PACIFIC From Japan to Micronesia OCEANIA.

Tokyo Guam Chuuk Truk Lagoon Nagano
von 27.12.2015 bis 16.01.2016

Autor: Heimo Wallner

16.01.2016

Return flight at 10:30 Tokyo Narita – Frankfurt – Salzburg
Welcome to the Austrian winter.
It was a great and eventful trip.
For those who want to experience something exotic, I can only recommend Japan .

However, it is important to fully engage with these Far Eastern realities .
There are always enough surprises.
And Truk Lagoon is a highlight in every diving aspect.
In my opinion an absolute “must have” in the life of a diver.
Just dive in and live a little with this adventure.
See you soon! Heimo and Oscar.

15.01.2016

Once again the traditional Japanese breakfast and a extensive bath in the “Onsen”.

At 11:00 a.m. we take the shuttle to Yudanaka and continue with the Limited express train to Nagano.

Here we board the fast express Shinkansen towards Tokyo. Short stay.

We use it to buy some souvenirs. We are already heading in the direction of Narita.
The hotel is located in the immediate vicinity of the airport.

This is convenient, there we can reach the airport tomorrow without stress and hopefully depart on time.

Dinner will be held today with Chinese cuisine.

Nightcap at the Sunset Bar on the 11th floor overlooking the airport-
Skyline. Good Bye Tokyo!!!

14.01.2016

If you are in this area in Japan, it is an obligation to visit the famous snow monkeys.

This monkey species, it is macaques occurs exclusively in this area.

A specialty of these monkeys is to bathe in the hot springs.

Of course, we want to take a look.
From the hotel to the “Snow Monkey Park” is about 30 min. walk.
This hike leads into a valley where hot springs are also found.
Since it is a tourist attraction, you will find other people who want to see it.

The hike is not very difficult.

Rather a walk. Arriving at the park, we already see some specimens.
The monkeys come to the valley only during the day to relax and thus show themselves to the visitors.

As soon as evening falls, they disappear again into the mountain forest.

In any case, this visit was worth it.

On the way home we stop again and try a typical Japanese “Ramen”.
This is a sumptuous soup with egg, meat and lots of noodles.
Tonight is our last evening in this typical Japanese style.
Tomorrow we are already heading back towards Tokyo.

13.01.2016

Today on the second ski day in Shiga Kogen we go to another corner of this big ski area.

The ski resort “Yokotejama” awaits with the highest elevation in this resort of 2,300 m.
Deeply snowed-in trees and empty slopes characterize today’s picture.

We can ski on all slopes whether blue, red or black, there are only a few people on the slopes.

The lifts are old and very slow. In the afternoon, however, it fills up with Japanese school ski courses.

Now it is getting a little more crowded, but still no reason to get nervous.

We switch to the black slopes and continue our undisturbed skiing pleasure.
Today we set the apres ski at the highest point at 2,300 m .

Unfortunately, this hut must close but already at 15:00 clock, because in Japan the few ski huts this is already before the end of the lift
Operating hours have to close.
So it was just a short apres ski and we make ourselves early again
on the way home. At the hotel we relax again in the spa and enjoy
the great dinner.

12.01.2016

A day of skiing at Shiga Kogen ski resort is on the agenda today.
A shuttle bus will take us from the hotel to Okushigakogen.
From here we start to the largest ski resort in Japan.

We rent skis and buy a ski pass.

The temperature is at -10 degrees and the snow conditions are good. All natural snow!.
Full 3 hours we are on the boards and visit about two thirds of this ski area.

Afterwards we are frozen through and look forward to an apres ski.

At the ski rental we meet the head of the local ski school and get valuable tips for the next days.

This man comes from Ethiopia and runs the ski school here.
The world is already crazy.

In a hotel with open fireplace finish we this special apres ski.

After that it goes back to the
Hotel by shuttle bus and straight to the onsen before ending the day with a great Japanese dinner.

11.01.2016

After breakfast, we check out and make our way to Shinjuku Station.

We walk again through the morning entertainment district and see some leftovers from last night.
Arriving at the station, the trip first goes to Tokyo Station.
Here we board the famous Shinkansen express train and travel with it to Nagano.

From Nagano, the journey continues to Yudanaka.
In a typical Japanese hotel we will spend the next four nights.

It is a very traditional house with its own hot springs (onsen).

At the hotel we get typical Japanese clothes and go to the Japanese spa.
A wonderful thing to relax in the 40 degree water.
In the evening we will be served a traditional Japanese dinner menu.
Welcome to Japan.

10.01.2016

At 05:00 the wake-up call sounds for the onward journey to Tokyo.
We set off and drive to the nearby airport.
Departure is on time at 06:55 and arrival in Tokyo is on schedule at 09:18 .
The diving luggage is deposited at the airport and we are already on the Narita Express to Tokyo Shinjuku.

We spend the night here once again at Hotel Granbell and do all the

Preparations for our ski trip to Nagano Shiga Kogen.

This day of rest is good for us to process what we have experienced so far.
We are already looking forward to tomorrow’s trip to the Nagano ski resort.

