondly. Tomorrow we have plans to visit some temples and the Nijo Castle (400 years old) cant wait.