Posted by Sara (on the Esperanza):

We made it! We're finally anchored in Tokyo, in Yokohama Bay to be precise.

The city is shrouded in smog, which has a strangely attractive glow from a distance in the early morning, but close up becomes impressive simply for its scale, enveloping one of the busiest port areas in the world. As it is Sunday, apparently harbour traffic is quiet, but that is pretty relative to be honest. After weeks in the Southern Ocean where other ships are such a rarity, the massive cargo vessels and scurrying tugs that appear almost from nowhere through the industrial haze make a stark contrast.

Now we are at anchor, surrounded by two coastguard boats, two police boats, and a port authority boat. We wave, they wave, we film, they film! Now the formalities begin - the paperwork and permissions that we were told could only be done by an agent, but we have managed to do it ourselves (well the magical team on the ground in Tokyo has managed to do it!) - but the main thing is - we are so pleased to be HERE! Once the formalities are over, then we can really start to do what we came to do - raise the debate on high seas whaling.

Welcome to Tokyo!

( press release here )