2005 Meeting in Nishiizu

Upper: Ms. Naoko Hayashi, Mr. Toshio Enokimoto, Mr. Koichi Takahashi, Mr. Masayuki Kusayama, Ms. Hiromi Takahashi, Mr. Toshimitsu Yamanishi
Lower: Mr. Koji Sasaki, Mr. Masato Sekine, Ms. Hiromi Takahashi

11th Annual Feathercraft Owners' Meeting in Japan, October 2004

The 2004 Owners' Meeting was held in two locations:

On October 17 we met at Okumatsushima, near Sendai, approximately 350 km north of Tokyo. This has been described in the literature as "one of the three most beautiful coastlines in Japan". On Saturday we reviewed some of the new things at Feathercraft: the Wisper light weight kayak prototype and the "Alpackaraft": a personal river raft that weighs less than 2 kg. We also paddled around the bay.

On Sunday we paddled further: in, out and through a lot of sea caves, cutting back and forth through a peninsula. It was a beautiful day. We were able to paddle around the main island in a few hours in near perfect weather. The climate is warmer than in Tokyo; lots of palms here, and the sea temperature is mild enough for good swimming in October.

Mr. Hiroki Yoshida

Mr. Masato Sekine

We also visited a museum that described the ancient Jomon culture that predates modern Japan. There seemed to be a lot of similarities to the native peoples on our own west coast of North America. Matsushima is a great place to visit. At the Inn we had lots of rice and raw fish at breakfast. For dinner we had lots of rice and raw fish. And it was all delicious! The best part of the meeting was getting to know paddlers from many parts of the country.

A week later, on October 24 a different group got together at Hanema Beach, on Miura Peninsula, just south east of Tokyo Bay. This location is very handy to people from the "Big City". Although in summer Miura is a crowded resort area, in October it is a fine place to paddle. We tried out boats there and had a fine day on the beach.

Mr. Koji Sasaki, Ms. Hiromi Takahashi

Mr. Yasunari Hosokawa

Ms. Naoko Hayashi