Shark!

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]Kyodo via Japan Today: Swimming banned on Izu beach after shark captured
The city of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, on the Izu Peninsula banned visitors from swimming on a local beach Sunday after a 3.5-meter hammerhead shark was captured, due to fears there are more sharks in the area. About 600 holidaymakers visited the Usami swimming beach on Sunday, but were restricted to playing at the water's edge. After witnesses began reporting the sighting of a shark in the area from Saturday morning, 11 local fishing boats began an operation to look for the shark, and caught the hammerhead on Sunday afternoon at a point some 20 meters from the shore, city officials said. The city plans to set up a net around a section of the beach on Monday so that visitors can swim safely inside.

Ito city officials were heard muttering something about "a bigger boat". Short TBS news clip here

[Charles]

I just don't understand those shark net swimming areas. It seems like people go to the beach inside a net but they never actually do more than wade a couple feet beyond the shore, they never actually go swimming.

I remember when I was a student in Hakodate, I couldn't find a good place to go swimming, then someone recommended a hotel where you could pay 300Y and use their indoor pool and the outdoor beach. I took along an FG girlfriend that also wanted to go swimming. We got there and the beach was crowded, but nobody was swimming because the surf was fierce. My friend and I decided to go bodysurfing. As we swam out far into the caged area, we noticed there was a long inflatable walkway leading out to an inflatable platform, lots of people were walking out there and jumping up and down as the surf tossed the platform, pushing them high into the air like a trampoline. As we were treading water waiting to catch a wave, I noticed someone was shouting through a bullhorn, and people were waving at us, gesturing for us to come towards the raft. I finally figured it out, the lifeguards were pissed that we would endanger ourselves by actually swimming out about 20 meters from shore, and demanded we return to the beach. So we swam back in. As I came out of the water, there was a long strand of kombu wrapped around my ankle, I kicked it off and a woman came up and grabbed it, carefully washing it off in seawater, folded it up, and carried it away.
My friend and I were embarrassed, apparently the two gaijin who dared to swim had caused a huge sensation and all eyes were focused on us. As we left through the hotel lobby, suddenly a hotel employee came running after us, I thought maybe he was going to ban us from the beach. But he explained that our swimming ticket entitled us to a free ice cream cone, and insisted that he wait while he went to get them for us.
My friend and I decided we liked the place, but from then on, we stuck to the indoor pool. We decided we didn't like being a public spectacle.

[succubusqueen]

now the hammerhead is shark fin soup....

[AssKissinger]

Going out and killing that shark was a stupid and hysterical thing to do.

Charles, you're the only person I ever heard of who couldn't find a place to swim on an island. You are a real idiot.

[Charles]

Charles, you're the only person I ever heard of who couldn't find a place to swim on an island.

I said I couldn't find a GOOD place to swim. There were plenty of trash-filled, polluted beaches that even the locals avoided. This was in Hakodate which is an active port, almost the entire coastline is industrial docks, fishing ports, or covered in concrete tetrapods.

[Greji]

I said I couldn't find a GOOD place to swim. There were plenty of trash-filled, polluted beaches that even the locals avoided. This was in Hakodate which is an active port, almost the entire coastline is industrial docks, fishing ports, or covered in concrete tetrapods.

When I first came to Japan in Uncle Sam's finest, the US Military was prohibited from swiming in any area in Japan, be it swimming pools, lakes, or the ocean. I'm sure it was from fear of sharks. hehehe

Oh, and before you say it GJ, yes, the black ships had already landed! FYVM

[AssKissinger]

I said I couldn't find a GOOD place to swim. There were plenty of trash-filled, polluted beaches that even the locals avoided. This was in Hakodate which is an active port, almost the entire coastline is industrial docks, fishing ports, or covered in concrete tetrapods.

I've been to Hakodate and all I can do is repeat myself. You are an idiot.

[Charles]

I've been to Hakodate and all I can do is repeat myself.

That's all you ever do.

[james]

of swimming and pools etc, i was just curious. not that i can currently afford it but i may be able to eventually and might have the space for a swimming pool. i did a few net searches but really didn't turn anything up in japan for above or in-ground pools beyond those little 2x4m rehabilitation jet pools.

does anyone have any experience with this?

[Mike Oxlong]

I said I couldn't find a GOOD place to swim. There were plenty of trash-filled, polluted beaches that even the locals avoided. This was in JAPAN which is an active port, almost the entire coastline is industrial docks, fishing ports, or covered in concrete tetrapods.

Fixed it for you

[Takechanpoo]

Sea in summur is the uncivillized place where only idiots go.

[amdg]

Gee Take, who blew sand up your vagina?

[Midwinter]

What's wrong baldy? Don't like a little sun screen on your head?

[kurohinge1]

. . . I remember when I was a student in Hakodate, I couldn't find a good place to go swimming, then someone recommended a hotel where you could pay 300Y and use their indoor pool and the outdoor beach. I took along an FG girlfriend that also wanted to go swimming . . . As we swam out far into the caged area, we noticed there was a long inflatable walkway leading out to an inflatable platform, lots of people were walking out there and jumping up and down . . .

