Kids Web Japan

A view of the start point for the rally

Praying for a safe journey

"Let's go!"

The Wakuwaku Sports Club at Obama Elementary School, run mainly by the parent-teacher association, organizes twice-monthly canoe classes from June to September and a rally at the beginning of September, in which the students can see how much they have improved over the summer.

This year's rally fell on September 10. Twelve children from the third to sixth grades, along with Mr. Enokizono, the second grade teacher, and Mr. Matsukida, the vice principal, who take part as special participants, will canoe from the uninhabited island of Benten, five kilometers offshore, to Obama Beach.

At 8 in the morning at the beach, students wearing blue T-shirts with the Wakuwaku Sports Club logo begin to arrive. On the beach is a yellow banner saying "Finish." After everybody has gathered, they break up and board two motorboats for Benten Island. The first thing they do after landing is pay their respects and pray for a safe journey to Benzaiten, a goddess of good luck enshrined by local fishermen in the middle of the island. They then go back to shore. The time has come to depart. The group's members get into a huddle, gear themselves up for the voyage, and get into the canoes that Wakuwaku Sports Club manager, Minato Kazuto, directs them to use.

Preparations are finished, and everyone sets off.

The students canoe in single file.

There's a geat view of Sakurajima from the water.

It is now 9:20. One by one, the children set off in their canoes. The boats of the 12 children, led by sixth grader Takuya, and two teachers are paddling in single file. The motor boat carrying PTA members leads the way and decides on the route. A fishing boat carrying Mr. Minato, the principal, and others, follows in the rear, with Mr. Minato shouting out directions over a loudspeaker.

"It's not a race. Your goal is to move together in formation. So don't rush! The canoes are drifting to the left. Aim for the right." Mr. Minato's booming voice echoes around. This is the fourth time that the sixth graders have taken part in the rally, and even though the water below them is 120 meters deep, they smile as they paddle and seem completely at ease.

It's now 9:50. It has begun to drizzle, the wind has picked up, and the waves are higher. The students have hit a spot where the pull of the tide is strong. It's the hardest part of the course. The 14 canoes are out of formation. The number 2 canoe, which was falling behind, is pulled back into place by one of the motorboats.

Battling through the waves

Joining up for a rest

The canoes move ahead steadily, stopping three times so the children can drink water, and just after 10:10 the yellow banner posted at Obama Beach comes into clear view. The voices of the parents waiting on the beach and cheering the children on can be heard.

At 10:28, Mr. Minato blows his whistle to signal that they have reached their goal. After this, everybody gathers for a commemorative photograph, smiling when the picture is taken. The rally again has ended in success.

"I was scared when the waves got big," says Kana, a third grader who took part for the first time. Yuki, a fourth grader who dropped out in the middle of the rally last year, made it to the finish this year and found that practice pays off. "Last year he was so tired he couldn't walk when he got out of the boat, but this year he's fine," laughs his mother, who was waiting for him on the beach.

Reaching the goal safe and sound

Well done, everyone!

"Canoeing is fun. Fish sometimes jump up from the water. And you even get to see dolphins jumping," says fourth grader Masami. This summer day spent in the shadow of Sakurajima in Kagoshima Bay will be engraved in the memories of all the students.