Fishing in Atami

Atami is a small, beach resort town on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture.  It's a popular weekend getaway for people from Tokyo, Yokohama and Shizuoka to enjoy the surf, relax in a hot spring, and munch on fresh fish.

I was invited to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday fishing in Atami.

We left at 6:30 AM, for the three hour drive; my friend refused to let me sleep in the car, instead pointing out all the unique features along the route...

My friend:
"Cutenekko! You can see the shinkansen from this spot. If you see it, you're lucky!"

Me:
(sleepy) "Wha? Lucky? Oh wait, I saw it! Woo! I'm lucky!" (suddenly awake and excited over a seeing a bullet train)

My friend:
"This area is so countryside, eh?"

Me:
(looking at nothing but rice fields and mountains) "Very true. It's not like Bangkok at all! Why did I come here?!? I swear I'm a city girl." (laugh)

But I have to admit, the countryside of Kanagawa is really winning me over. I took these photos from the car....

the view shows the Pacific Ocean

At 9 am, we arrived at Atami. This was my first time visiting this area, so I took photos of the harbor, while my friend set up the fishing gear.

Harbor view:

The gear, set up and ready for catching fish!

This must have been a hot spot, because my friend caught a small fish right away. We released him after taking this photo:

My friend then re-baited and caught another one. This one was a bit bigger, so we kept it for a bit before releasing it:

We moved further down the pier, setting up next to a longer pier, which jettisoned out further out from the shore:

By noon, our area became quite crowded. Next to us, were two young brothers, enjoying fishing while their mother and grandfather watched:

On the other side of us, was an older gentleman fishing for squid. Poor guy, he didn't catch anything...

My friend taught me how to bait the hooks, casting, reeling and the most difficult -- timing. After about  half an hour, I learned to spot the tell-tale signs of when a fish is just nibbling, versus a bite. My teacher was so good, I caught three fish quickly!

Fish number one: a striped eel catfish 

(It was quite poisonous, so we quickly tossed him back):

(photo courtesy of National Geographic and Google Search)

Fish number two: a highly poisonous, baby lion fish

Fish number three: a small one (not sure the name)

I had such a good time. It was nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors, which is what all Canadians love to do. If you have any Canadian friends, just invite them to join you outdoors, doing any activity--fishing, hiking, cycling-- we love the fresh air. No fresh air = no life (for a Canadian) ^_^

Check back again tomorrow. After fishing, my buddy and I walked around Atami and took in some sights. I'll post more then. 

Information about travel to Atami in English is HERE and HERE. 日本語の情報はここです。