Japan: The Izu Peninsula- Frozen Coelacanth,

Fuji view Camp, 1500 year old trees, GOLD, continental collisions, and  Monkeys

Drove to the Numazu Port for lunch and discovered a 350million fossil still living today. 

The Coelacanth has been found in fossils but only in 1938 was one found in nets off Sth Africa.

A second was found in 1952. In 1973 the Japanese sent a research team to the Comoro Islands and these two are the only frozen Specimens

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This rare Deep Water museum in Namszu specialises in what’s living below 150m.

Its existence is because just off the shores of this fishing town is the 2,500m Suruga Trench.

Incredible specimens in pressurised tanks

And a stuffed Coelacanth

Here is something new to me.

It’s a Giant Isopod that lives in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 350 to 900m. It grows to 50cm and feeds off decaying carcasses of large fish and whales that fall to the sea floor. 

They do not move much, and perhaps because there is little food at this depth it’s been recorded surviving for 5 years without eating.

Now that’s a strict diet!

With all those fish swimming around it had to be a seafood tempura for lunch.

Fuji view camp. Drinks as we watched the sun set over Fuji.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35.02469,138.79034&ll=35.02469,138.79034&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Sunset from our camp.

Cape Ose and the oldest and largest Juniper tree on this small peninsula.

This is the most northern point in Japan that they exist.

This particular tree is 1500 years old and has survived many tsunamis.

We met this artist last night at camp , and today doing what he enjoys- pencil sketching these old twisted trees.

You can touch but cannot have- the Guinness Book confirms the world’s largest gold bar at 250Kg and 99.99% pure.

A quick calculation makes is A$27M+ some small change

The Toi gold mine produced over 557 tons of gold and has been producing since 1601.

It closed in 1996

Lyns gone crazy taking flower pictures! so this is her bit.

What I call ‘Grandma Flowers’ are Hydrangeas and a native of Japan.

In Japanese culture they are associated with heartfelt emotion, gratitude and apology.

This is because a Japanese emperor gave a bunch to the family of a girl he loved to apologise for neglecting her instead focusing on his work.

There you go guys… go buy some

Tonight’s camp overlooking these yellow cliffs at Koganezaki Park.

The yellow is from the volcanic solutions discolouring the rocks.

Fuji is still visible.

We are about 70kms due South

There were the cores of ancient under under sea volcanoes .

The Izu peninsula south of Mt Fuji is actually part of the Philippines continental plate and that is pushing into the Japan plate.

Thus the volcanic activity in the area.

Pillow Lava is molten lava extruded under the sea.

Proof that this part of the land mass was created below sea level and as its moved north its risen as its ‘collided’ with the Japan plate.

The entrance to the old stone quarry that was active in the Edo period, this quarry produced the stone for the local Castle.

The mine is an area of 2,000m and the stone originally volcanic ash and pumice now called Izu stone.

It is highly fire resistant and ideal for ovens, storehouses, and buildings.

Terrestrial Old World Monkeys are a native to Japan.

Here in Hagachizaki Bay the roam free and you can walk by them.

There is a population of around 130 in the small bay ares.

Todays drive

Camp 43 - 7th June