09.01.2016

Today is our departure day. It’s back to Japan again

Our diving equipment dries comfortably while we loll on the sun deck.

We say goodbye to the captain and his crew and leave the ship in the direction of the airport
Departure from Chuuk at 16:20 local time. Stopover in Guam with overnight stay.

We will stay at the Hotel Mai’ Ana and enjoy a good Thai dinner in the resort area of Guam.

08.01.2016

We are now ready to say goodbye and expect a little dive to sprinkle on top.
But it turns out differently than we thought.

The lagoon’s showpiece would still be to watch.

But it is quite far down, about 60 m to the ground.
A wreck that got it particularly bad.

The ” Aikoko Maru”.A prestige object of the Japanese navy and at the same time a grave for 800 young soldiers.

Loaded with lots of ammunition, it went full blast during the first bombing raid on 17.2.1944 and was totally torn apart .

All that remains is the stern of the ship, starting from the bridge.

This dive was very moving.

After this adventure there are still 2 wrecks on the plan.

The ” Yamagiri Maru at about 30 m depth and the interesting ” Sankisan Maru at about 25 m.
While surfacing from the Yamagiri Maru, a curious dolphin visited us.

Thus we had a worthy conclusion of our diving expedition and are happy,

have survived everything without complications, safe and sound to .

This week fully met our expectations.
Thanks to the good service of the SS Thorfinn with her captain Lance Higgs, the guide Eric and the hardworking gals in the galley.

07.01.2016

That yesterday can still be trumped, we have not reckoned more.

But our captain still had a few tidbits up his sleeve.

He did not want to withhold these from us and surprised us with following wrecks:

At 08:00 the popular ” San Francisco Maru”, a passenger ship converted as a cargo ship.

It is the gourmet of the lagoon.

It is loaded with tanks and trucks, a defense cannon can be found respectively at the bow and the stern.It lies at a depth of about 55 to 60 meters.

A true adventure to glide through the blue water into the depths and then to board.

The second dive is scheduled at 11:00 am and takes us to the tanker ” Hoyo Maru”.

This ship lies on its back and is broken in the middle.

The stern starts to appear already after 8m depth and we dive along the outer wall down to 30m.

In the meantime, we also have the opportunity to get under the ship into its engine room.

When we surface, the name of the ship on the bow catches our eye. Time now for lunch.

In the afternoon a cargo ship ( “Unkai Maru”) and a tugboat ( Iron No. 761) are still on the program.

Of course, we also let these

both opportunities.
Diving a wreck for sundowner has something too! Or?

06.01.2016

The day starts a bit more friendly today and we are full of energy.

Directly addicted to the next wrecks we have planned a lot for today.

4 wrecks invite you to dive today.

A bold undertaking, we know that we have to keep our deco times, and the 1st wreck is already at about 50 meters.
Now it needs a Tec dive plan to be able to carry out the project safely .

As always, the captain is very helpful and gives us the necessary instructions to complete these 4 dives safely.

So we can visit the following wrecks:

The cargo ship ” Shotan Maru, the cargo and passenger ship ” Fujikawa Maru, the war bomber Jill Nakajima B6N,

and finally the destroyer ” Sutzuki”.

After this diving day we were proud and happy that we could finish this healthy and unharmed.

It was very impressive and certainly one of the most exciting experiences of these days.

In the evening after we returned to the ship, a evening red announced that we can expect sunshine again.

We let ourselves be surprised and fall asleep relaxed.

05.01.2016

As we look out the window today, a different weather picture has appeared . Gray in gray with rain as far as the eye can see.
Today we rather don’t feel like diving and devote ourselves to reading .

In the afternoon it looks a bit better and we prepare for the dive.

As always, the first thing you do is go to to get detailed information about the dive.
This work is always done by the captain and gives us very important details about the depth, the peculiarities of the wreck and of course

also the main highlights that can be seen on the wreck.
Depth and dive time are accurately communicated. Then you’re ready to go.
The destination today is the wreck of the Nippo Maru. A cargo ship with some trucks as cargo. A tank is also part of the cargo.
After this dive there is still a seaplane to visit in 15 m depth . This compensates for this rather dull day.
Tired and satisfied we return to our ship.

04.01.2016

Now that the rhythm has returned, we can devote ourselves entirely to the fascination of diving .

This time we are heading south to the freighter Seiko Maru. A cargo ship lying at a depth of about 50 m .

The mast starts at 18 m. While diving down we meet a small gray shark, which curiously observes the action.

On this ship you can enter the private rooms of the captain.
The next two dives do not take us as deep, so we have the opportunity to decompress again.
We visit the two ships Kiyozumi Maru and the passenger ship Rio de Janiero Maru.

On both ships, we can reach the engine room .

The desire for discovery in the bellies of these large ships has fully taken us .
After these 3 day dives we let the beautiful day end comfortably on the sun deck.

