Japan - 29 March 2023

At a leisurely pace we got up and went about our daily routine of getting up, eating some breakfast and getting as much homeschooling out of the way as possible before packing up and heading to catch our train.  Today we are off to Kurashiki, first on a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama and then on a local train to Kurashiki.  The girls barely finished off their homeschooling on the train because it was so FAST! 

Once in Kurashiki, we dropped off out bags at the hotel (Japan’s first modern cotton mill, from 1889) and set off to explore the town.  It was bustling with people, and full of life.  

We walked the gorgeous canals, did some window shopping, embraced the old city Center and walked up the hill to the Achi shrine.  The shrine is home to the three Munakata sea faring Goddesses, as well as Tenjin (deity for education, and a God for kitchens and groceries…).  The view from the shrine was beautiful, and we took the time to reflect and even right a traditional good wish request.

After walking around, we headed back to the hotel to check in and rest a bit.  As part of the experience we heading to a local supermarket and got a taste of just how different things are from what we are used to from back home.  I think we could only identify 10% of the items in the store.  Buying food to cook dinner would be an interesting challenge, but we still bought a number of things just out of curiosity to try, its part of the adventure, right?

Dropping off our shopping at the hotel we headed out back into the old city to find some dinner.  And what a completely different vibe the place has at night.  It’s so quiet and peaceful, and charming in its own way.  However finding a place to eat was a bit more challenging.  Most of the restaurant we saw earlier in the day were closed and a lot of the ones that were open required reservations.  We finally did find one and it was brilliant! We ordered 6 dishes nearly randomly (only had some dubious help form google translate) from the Japanese menu and we picked well!  All the food was delicious!  And to top it off , the girls got white peach ice cream (a local delicacy that is SO Good) and Mish tried out the local sake.  

Before heading to bed, we all got to experience the hotels public baths (we are going native!) A very different experience with washing whilst seating on stools and then sitting in the hot tub.  Maxine insisted on trying out all 3 tubs. Needless to say, Mish had a quiet and calm experience on the Men’s side… 

It seems that the hot water sapped all the remaining energy from the girls as they very quickly crashed after getting back to our rooms, in preparation for tomorrow!