This is the wonderful piece of shore I was talking about:

there were interesting sand/rock formations…check out flickr account for more.

After the shore we headed to a temple. Temples are very quiet, spiritual places. But they also seem a little like amusement parks. I feel bad for saying that…but it’s true. There are all these stations to pray, wish, get fortune, etc. for 100-200円. I go for the fortunes - usually the love fortunes as that is the one area of my life where I feel lost in a deep black void of uncertainty, unknowingness, and blindness. And look cool, this one came with a little paper doll charm.

After the temple we went to a lighthouse and walked around its base. The plants were a little different in that area - they had to be of kinds strong enough to withstand surrounding angry oceans. I saw a man napping, took this picture, and only later did I look at it again and laugh a little to myself. The grass in the foreground totally gives the impression that I am hiding, spying on him.

After the lighthouse we went to an onsen. My first time and thankfully I did not get kicked out due to tattoos (sooome places don’t accept tattoos…I don’t think the majority though). So here is the obligatory bit about what I felt during my first experience of being the only naked foreigner around many naked strangers: yes, it was tough to get over complexes in my head but I was by no means going to let them stop me from having an enjoyable experience.

I think the first thing I let go was the thought that I would be fatter than all the other women. That was pretty easy because in the past year I have been getting sick of the world’s body size obsession… whether poking at the bones of the skinniest or cranking out stats on average rolls’n'folds per person per geographical area (can we get that on a google map please so I can decide where I can move next?)…yeah, it is a problem but also too much of an obsession and obsession does not solve problems. Anyway - I had been attempting to achieve a mental and physical balance when it comes to that issue and the onsen was a good test. I found myself just not caring that much.

The second thing was worrying that I might not do something right. Onsen’s have some rules…shower before going into the baths and don’t put towel in the bath is all I can remember. But if you shower, then bathe, then sauna, should you shower before you go back into the bath? What if there are multiple baths? Do you shower in between each? What is the appropriate shower intensity?

The last thing on my mind was my foreign-ess. I knew I could expect stares and I got some stares. Going into a bath for the first time, a group of 3 women left immediately after I entered. My mind fired off on a “it’s because of me” tangent which I shook off and then put up a guard against further self-centered thoughts. It stayed up too!

So all in all, it was a great experience. There was an outdoor bath that looked out onto the ocean. Hot water, cool breeze, the sound of the tide…I left feeling warm and relaxed.

Yuko’s parents took us out for sushi after the onsen. So in Japan, there are still many people who do not speak English. But they might know some English words and if you get to a point where you can try to communicate a little in Japanese (like…tiny bit little) they will eventually see you struggling and use some, even if just a few words, English. But the entire weekend, I did not hear a single word of English from Yuko’s parents. (Just had earthquake…vibrations still echoing in my body.) It was really cool and a good chance for me to just have to try.

Now I am pooped…like I was after eating that sushi, and drinking sake. More…I hope…before I go on holidays again…this Saturday…Kyuushuu :)