With the state of emergency in the metropolitan Area

After the busy New Year holidays, the atmosphere of the island changed drastically when the state of emergency in the metropolitan area started on January 7.

From July to the end of the year

The tourism industry on the island began to resume operations around July last year.
“Go To Travel Campaign policy” has led to a large number of tourists visiting.

We were really busy throughout December.

We worried about strange touristes who had bad manners.
As soon as they got off the boat, they took off their masks because of the feeling of openness when they came to a small island.

State of after the new year

On Ishigaki Island next door, the number of people infected with covid-19 has been increasing since around Christmas.
In January, when someone living in Ishigaki, who was close to me, was infected and hospitalized, I was nervous that the waves were just around the corner.
At the same time that the state of emergency started in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the mayor of Ishigaki City requested everyone to refrain from going out unnecessarily.

There are only small clinics on the island, no hospitals.
If we are infected with corona, we will not be able to take a regular boat to the next island, Ishigaki Island.
Most of the islanders are elderly people over 60 years old.
There are many families that live in large families, so there is something like an implicit determination in the hearts of the islanders that we should never send out infected people.

They closed Water Buffalo tourism, the centerpiece of sightseeing on the island from January 12th.
They closed their shops and Small bicycle rental shops will take turns operating.
They limited to islanders to the restaurants on the island and have more days off.
They canceled the school trip that the children were looking forward to at the end of January.
Children were really looking forward to, so we can’t help but … we are crying.

As the number of tourists will decrease, the timetable of ferry are now special version between each remote island centering on Ishigaki Island.
→Click here for the reduced number of regular vessels in the spring of 2020

From today

I hope that no infected people will appear on the island as it is.
However, I hope that customers who visit the island even in such a situation will take all possible measures and enjoy the time on this quiet island.
You can’t do sightseeing in buffalo, but the blue sea, the blue sky, the sunset on the west pier, and the starry sky are still there.

Some cafes do not intend to close as long as the ferry leaves.
If there are people who come even at such times, she doesn’t want them to be disappointed that “there is no shop open”.
She want them to use it as a place to take a break when the weather is a little bad.
She want them to come again.

I will have less work for a while, but that’s why I think it’s a break that God gave me.
If we can live a relaxing life on the island, we can enjoy it now.