The hotel we had spent the last couple of nights at included a free breakfast. We were supposed to have it yesterday (as Monday night was the expensive night – due to the festival) but Kaoru had asked if we could change, and they agreed. So we had an absolutely massive breakfast to start the day! They had all sorts of Japanese and Western foods – even ice cream that you could scoop yourself! So we got our moneys worth.
We checked out at 10.00, and asked them to keep our bags. And then we caught a local bus out to Inakadate, to see their rice art. We paid 300 yen each to go up a tower and look out over the rice paddys which had art in them. The colours were done with different types of rice. It was absolutely amazing. However it was also the hottest day we had had, and all of us were struggling a bit. Even Kaoru had a sweat going! So out in the open sun looking at the field was hot stuff – and we were on a tight timeline, as we caught a (free) shuttle to another viewing area to see some more rice art, and also rock art. We had a bit more time at this place, and then caught a train back to Hirosaki.
We went to Mister Donut for an (early) lunch. They now do some pastas, and I had a fried rice. We moved our bags from the hotel we had been staying at, to the one we were to spend our next couple of nights. Basically, it was a cheaper hotel, hence the move. We still couldn’t check in, but at least it was one job out of the way.
We caught a 1.10 local bus to our next destination, which was Iwakiyama Shrine. This took about 45 minutes, and is a shrine at the bottom of Mount Iwaki, which is a mini-Mt Fuji. Because of its location, it’s considered a very powerful shrine. We were hoping it would be a bit cooler in the mountains, but we reckon it was actually hotter! At the bottom we bought an ear of sweet corn, as that’s soemthing famous. It was nice, but nothing to write home about. We then made our way to the top to pray. Rather than the usual cleansing place at shrines, this had a large area, and people were pouring water on their arms. I took full advantage of that, and drenched my hat and neck cooler. The icey cold water was so lovely! We made our way back down, and caught the bus back to Hirosaki. If we had missed that one, the next was in 90 minutes, so we had to keep track of the time!
In Hirosaki we checked in to our hotel. Kaoru is now a member of this hotel chain, so we could check in from 3, but non-members can’t check in until 4 (membership costs, but the discounts made it worthwhile for Kaoru, but not for Michael and Leila). So we had to wait about 20 minutes before going up to the room, where I went straight in a cold shower for 5 minutes to bring my core temperature down. It was heaven! A bit of a lay down to kill some time, and then we met Michael and Leila downstairs at 5.45. They wanted to treat Kaoru to a night off, so researched and found a nice restaurant and bar (for pre-drinks). We ended up meeting in the hall, as we were neighbours, and started walking to the first destination, which was a place called “Asylum”. It was quite difficult to find, and was a “500 yen” bar – any drink you wanted was 500 yen. Beer / wine / whisky / etc. We walked in, and nobody was at the bar, and it was quite warm inside (no air conditioning). So we decided to walk out and go to plan B. This was a bar called “Bar Grandpa”, and was nice and cool, and quite a funky little bar. We had a quick drink there, and then went to the restaurant Michael and Leila had found.
The restaurant was known for its local cuisine – which we knew meant apples. I did my bit in giving Kaoru a night off by doing my best to order. Unfortunately the menu only had so many pictures, so we did need Kaoru to translate parts of the menu. And when it came to ordering, she couldn’t help herself and still kept trying…which meant they kept talking to her. I think we were given the work experience student serving us though – twice I ordered water and it didn’t come. Eventeually I asked for a large jug, a couple of times in the one order (with some food), and they brought that out. But we had a few sake’s, and also some beer and apple cider. They did a delicious apple graten. But the highlight was at the end, when in the last order, Kaoru ordered a rice dish with wasabi – meaning fresh wasabi. When I say fresh, I’m talking they gave us a grater and wasabi root. It was delicious – I could (and did) eat it straight. Kauro mixed it in to her rice, topped with bonito and some soy sauce.
After dinner, we made the customary trip to Family Mart, where I bought a sake-in-a-can, and we also all bought first breakfasts for tomorrow. Because……..