Central Japan Tour Day 2

Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 19mm (Wide Angle Adapter) 1/4000s, f/2.8, ISO250

This was mainly a moving day. We started with the Japanese/Western buffet breakfast, then got on the bus till we reached a rest stop. One great thing about Japan is there are many of these rest stops in between drives between cities with many “western style” Toto toilets equipped with their trademark washlets! I will sincerely miss their incredible public restroom infrastructure, no joke!

Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 19mm (Wide Angle Adapter) 1/2000s, f/4, ISO800

The rest stops also have a plethora of vending machine options with both hot and cold drinks. I did my best to try something new-to-me each time, but I couldn’t help picking a few favorites in between (like Pocari Sweat, Calpico, Hot honey yuzu, and some others. There are usually a few hot food vendors and a local specialty store too. Our bus was filled with incredibly generous families picking some of their favorite treats and sharing them with everyone on the bus!

The next stop was a persimmon farm where each of us was allowed to pick 2 persimmons each. Then we could shop at the nearby shop for more persimmon goods.

Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 19mm (Wide Angle Adapter) 1/125s, f/4, ISO800

And before you knew it, we were back on the bus. The bus wasn’t some sort of purgatory between stops like some might think. Foreign bus drivers take the tightest turns and make them look easy, and we had Yoko-san (pictured above) telling us about the history, culture, and specialties of the region we were in!

Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 1/125s, f/4, ISO800

For lunch we got the mall food court experience, which, in Japan is pretty great! There’s a water-station in the middle for everyone! There are little pads on the seats so that they aren’t terribly uncomfortable. And look how in-expensive those crispy Tonkatsu bowls and plates are (this is what we had for lunch this day). After shopping around for a bit, we were back on the bus.

We stopped at another rest stop, this one had a bit of a view. This is also when I realized how early the sun started to set (16:30-ish local time). Suzuki-san, our bus driver, made sure everyone was back on the bus before moving on to our next stop, the hotel.

Our final stop for the evening was Hida Hotel Plaza where we enjoyed a very tricky Kaiseki dinner. We had a menu in front of us, but I only got photos of the original presentation (not the stuff served afterwards because I was busy eating 😔). My folks can attest that I always ate everything I got. I recall hearing some of our group had finished eating all their rice, thinking the meal was over, and then a few more courses came after that! Tricky! After dinner, Kuni-san and Micah-san, our tour guides helped me find the nearby convenience store so I could pick up some shaving gel, and an Imabari hand towel (to dry my hands after washing them) since many rest stops don’t use paper towels these days.

終わりました。