July 2006Birthday flip
We got the water running again at the guide house, just in time for the house to fill up with our
summer guides. Gabe came back and got his rafting licence just in time to start work. Andrew and
Ganga came down from Hokkaido after having had enough of school tours on flat rivers. Dan has been
staying up at Chiiori lately, but as of this week is probably back full time, for the next little
while anyway. I'm still in the granny flat, so I have a little bit more privacy than the other boys,
but all up that makes two Canadians, two Aussies, a Nepali, and an assortment of Japanese bugs
summering together in the Happy Guide House.
Scouting the big rapid at Kokyo
Work is getting busy, too, as the summer comes on properly. I took a quick holiday to Kyushu early
this month to make sure I got some fun in while I could. Now we've usually got something going on
every day. The rainy season hasn't given up the ghost yet, but when the sun is out it's genuinely
hot and great for hitting the river in nothing but shorts and life-jacket. All the rain means that
the river's been too high recently for running the best section down at Koboke and for canyoning
on our usual course, but it hasn't cost us too much business otherwise. I'd just like to get more
time on the Koboke section of the river so that I can guide down there when we have really busy days.
Running the Toyonaga Gedan rapid
One of the benefits (well, I think so, anyway) of working in a small company like Happy Raft is having
to contribute in many different ways. Some guys are just here to paddle on the river, but I've been
rafting, canyoning, making lunch, baking bagels, taking photos, working on the website, answering the
phone, cutting the grass, digging up potatoes, shoveling concrete, building and destroying houses, and
driving the minibus. I'll hopefully try my hand at kayaking, too, before the season is out. It's all
great experience and I'm planning on coming back for next season at this stage.
Heading into Kokyo on the training boat
I took my first proper full day tour the other day - with the river running quite high we do a different
course that I am able to guide without too much trouble. Once I found out that my customers were
formerly in the Kochi University swim team, I did my best to turn them out of the boat at every
opportunity. But today, my brother's birthday, I had my first proper flip. I deliberately went into
the guts of the rapid at Iwahara, which we usually avoid by sliding down the right side of the biggest
wave. Today there was never going to be any result but a big swim for everyone on board, but with two
guides on the boat, a safety kayak, and customers who were up for a swim, it was no problem. Happy
birthday, Michael! Hopefully I won't repeat the favour for Mum and Dad later this season. For my
trouble, though, I get to wear the Happy Cowboy Hat until someone else flips. And I had to buy some
beers. Such is life. :)
Hitting the big right hand wave at Sandan
I thought dancing was going to be a casualty of the rafting high season, but I've actually taken up more
dancing this year by loosely joining the local Ootoyo Yosakoi team. Yosakoi is Kochi's summer festival
of dance, quite different to Tokushima's Awa Odori. I once wrote about Yosakoi in
