We finished the last day of diving! Now the time in Kushimoto is almost over. I have to wash my diving gears and packed them. We had a birthday party for the captain’s daughter. We went out to a restaurant across from the super market. After that, I took photos of the artifacts that we raised. My plastic tripod didn’t work well, and the lighting inside the room was not the best setting for artifacts photography. However, I somehow managed to take photos. These should be good for record keeping, but not good for publication. I guess I should have spent more time on setting up, but there were two reasons that I decided not to put too much time on these images. First, Akagi san said he would like to take photos of the artifacts tomorrow morning. He is an excellent photographer, and I know he can take a perfect photos. Another reason is that I was in a hurry. I was invited to go to Karaoke-Bar with the Japanese tam member. So I finished taking photos, call the Taxi, and joined my Japanese friends at the Bar HanaHana

Enomoto san, Nakamura san, Shimano san, and the Captain were there. It’s a typical small drinking bar with a Karaoke Machine at the corner. We didn’t sing that much but mainly talked. They told me that at first, they were not sure how much they wanted to put their work and time into the project. However, at the end of the project, they were all happy that they joined the team, and would like to do more for the project in the future. Although the municipality was helpful, the Japanese member did not see the work that the town did. They thought that the town should help/support the project. Anyway, after an hour or later, we decided to go to another across the street. No body was at the bar, but the people from the municipal office entered the bar. To my surprise, Shimano san started explaining the importance of our project to them as soon as they entered the bar. It took me by a surprise, because I did not realize how much he really enjoyed being our team member and he wanted to promote the work. The captain said he can push the town to do more for us.

Well, my feeling was somewhat complex. The Japanese team members probably want to see the full support from the town. That’s ideal, but I don’t think it is necessary; the town may have other areas that they want to spend money on. There are number of people in Japan who has been working for nearly 30 years to promote nautical/maritime archaeology. There are several known submerged sites, but it has been extremely difficult to get support form the town and start a project. I have dealt with several municipalities in the past, and I know the difficulties. Comparing some towns that I know, the Kushimoto town office is doing a really good job, really, an excellent support. I have not seen such a great support for underwater archaeological project from any municipalities. The town gave us a new research center, and always willing to do extra work for us. Always welcoming and helping the project in many ways. So, I wasn’t sure why the team members were complaining. Well, they don’t know how the town office operates, perhaps, or they really feel that this is their project as well. I am not sure how much the town can be a help for us. Maybe the people of Kushimoto always had a culture of helping others. The story of Ertugrul shows how the people of the town helped the sailors. Today, I definitely see that the people of the town helping others.

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