Shodoshima Island

This post may take 2 parts because it was an adventure and I took a lot of pictures.
Shortly after I arrived here, I ran into an old friend, Hideki. I have known him now for 4 or 5 years, although we now work in different departments. Anyway, we decided to go to lunch and he was interested to hear that Mary Ann would be visiting. He volunteered to show us around to some place interesting, but I was not sure if this was serious because he would have to take a day off from work. Anyway, closer to MA's arrival, I sent him an e-mail and he said that we should make a trip and he had been planning it. I think 'planning it' is to put it mildly. He was previously a project manager on a mutual project, so this day trip was planned down to the finest detail. We joked half way through the day that if he ever quits, he would be able to do quite well as a travel planner.
While we were riding back on the 2nd ferry of the day, we mused about the forms of transportation we had taken that day and what did we miss...
Here is as best as I can remember now... bus, subway, shin-kansen (bullet train), cab, ferry, walking, rental car, 'rope way,' another bus, a different ferry, commuter train, and bus again. What did we miss? No flying, no submarines...
We learned ahead of time that Shodoshima was an island famous for growing olives and it seemed to be a popular place to go in the summer for folks to get away from it all. Not a bad place for that. We were there in the 'off season,' but still plenty to see. When I started to think of this place like a place in Florida or the Caribbean 'off season' it made sense. A lot of places were shut and looked like they had been way overexposed to the sun.
Backing up, we took the shin-kansen out of Kobe to a city called Okayama. First time on the shinkansen for MA and i think she enjoyed it. Maybe not as fast as a jet, but way smoother and I think more interesting. Took a cab from the Okayama train station to the ferry, which seemed to drive all over the place. Anyway, an interesting way to see the city and some of the suburbs down to the port. Had to wait 8-10 minutes before catching the ferry over to Shodoshima, approx 50 minutes. Nice ride, calm (inland) sea. Very interesting arrival to the island. Again, like arriving at a small caribbean country. Walked over to a nearby stripmall and found the car rental place. Here are some pics from the trip and the arrival, you will have to wait for more tomorrow.