Typhoon visit │ NEX-7 & SEL18200LE │ 95mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/25, RAW
In the past 5 days, I have covered over 4000 km, by plane and car. I've travelled from Tokyo to Naha, to Cape Hedo in the Northern tip of Okinawa's main island. Usually, I would say it's been a whirlwind visit, but being as the rainy season is on its way, and I am in Japan, typhoon should do the trick.
When my co-worker and I arrived in Okinawa, it was raining. Hard. We hopped into the hire car and made our way up Route 58 from Naha, which goes all the way up the west of the island, to Cape Hedo. We stopped on the way to have a delicious, local lunch with a couple of my colleagues old friends. Our mission was to replace some parts of an instrument there, amongst other things.
As expected, things didn't go smoothly. We discovered that the main UPS system had failed, meaning our data had no sure-fire time stamps. Damn. However, we were in luck! By complete co-incidence, I also had to change the UPS battery in another system, so we had a spare on site. The old battery still worked well, and we did a "bodge-job", so we can at least resume measurements for now. The nearest hardware store is over 1 hour's drive away (one-way). This means we have to be as prepared as we can be, each time we leave that shop.
One of the issues with Okinawa, is its excessive year-long heat, humidity, and salty air. This corrodes most objects, turning them to rust within a few days, or weeks. This voltage transformer, for example, was actually in a plastic box, but still managed to age several years within just one.
After repairing all of the instruments, we finally have a stable system in place, and we're learning what else we need to prepare for, with each coming visit. I usually like to take a lot of photos when I visit places, but we worked from sunrise to gone-sunset, leaving no time for anything other than driving, eating, and sleeping.
So for now, so long, Okinawa! I hope to see you soon.