Fish Out of Water

I woke up in a very warm car as the sun was shining and I hadn’t left the windows open wide enough — I was worried about more rain overnight. I’ve also still got the very thick duvet I bought for Hokkaido, which may need replacing, especially once summer really kicks in.

I fancied a shower and a sauna, so I found a beautiful onsen with views over Lake Biwa from the baths, only about a 15-minute drive up the road. I grabbed an egg sando and a coffee from the kombini on the way over. The onsen was quite a local establishment, with absolutely no English anywhere. Luckily, my ordering and onsen-related Japanese has got pretty good by now, so I managed fine. If in doubt, the men's bath always has a blue curtain — the number one thing not to get wrong...

After I’d washed, I set out in search of more bass. I spotted a couple of people fishing right by the onsen car park, so I got set up and headed to the shore — this time with the camp chair I’d bought for the F1. I set up and waited. Waiting seems to be the main part of fishing. After a couple of hours and two episodes of The Rest is Politics, I decided I wasn’t getting anywhere, so I packed up and drove into the biggest town on the south coast of the lake in search of some dinner.

I was talked into an izakaya by two Japanese staff who were standing on the main street next to Zeze Station in Otsu. I had an onsen tamago salad, some edamame, and sashimi. The waiter was very interested in me — I don’t think they get many tourists in that area. As I was walking out the door, she even professed her love to me — her English wasn’t all that good.

On the walk back to the car, I overheard a Canadian speaking to a Japanese man about fishing as they headed into a bar. I followed them in and asked if I could join. As it turns out, the Japanese man had been fishing on Biwa his whole life and has won several bass fishing competitions over the years — I promise I’m not making this up. The Canadian chap ran his own tackle shop near Toronto and imports Japanese-made bait. We spoke for what turned out to be quite a long time, and I discovered that Lake Biwa is one of the most pressured and difficult bass fishing lakes in the world — wish I’d found that out two days ago…

They had both done a lot of travelling throughout their lives, following their passion for fishing, which got me thinking — that’s really the aim in life, isn’t it? Find your passion, and if you can find a way to make money from it and follow it around the world, then you’ve cracked it.

One of my favourite Bourdain quotes:
“Nothing unexpected or wonderful is likely to happen if you have an itinerary in Paris filled with the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.”

I’ve planned as little as possible on this trip, and while there are days I feel lonely or a bit lost, everything always seems to work out in the end.