Rub-a-dub-dub: 3 girls in tubs successful in 37 mile crossing from Sado to Honshu

(Via Mainchi) NIIGATA -- Three women completed the 60-kilometer crossing from Sado to Honshu in tub boats Saturday, following in the footsteps of a mythical figure who traversed the straits to see her lover on the mainland.

Kanako Takahashi, 26, Miho Hamada, 25 and Miki Takano, 27, each rowed a tub boat across the Sado Straits to make the first successful crossing in the craft for 40 years; the third overall, but the first ever to be completed solo.

"My arms and hands are really hurting, but I'm so glad it was successful," Hamada said.

A Sado tale tells of a woman called Omitsu paddling one of the island's famous tub boats from Sado to Kashiwazaki, where her fisherman lover Gosaku lived. The Sado Tourism Association planned the three women's crossing, which began at about 10 a.m. Friday in Sado.