8:05 pm. Daisenji, Tottori-ken.
First, for the wife. She asks me a few days ago if I'll be going through Kurayoshi where a friend of hers lives. Where? That put an end to that. Then I stay over in Kurayoshi. Okay, I agree to stop by the house though she doesn't know I'm coming. Leave the hotel after stuffing myself at the buffet - even asked for a raw egg to eat with the natto and rice! - and detour my way to the address which, as is typical in Japan, no one can find. By dint of effort (witness the influence of Japanese uni entrance exam English on mine!) I find the place, find she's not there and get stuck talking to the old lady next door. Freeing myself, I break for the coast road and soon stop at a nearby michi-no-eki apparently dedicated to the cartoon character Konan.
Feel sluggish. The buffet experiment isn't working. Pass through Yanase on Route 9, spot a Mosburger and decide for an early lunch. Charge the iPhone.
Come to the junction with Route 30. Surprised that the distance is only 24 kms to Daisenji, but wonder how many of them are steep gradients.
A few kms later up I go. Don't think of the distance, only that you will eventually get to the top.
Find a little coffee shop and feel a bit let down as the proprietress doesn't do iced coffee. Go for the caffeine kick. Chatted until my vocab is exhausted. Admire her pottery work. It's her own art museum. Won' let me photograph her. Nice little place for a short stop.
Up I go again.
Emailed Mark in Tokyo to connect by email if only for a little while. One false summit and I'm heading downhill past ski runs and into the town of Daisenji. Lodges everywhere though many seem to do only winter business. The Tourist Info people steer me towards a lodge. Overhearing the call: "Yes, he's okay with Japanese." A tip: Always begin in Japanese and your perceived language level will shoot up a number of points!
Dinner was Genghis Khan though I could have sworn it was yaki-niku. Fed, beered and blogged - bathed when I arrived - I'm ready for the futon and taking in a few temples tomorrow morning. Enlightenment.
No comments:
Post a Comment