So besides being our Plan-B, starting from Munakata also allowed us stop by the Fukuoka Coast Guard HQ and have a chat (at their recommendation). It went as good as it could have went and besides doing their best to convince us that this expedition is very dangerous and it should not be done they also said that we have to call every 4 hours and get a support boat for the Okinoshima to Tsushima route. To top it off they showed a graphic representation of the ship traffic (pictured below) coming out of Shimonoseki with about half of it passing through our path or travel…yet another attempt to dissuade us from attempting this crossing. We did meet a really nice Coast Guard Officer (pictured above) who seemed excited about the expedition but continued to urge us to be cautious.

Following the visit and at the Coast Guards recommendation/requirement we went to the local port (Munakata) to discuss the possibility of a support boat to Okinoshima. After a few conversations and about 3 hours of waiting we received confirmation that we could hire a support boat to take us to Okinoshima for $2000. I’m sure you could imagine my thoughts…Ummmm…let me pull some money off the expedition money tree in my back yard. Well, in the end I could not afford it so we were now on to plan C.