Brian: A few Golden Week Updates

4/28/07
Expenditures for the day:
¥5425 Takamatsu Terminal Hotel
¥1050 Udon lunch
¥600 bus to Naruto
¥500 entrance to bridge
¥880 yakiniku (harami)
¥135 yakisoba sandwich
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¥8590 total

We arranged to meet at Kyoto station at 9:00AM, whereupon we redeemed our JR passes, withdrew money, and left by Shinkansen for Okayama. From there, we changed trains to Takamatsu, arriving around 1PM. We left our baggage at the hotel, then had udon for lunch. Takamatsu is known for its udon, and in fact we got a map that listed all the places in the city that served udon. Lunch was indeed delicious. The difference is in the texture of the udon noodle itself. It is more chewy and has a good intrinsic taste. At about 2:30 we departed Takamatsu to see the Uzushio whirlpools in Naruto. We arrived at about 5PM and paid ¥500 to enter the observatory bridge. There weren’t any whirlpools today, unfortunately. The view from the bridge was still pretty good. The water swirled around the base of the bridge and around rocks that were visible because it was low tide. The water formed what looked standing waves in the narrow channel. I only wish there was a real whirlpool because we went all that way to see it. It was 9PM by the time we got back to Takamatsu. We walked around a shopping arcade looking for food to eat and ended up eating yakiniku, which is where you grill your own meat. There were only 6 small pieces of meat per plate, so I ate a sandwich at a convenience store afterward. Tomorrow we will go to Ritsurin Garden.

4/29/07
¥345 sandwich and cider
¥400 Ritsurin garden entrance
¥610 udon lunch
¥800 Dogo onsen
¥1370 dinner
¥62 popsicle
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¥3587 total
The days are filled with lots of traveling. It’s hard to keep up the enthusiasm for the new places we visit. In the morning was the Ritsurin garden, supposedly a contender for one of the top 3 gardens in Japan. Honestly, it was pretty hard to appreciate the beauty of yet another garden so soon after experiencing the Imperial garden and Ueno garden. It was just a nice stroll in the park but nothing special. The fun part was just hanging out and goofing off in this big meadow. The other cool thing was the ponds filled with lots of huge koi. There is a stand that sells fish food and right next to it, the koi swarm in massive numbers. Jason was trying to feed this super large koi we nicknamed the godfather koi. After the Ritsurin garden we had udon at another restaurant in Tatsuyama before heading off for Matsuyama. The train rides are really good for taking naps or doing reading. We arrived in Matsuyama at about 5PM and had to take a really crowded trolley car. The day was hot and yellow like the mid-Autumn and the trolley car was like a tin can in an oven. We finally arrived at and checked in to the Hotel Patio. It was right across from the Dogo Onsen, our object for traveling to Matsuyama. The 5 boys, Patrick, me, Michael, Daryl, and Jason headed over just before 6PM and waited briefly before entering the Dogo Onsen for ¥800. Stephanie had been in an onsen before and said she didn’t like it, so she stayed at the hotel and took a nap. It was the first time I’d been in an onsen and the second time I’d been in a communal shower setting (the first time was a week and a half ago in the capsule hotel). This time it was even more awkward because I was with my friends. None of us really had any idea of what to do. First we had to put our shoes in shoe lockers. Then, we made our way upstairs and entered the men’s dressing room. It was really busy, with lots of guys walking around wearing nothing. We found some lockers and stripped down and explored the onsens. There were two on the second floor, which looked virtually identical. The first looked less crowded so I went there, the rest stayed in the second onsen. The process is very simple – there are showers arranged around a central fountain-like onsen. You soap and shower on the fringe before stepping into the hot onsen in the middle. Jason made the comment that one of the reasons the onsens are so popular must be because it is so equilibrating. Everybody is the same when they are stripped naked. All social status is removed and men sit side by side just soaking in the heat and mineral water. The feeling afterwards is the best. You put on a yukata and kneel on a cushion. Then a woman comes and serves you tea and okashi (sweets). We stood on the balcony just feeling the breeze for a while. The onsen is probably the highlight of the trip thus far.

4/30/07
¥600 limousine bus
¥2560 ferry to Oita
¥3850 owe Pat Hotel Patio in Matsuyama
¥150 bread
¥180 tea
¥480 beef curry
¥200 2 green tea bread
¥150 CC Lemon
¥500 ramen + egg + tofu
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¥8670 total
We had to wake up extra early to make the 6:45AM limousine bus to the Matsuyama Kankou Port where we made a reservation with a ferry. The ferry was enormous, comparable in size to a cruise ship. Once on board, it didn’t feel like we were on the water at all. There was the barely noticeable hum of the engine and the water moving by through the windows, but otherwise no rocking or swaying that would betray the fact that we were in the ocean. I managed to do some reading, and then we played a card game called Munchkin. The game is a role playing game, but is also a parody of the genre. It was extremely amusing, with cards like “Bribe the GM with food” (a GM is a grand master, the person who arbitrates and narrates the game) which would increase your level by one. Other cards were “A Rat on a Stick”, “An Eleven-foot Pole”, “Cite an Obscure Rule”, and “A Potted Plant”. The gameplay was also very interesting. The point of the game was to level up to 10 first, and on every combat it was possible to either help or backstab a player. The first time we played, I started out with really bad cards so I was weak in the beginning. Thus, nobody bothered backstabbing me and instead, we all ganged up on the players with the highest levels. So, it seems like the best way to win is not to create enemies and keep a low profile until you’re within striking range of level 10. Then, you try to level up quickly after somebody else tries first (and is backstabbed).

The ferry left us at Oita, where we had a simple lunch and then traveled to a youth hostel at the base of Mt. Aso. The hostel was dormitory style, and we all got a set of pillow covers and sheets to cover the mattresses with. Food was not provided so we walked the half an hour down the mountain to the city for ramen in a small shop. Tomorrow we will climb Mt. Aso.