With one last heave, Mayumi Okada launches a sopping-wet rope into the Pacific Ocean. As a fresh afternoon wind forms frothy crests on the waves, her husband, Kuniaki, leaves his cabin, peers over the edge of their boat and confirms the batch of oyster “spat” larvae is in position, ready to mature into the plump, highly prized bivalves associated with this region of north-east Japan.
The couple abandoned regular careers three years ago to build a new life in Tomari, a village of 2,200 people, 500km north of Tokyo. Kuniaki, 54, had always dreamed of earning a living going out to sea.
“He had always wanted to be a fisherman, so we looked at a lot of places in the region, and Ōfunato was the most welcoming,” Mayumi, 49, said.…