We didn’t get home until late last night and we were very tired from the days activities so I decided to wait to post until the morning. Yesterday was really fun and we had some great experience. We woke up and went to the pastry shop that’s around the corner. We had some pastries for breakfast. Having that shop around the corner is very dangerous because I think I may gain a ton of weight eating there. After breakfast we had about an hour to kill before leaving for Fukuyama. We ended up walking around the river for a little while. We rode the train to Fukuyama. This is the area Corey spent 6 months on his mission at. We walked around and he said a lot has changed in the last 20 years and he can’t remember much.
We walked to the Fukuyama castle which is right next to the train station. Unfortunately the castle is closed on Mondays and we couldn’t go inside. Instead we walked around the grounds and met some of Corey’s old friends. We had a picnic lunch under the cherry blossom trees with them. They call it hana mi. His friends brought food and we all ate and talked. Well I didn’t talk much but they did. I understood about 10% of what they were saying but Corey’s friend Yuma speaks english really well and was able to translate for me sometimes.
After lunch Yuma took us around to see some of the sights. He took us to a shrine, Abuto Kannon, that is on a cliff over the ocean. It was very peaceful and I loved looking out over the ocean. Yuma was very helpful and explained a lot of things to us as we went around a little village called Tomonoura. It’s an old fishing village that was able to avoid damage from WWII. Since it has some historic buildings and streets it has become a place where they will film movies. They filmed part of Wolverine here. Yuma said he got to be an extra but they cut the part out with him in it. He showed us where Hugh Jackman stayed and walked.
From the village we rode a replica of a historic boat to an island where we participated in an onsen. An onesen is a hot spring bath. Corey was never allowed to go to these as a missionary so he asked Yuma to take us to one. Traditionally they would bathe naked but I insisted that I would only go to one if it allowed clothes. Yuma delivered. It was a really neat experience. There are three heated caves and you have steps to follow. First you sit for 10-15 minutes in the first cave then head to a heated pool outside. Back to the second cave for 10-15 min. Then outside to bathe in the very cold ocean. You walk the beach from one side to the other and then bathe in another heated pool. Next you head to the last cave and sit for another 10-15 min. Last you head to the dressing rooms and shower and soak in the last pool. It was actually very nice and relaxing. It felt good on our sore muscles from all the stair climbing and walking.
After the onesen we went to do Yoga. Yuma leads a class in Fukuyama and invited us to join. I love yoga! I wish that I would do it more often. I think the last time I did yoga was last August. I always feel stretched and invigorated after a yoga session. I think we may have some soreness today because of it.
To end the day we went to a curry place for dinner with Corey’s friends. It was really good and tastes just like what we make at home. This day was a wonderful experience and really cool to get a locals perspective with Yuma. Not to mention he took us around in a car and we didn’t have to walk so much today.
