Pacha & Perrin in Ichiki, Japan
One of many revelations on our recent roadtrip in Japan for the Caravan of Hope tour, was understanding that we, and the people we connect with, are the renegades, the positive disruptors. We are the weeds growing through the cracks in the concrete, strong and resilient with roots that go deep.
We seek a system change, away from the current mindset that's led to destruction of health, of the earth, people and culture. Along our journey, we witnessed lifestyles inspired by a different way of thinking in local communities reclaiming a connection to a still wild and abundant Japan, nowhere more pronounced than the tiny coastal village of Ichiki in Miyazaki in southern Kyushu. By coincidence and good fortune, Patagonia filmmaker and photographer extraordinaire, Perrin James, joined our expedition for a few wonderful days.
This is how the story played out; after years of connecting through Perrin’s beautiful work, a surprise message lit up my phone during a late night road trip from an event deep in the mountains of Shikoku. He was curious about our tour and the conversations we were holding around regenerative agriculture, sharing of local seeds and visiting the wonderful folk who are part of the Sloth Club - a group my Mum helped start 25 years ago. He had a few days spare and asked to join in.
We picked him up in the recently declared, 'Organic City' of Oita, known for its fish and (too many) concrete factories. We loaded his extra boards on the roof racks and filled the back to the brim with camera equipment.
It was rainy season, but we got lucky with glorious sunshine days, and just enough wet weather to rustle up some surf, replenish the waterfalls and provide a glorious palette of 'four seasons in one day' on the road to our final destination of Ichiki.
We met up with Subaru Takahashi, believed to be the youngest ever to sail the pacific solo at the age of 14, and Takashi Watanabe, a legendary leader of the organic 'daizu' (soy bean) revolution. They found their way to this far flung oasis; drawn by nature, the waves and hopefully a safer distance from nuclear disasters like Fukushima to raise their growing families.
Subaru and Takashi have joined many other families to support each other in a quest to live a sustainable, intergenerational, localised community - surrounded by nature, guided by play.
Takashi took us to visit his organic rice paddy, where we squished around in the mud with his son, Nemu, helping clear the weeds - laughing in the setting sun with the squelching and splashing and new understanding about primordial mud - reminding us that life is constantly reborn from decay.
The next morning we surfed and played in the (tiny) waves with the local crew made up from ages 6 to 60, on a wide variety of surf craft, hooting and hollering and sharing the stoke.
Later that evening, these families turned out for our little event of music, seed sharing and stories from our childhood deep in the cloud forest of Ecuador. At the event Subaru shared the story of their play-based ocean education project, including their project to harvest an old beech tree and crafting it into an ocean going, 6 person canoe. The local kids were involved in the whole process; little hands with hammers, chisels and rasps - full involvement all the way to taking it out into their ocean playground.
After a wild Island-style night of celebration, we woke up to blue skies and loaded this huge canoe into the back of a small truck. Unloading it took a small crane and many straining shoulders. I was in the middle - concentrating the weight - and it took all my muscle-power, laughing and hollering, to carry it to the water's edge. The kids swarmed to the front of the pack jostling for a first turn and a chance to get their hands on one of the paddles.
Just a few splashes away was Kojima island, famous for its wild monkeys - a striking landscape of interlacing rock and warm jungle, dotted with small shrines. At the island’s edge came the sounds of children’s giggles as they searched for little crabs nestled in the pools. As we played, mothers prepared locally grown organic rice on fireplaces on the beach. We shared onigiri,pickled seaweed and local seafood to celebrate a beautiful morning and soon it was time to load up and head to our next destination
This is the system changing; from the children up - from a connected, playful community. With the collective rhythm of our paddles, sharing deep breaths with the purest oxygen from the ocean, we chart our course - in this case in a locally harvested, homemade, heavy dugout canoe - towards our destination: hope.
One breath, then another. We can find our way home.
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