03.01.2016

The first dive appointment is already at 08:00 and takes us to a wreck, which was once a passenger cargo freighter. Coincidentally he was
in the wrong place at the wrong time. Filled with noisy aircraft parts it was sunk without inhibitions.
The second diving appointment is scheduled for 11:00 and takes us to another freighter that still has a well-preserved

Engine room had to offer . Here it is also possible to dive into this engine room.
A uniquely fascinating experience.
The third dive date is in the late afternoon and gave the view of a wreck, which was not sunk, but normal through

other circumstances sank after the war. It is likely to have run aground on the reef that now houses it.

By dusk, this dive was complete.

02.01.2016

Early in the morning we prepare everything for our diving trip.
We enjoy breakfast at Truk Stop Hotel and wait for
the dive guide who picks us up.
We are picked up by boat and taken to SS Thorfinn.
This diving ship has been an old Norwegian whaling boat.
Directly on board we are welcomed by the captain and get
a detailed briefing on the procedures of diving as well as the
Boats.
The captain is an easy-going contemporary and old sea dog who has many
stories around these islands knows.
After this briefing we also learn that we have a total of 8 passengers.
are and have enough space on the ship.
A sundeck, a whirlpool and a cozy lounge decorated
with Christmas decorations and Christmas tree make the stay very
pleasant.
Our first dive leads already to the wreck of a Japanese
Fighter bomber lying at about 20 meters.
A great experience, the weather is beautiful and we look forward to the next
Days.

01.01.2016

The connection to Micronesia requires patience and discipline.
New Year’s Eve 2015 we spend in the plane over the Pacific Ocean in the direction of
Guam. Arrival in Guam was already New Year 2016 at 02:00 local time.
Onward flight to Chuuk was at 08:00. Nothing now stood in the way of a long night. We looked for a small bar in the airport

Guam and celebrated New Year. Time passes relatively quickly and we were already back on the plane heading for Chuuk (Truk Lagoon).

During the approach to the atoll the first South Seas thoughts were awakened.
After landing on the main island, a warm portion of tropical air hits us.

A short tropical shower and we already know, the goal of our journey is reached.

Life on this island is quiet and tranquil. Luxury is rarely seen here.
The hotel Truk Stop is located directly on the sea and is very popular with scuba divers but also very simple. We get a big room
for one night. For lunch we have curry and in the evening sashimi.
A long night and an eventful day come to an end.

We are happy to have finally arrived.

31.12.2015

Today is our last day in Tokyo. We will leave in the evening in the direction of
Truk Lagoon set off. We use this day to see some more in the city.
A city stroll with a visit to the Tsukiji fish market and the Imperial Palace with the Imperial East Gardens fits well into our plan.

Oscar would also like to include a visit to the Hardrock Cafe.
To make this project accessible in terms of transportation, we are using Tokyo’s very well-developed subway network.

The metro stations are relatively quiet today. We are able to complete all of our visits within the specified time.

Across the city we take the subway to the selected sights.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Palace with the gardens was not open due to New Year’s Eve events.

After a short snack in the Hardrockcafe we went in the direction of the airport and afterwards in the airplane into the new year 2016.

30.12.2015

Those who find the hustle and bustle of the big city too much should head for the countryside.
A visit to Tokyo without seeing the famous Mount Fujiyama is
not imaginable. So we set off for Kawaguchi-ko.
This place is located on a beautiful lake and at the foot of the famous
Berges. The journey there lasts after which means of transport
one takes about 1.5 to 2 hours.
We decide to go by train from Shinjuku. The weather
is beautiful and so with a little luck we can see the mountain. A tour
around the lake of the same name completes this excursion.
This recreation area is a little quieter at this time and the
Nature is in its winter dormancy.
In the evening we will drive back to Tokyo.

27.12.2015

27.12.2015
Today begins the great journey to the land of the rising sun. We start at 0900 hrs in Bruck and drive to the airport
to Salzburg. After check in we were surprised how much luggage we were allowed to take with us on our trip. Any person may
take two pieces of luggage with 23 kg each as free luggage. Of course, there was also room for the diving luggage. Since we also
If you are still planning to go skiing, this will work out just as well. We took off from Salzburg towards Vienna with a short delay.
In Vienna, the fog was very thick, we still arrived on time. A quick transfer to the new gate and we were sitting again
on the plane. We were ready to take off. A brief announcement by the captain put an abrupt end to this state of affairs.

We can’t take the flight was told, because a vehicle damaged the engine of the aircraft during the loading.
So we all had to get off and transfer to another plane.
After this 2 hour break, however, it went off in
Direction Japan, from Salzburg via Vienna to Tokyo.

28.12.2015

Arrival in Tokyo at 1030 am. We are slightly sleepy.
After the customs formalities and the baggage distribution made
we set off for the hotel in the center of the city.
The hotel is located in the Shinjuku district. A very lively neighborhood with
many bars, restaurants and stores.

29.12.2015

Today a stroll through the city is on the agenda. Tokyo is a very lively city.
We have to adapt to the hustle and bustle first. Everywhere
foreign smells get into our nostrils. At a sushi bar can
we can not resist. From Kobe beef to seaweed and still
raw squid the palette ranges. As a conclusion crowns a crab
Miso soup the delicious meal. It’s a good place to stay.