A few weekends ago, Jason and I ventured out into the Pacific in search of the humpback whale. From February to March every year, the humpback whales travel across the Pacific from Alaska to Okinawa. They spend two months here in the warm waters off Okinawa while bringing the next humpback generation into the world.
We're all set! Bring on the show!
Actually, the rules in Japan are quite strict (as they should be), not allowing boats to get too close to the whales. Not to worry! There was no need to chase these beautiful creatures down. They glided by right in front of our boat as if we had made an appointment with them!
Our captain was determined to find just the right spot for us.
As you can see by the picture above, we were just ONE of many boats out that day.
And like magic, they appeared.
We watched intently to see them spray from their blowhole. That was there way of letting us know they were coming up. By the way, notice how clear the water is. Before the whale has even surfaced all the way, you can see it.
I was determined to get a good tail shot...and low and behold, I did! National Geographic here I come. 
This guy was amazingly huge! A gentle giant for sure!
And one last wave before we had to head back to shore.
Jason had to hang on for dear life on the way back...not as relaxed as this picture shows. Our captain gave us plenty of time with the whales. But that meant we had to go 90 to nothing to make it back to our bus on time. Here's a short video clip I took on the camera. Be forewarned, you might get sea sick watching it (we were bobbing up and down on the waves after all). But, it does give you a pretty good glance of one whale gliding through the water and another surfacing.
We've heard horror stories about others going out on whale watching tours. But our trip couldn't have been better. Perfect weather, perfect sea conditions, perfectly beautiful whales!
