Up another mountain

Today (John’s Mum’s birthday) started as another hot and humid day.  We went for a walk around an area recommended to us by Catherine.  It consists of several streets of quaint shops with a lovely ‘old Japan’ atmosphere as well as some interesting modern buildings and shops.

Even the shop dummies are polite!!

Never mind what the sign says

We then went over to the ‘Wakuwaku za: Historical Culture Experience Facility” which is a small museum showing some Japanese culture and history with a bit of fun thrown in.  There are kimonos to try on, films and diplays featuring aspects of Kumamoto, and – most intriguingly – a virtual goldfish pond.  When visitors step on the ‘pond’, ripples form and the fish swim away from the intruding feet.  I have no idea how this works, but it was fun to stomp around on it.  We had a good look around and had a bit of fun being silly tourists.

John-san

Travelling in style!

We were feeling a bit hot and bedraggled by then, so we went back to the hotel to freshen up and have a rest before heading out to meet Catherine for our afternoon scooter ride.  We went up into the mountains, stopping at a shrine along the way, then to the cave where Miyamoto Musashi wrote The book of five rings.  It was a great ride up the mountain, with some terrific views. 

Golden rice fields

 After visiting the cave and admiring the little statues dotted across the hillside, we sat and had a cup of tea from Catherine’s thermos.  A very pleasant afternoon – up until then!

Statue on the hillside

...and his well-dressed friend

Boys on the left, girls on the right!

When we got on the scooters to come back down the mountain, the rain began to fall and didn’t stop.  We had to take great care as it was a very windy road.  Fortunately there was not too much other traffic around and we made it back in one piece.  We were soaked through, so we took all of our wet clothes and put them through the washer and drier.

We phoned Catherine as she offered to help us with John’s scooter issue.  We’d been a bit concerned about the possibility of a breakdown, but she spoke to the mechanic who assured her that the scooter will make the distance and we don’t need to worry about it.  So we’ll continue as planned and keep our fingers crossed.  I’ve added the word “mechanic” and the phrase “something is wrong with the scooter” to my word bank just in case.

Next on the agenda was dinner.  We found a nice little restaurant in the mall.   This one had a machine for selecting meals.  Money goes in the slot, the correct button is pressed for the choice of dinner and the machine spits out the relevant tickets and change.  The staff then take the stub of the ticket to the kitchen and the meals are delivered, with a polite bow, in no time at all.

We were too early for our planned meeting with Catherine at Starbucks for coffee, so we had a browse around the Don Quijote store (a variety discount chain that can be found throughout Japan) and then went back to the hotel until it was time to go.  Catherine has booked us in to accommodation in Matsushima, so now all we have to do is find it.  Another challenge!  I had asked her earlier in the day how to say ‘insect repellant’ in Japanese, so she kindly bought some for me on her way to Starbucks, as well as some nice Japanese sweet treats for us to have along the way. 

Catherine and Kathryn

We said our last farewell to Catherine and thanked her for all her help and hospitality.  She made our stay in Kumamoto much easier and more interesting that it would otherwise have been.

Did we mention how safe it is in Japan?  John just discovered that his scooter keys were missing, so he went down to see if he’d left them in the scooter.  His scooter has been sitting outside the hotel for about six hours with the keys hanging out the seat lock on the side!  Would it still have been there if he’d done this in Australia.  I think not!!

We’re off to Matsushima in the morning, leaving behind such shops as Glass Wonder (bar), Beauty Snack, Rebirth (hairdresser), Happy Munchies, Bag Lady Wisely and Foot Stamp (hairdresser).

Maybe no internet now until Nagasaki (Saturday), so bye for now!