We woke to winds howling through the open patio door, left open in an unsuccessful attempt to dry hand-washed cycling kits. Breakfast was fairly decent once the coffee arrived.
For a variety of reasons, navigating the route was much easier today. Brenda and I navigated by ourselves after lunch. Our guides showed us several things, as the photos will attest.
- First was the Tatebe Shrine. The difference between shrine and a temple is that the shrine has a gate (not shown in the photo).
- Then we stopped off at the largest bench in the world, a part of which is shown in the photo. The bench will accommodate 1,000 Japanese – or maybe 350 Americans!
- Next on the tour was an old house which originally belonged to a sea merchant. Modest by appearance from the front, the house was many rooms on three levels. The guide at the house had to show us everything; he was very proud.
Today’s scenery was much improved over yesterdays. The cycling was difficult; Brenda and I even walked one hill.
Yesterday I went to an Onsen and promised to describe it. The advertisements look good: naked men standing in a room of chest high water looking at the ocean thru an open wall. Well that’s a far cry from what we had yesterday. It much more resembled a hot tub in the YMCA. No standing; no ocean view. I was reminded of the hot-springs we visited in Budapest last year. You could at least stand here and most were in the open air but I was not impressed. So I don’t like hot springs and I don’t like Onsen. But I don’t like massages either. Maybe I’m just weird.
Tonight we’re in Wajima, a town of 32,000 on the coast. The town is known for it’s lacquer ware and tomorrow we’ll have an opportunity to design our own decorated chopsticks. By the way, at lunch today I made some progress on my chopstick “skills”.
Another thing in the area, which I hope to see tomorrow, are 1,000 rice fields on the side of one hill.
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