the great Kumamoto quarry jump

My pursuit of waterfalls to jump off has taken me all around Kyushu Island. However, one of the best jumps is so close to my home. Here you see me demonstrating a not-so-fundamentally sound jump into an old quarry, which is conveniently located near downtown Kumamoto (you can see downtown in the top right).

My brother and I first discovered this place on a tip from a local man who is famous for going down the stairs to the local bar on his hands. Trust me, it's awesome. We had only heard of people jumping it, never saw it. So naturally, unintelligently, we jumped right in. I can only guess how deep it is. The water seems to be clean enough... In addition to jumping here on several occasions, we ended a hash here and with drunken teamwork, we managed to push a couple thousand pound boulder over the edge and into the abyss. Still one of the coolest moments in Japan.

I post this because since last fall, the powers that be have decided to make this into a park. In the past, we had to access the quarry by walking through some dense bamboo forests, a very inaccessible, well-kept secret. The secret is apparently out. They have tore out the forests and foliage and built a road up to the quarry. They built a huge drain in the water to regulate the level. The even built a staircase down to the water so people could take a proper swim. (We all know how much Japanese people love swimming in cloudy water--not much). I hope to get another jump in here sometime, but it's a little hard when they are working on the place all the time. Another spot down.