Those who wish to see the sunrise can do so from around the Ojika Island Ferry Terminal.
Get yourself a cup of coffee from the shop inside the terminal and right outside the east exit you can see the sun rising slowly above the mysterious Nozaki Island.

Have a look on your left. You are not the only person enjoying the morning’s glory.
A senior man with his camera, tripod, and a bicycle will be there, snapping away.

Meet Mr. Yamaguchi― a retired fisherman turned photography enthusiast.

Every morning fishing boats bring in their catch around 6 AM and Mr. Yamaguchi is there, with his DSLR camera, waiting to “record” the day’s catch.

Since the age of 28 he has been keeping a record of the day’s catch: grunt 33 kg, large size barracuda, tuna 10 kg. Retirement didn’t stop him too, on the contrary, he got himself a camera which made keeping record even more fun.

And it’s not only the fish at the port! Mr. Yamaguchi also keeps a record of sunrises and sunsets, flowers blooming, boats passing, etc..

“The sun rises at a different point every day”― he tells us enthusiastically.
“No day is the same. I enjoy finding all the little differences in every single day”.

Mr. Yamaguchi prints out and frames all of his favorite photos. He travels to Sasebo city in mainland Japan to get the photos printed.

Diligence is Yamaguchi-san’s life’s motto. To keep his mind healthy, he exercises his (phenomenal) memory by reciting all the historical dates, his junior high school textbook as well as Japan’s Imperial Rescript on Education by heart. His love for numbers shines through in his daily records that are full of time, dates, measurements and scales.

Mr. Yamaguchi is always happy to show you his photos and share information about the scenic spots on Ojika Island. So feel free to say Konnichiwa (Hi!) to him if you see him around. Otherwise, you can ask Ojika Island Tourism to be introduced. Exploring Ojika with locals is always more fun!

Photo taken by Hiromi Nakatomi