As we were treading water waiting to catch a wave, I noticed someone was shouting through a bullhorn, and people were waving at us, gesturing for us to come towards the raft . . . So we swam back in.

My friend and I were embarrassed . . . As we left through the hotel lobby, suddenly a hotel employee came running after us . . . he explained that our swimming ticket entitled us to a free ice cream cone, and insisted that he wait while he went to get them for us . . .

I was re-routed to Hakodate last year in February and the locals are still talking about "that day", many decades ago, but their version goes something like this:

The sea was angry that day, my friends. Then suddenly, we spotted 2 Belugas [white whales] that had been caught in the swimming cage.

We sent people out to the pontoon and used a bullhorn to try and scare them back out to sea, but they seemed to want to beach themselves. That's when we realised that they were people - gaikokujin.

We all felt embarrassed about the situation and what we had been yelling, although we weren't sure if they had understood, so one of the hotel staff told them they had a complimentary ice cream with their beach ticket and that seemed to make them happy.

[color="SandyBrown"][color="Orange"]Belugas[/color][/color]

Sorry, Chuckles, but I couldn't resist. I really did go to Hakodate, though, as Sapporo airport got snowed-in for a day. But there's not much swimming there in February.

The one-carriage train from Oshamanbe to Kutchan was fantastic.

Hokkaido is very easy on the eye, even in winter.

[Charles]

I was re-routed to Hakodate last year in February and the locals are still talking about "that day", many decades ago, but their version goes something like this:

If there was anything sensational about that event, it was probably my skinny Parisienne girlfriend's extremely tiny French bikini. Or maybe it was me, I was starving to death and had lost 35 pounds and I had a hard time keeping my swim trunks up. Hell, if I'd realized that kombu was edible, I'd probably have picked it up myself.

Hokkaido is very easy on the eye, even in winter.

Hokkaido is beautiful in the summer, but I couldn't live there year round, I just can't deal with cold weather.

[AssKissinger]

it was probably my skinny Parisienne girlfriend's extremely tiny French bikini

:rolleyes: More like some stupid fat bitch who dumped you when she caught you fucking your mother.

[American Oyaji]

:rolleyes: More like some stupid fat bitch who dumped you when she caught you fucking your mother.

AK, that's too much man.
I know you don't like some people, but that is just overboard hateful, mean and rude.
He said nothing to you that deserved anything that extreme.

[AssKissinger]

He's been a dick on this board since he started posting.

[Samurai_Jerk]

AK, that's too much man.
I know you don't like some people, but that is just overboard hateful, mean and rude.
He said nothing to you that deserved anything that extreme.

Quit being a pussy.

[American Oyaji]

He's been a dick on this board since he started posting.

And you're saying you haven't been? Who hasn't been?

Sure he can go overboard with his explanations and can be rather condescending, (in that case, so have I), but that's his personality.

He's not insulting , spiteful or rude nor has a tendency to say anything mean spirited or hateful except when attacked which could be the same for anyone.

Chill out man.

[American Oyaji]

Quit being a pussy.

Same goes for you SJ. I said nothing to you. You attack me with insults because I call someone on overly rude behavior towards someone you don't care for either?

Grow up.

[Big Booger]

I and me wife just went to the beach today in Awaji at a place called Urakenmin-san beach.. very nice. Got the sunburn and sand up my butt crack.

Funny thing is I asked my wife if there were sharks on Japanese beaches... and she said never.. Now I know the truth. But it was icy cold water today... nearly froze me nuts off. The hot shower at the beach house really rocked!

[American Oyaji]

What was the air temperature BB?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Same goes for you SJ. I said nothing to you. You attack me with insults because I call someone on overly rude behavior towards someone you don't care for either?

Grow up.

Quit being a pussy.

[amdg]

Can we get back to sharks with frickin' hammers on their heads.

[Big Booger]

What was the air temperature BB?

I am not sure what it was today but now it's 26, so I am guessing around 28 or 29C.

Here's an image of our excursion:

[GomiGirl]

I wanna go to the beach!!! Any beach. Am off to Sado for Kodo Earth Celebration but that is a whole 10 days away.

[Phoenix_stu]

I'm with you girl. Any beach would do for me. Last beach I hit is last year when we went back to Hawaii. I need some sand and sun. Who cares about the sharks. Just let em' try and mess with me.

[AssKissinger]

He's not insulting , spiteful or rude nor has a tendency to say anything mean spirited or hateful except when attacked which could be the same for anyone.

Quit being a pussy. Or go suck his cock if you got such a hard on for him. I wonder if you would feel the same way if he made hundreds of very insulting posts against blacks like he has against Australians.

[maraboutslim]

I don't some Japanese are weird about beaches and swimming, but when I lived in Tokyo and Yokohama, I surfed at least 100 days a year, in every season, and was never alone. Granted this was mainly in Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, but there are Japanese surfers everywhere. Lots of them. Too many of them. And in the summers, plenty of regular ol' swimmer types as well, at least at shonan and down the izu peninsula.