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We try new ‘adrift at sea’ experience and end up floating alone on the Yamaguchi coast

Katie Pask May 30, 2022
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In the middle of the ocean, no one can hear you scream.

There’s a whole bunch of things that Go Hatori has been invited to report on during his time as writer for SoraNews24. Previews for new movies, new food products to taste test, places to visit — you get the idea.

Go’s most recent invitation came from Aso View, a company that specialises in unique and affordable experience packages. Aso View’s invitation was certainly quite unique, and our reporter was asked if he would like to “experience being adrift in the middle of the ocean“.

It was certainly a pretty extreme sounding invitation, but as someone got willingly beaten up by a bunch of Maasai warriors from Kenya, it’s safe to say that Go Hatori is not a man to shy away from such unusual experiences, and willingly accepted the invitation.

The trip was extreme from the word ‘go’, right down to the meeting time, as Go found himself at Yamaguchi Prefecture’s Shimonoseki Station at 4 o’clock in the morning.

The sun hadn’t even fully risen as Go set off to the meeting point, Toyota Lakeside Park Campsite. As the name suggested, Go found himself standing in front of a lake. Is this where the adrift experience was going to take place? Being adrift in a lake wasn’t exactly the extreme experience that Go had been expecting…

Thankfully, no. They were there for a spot of kayaking — the traditional activity to partake in before being abandoned in the middle of the ocean.

This was Go’s first time in a kayak, but the instructor explained how to kayak very clearly, and within minutes Go was a kayaking machine, making his way around the lake at a leisurely pace.

▼ With such excellent kayaking form, you’d never guess that this was Go’s first time!

It was at this point that Go remembered the reason behind the 4 a.m. start to his adventure — the experience package he’d been invited to try had also included ‘watching the sunrise whilst kayaking’.

… unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day, and so the sunrise was kind of difficult to see.

But while the kayaking experience was perfectly pleasant, Go was ready for something more extreme, and the time had come to get what he had come for — to be marooned in the middle of the ocean. He headed for Tsunoshima, an island off the coast of Yamaguchi where the adrift experience was to take place. After a brief explanation of how the experience worked…

… it was time to change into wetsuits…

… and to head out into the ocean via banana boat.

▼ It was a pretty speedy banana boat.

▼ Such speed!!

Once the boat had gotten far out enough, Go leapt into the water, ready to start his drifting experience. The banana boat driver gave him a jaunty wave, sped off and left Go…

… alone …

… completely alone …

… in the middle of the ocean…!!

Everywhere Go looked, there was just an endless horizon; there were no signs of life anywhere to be seen.

What was this… overwhelming loneliness…?!

Go is not a man who is unfamiliar with spending time alone. In fact, you could almost say that out of all our SoraNews24 writers, he is the man who is most comfortable with it. After all, he’s done solo baseball and solo workout classes to name a few. But this… this was the most lonely he’d ever felt.

But while floating alone might not have been Go’s cup of tea, being adrift with people was fun! Luckily, the other people taking part in the adrift experience soon returned and joined Go in drifting in the ocean.

They’d only met for the first time that day, but there’s nothing like being adrift together in the middle of the ocean to bring strangers together. Soon, the four friends were floating together, relaxing and sharing their feelings.

▼ The way back was just as amazing — look at that view!

And just like that, the four ocean explorers were back on dry land. This experience had it all — thrills, excitement, and the feeling of extreme ‘nothingness’. And Go felt like he had really learned something through it all — while spending time by yourself is good, there are some experiences that are twice as fun when friends are there with you.

The experience package was also surprisingly affordable, coming in at 10,000 yen ($78.66), which included drone photography. The package will stop temporarily during June, but will re-open for guests in July, so anyone wanting to take part in the ultimate adrift experience, which is described as ‘thrilling or relaxing‘, can make a reservation via the website.

If you want to check out other things in Shimonoseki while you’re there, there’s plenty to see and do.

Related: Aso View
Images: ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]