Hotel New Ogori Yamaguchi

... especially after we found flies in our rice!!!

Along the pier we saw some freaky things ie people fishing for octopus, cockroaches and lots of jellyfish.

we decided that japan wasnt the place for us, so we booked the next boat to china, on the cheapest and nastiest boat possible, which was still expensive (gutted to find later that flying would have cheaper) so with packs on our backs we headed for Quingdao.....

Yamaguchi est une courte etape sur la route de Fukuoka, histoire de passer une derniere nuit dans une "riokan" = auberge japonaise avec repas gastronomique...hmmm ! Cette ville n'est pas vraiment visitee par les etranger ducoup il n'y a pas beaucoup d'indication en anglais, qu'importe maintenant Pauline gere le japonais ;-) Il y a une grande eglise catholique moderne ...

... morning Mrs. Takamura came by the house to pick up Haruna, Eve and I for a mini road trip! Japan is divided into 9 regions (Tokyo is in the Kanto Region, Osaka is in the Kansai Region). Each region is divided into Prefectures, like provinces, then each prefectures has towns and cities. Yamaguchi city is in the prefecture of Yamaguchi. Today we are travelling to the Hiroshima prefecture, which contains today's destinations, Miyajima and Hiroshima ...

... were very shy with us. After a while they warmed up to us, and started showing us their "my family" folders. These will be given to their host families in Canada and the US, a way to introduce themselves and give a little information about themselves, where and how they live and Japan.. Soon, as more kids arrived we almost had more of these to look at than we could keep up with. After this we played a game of "Bingo" with the kids. Its one of the fun exercises ...

... mixed with residential and business areas - driving by the 7-11 and the Okonamikyaki shop Haruna used to work in during past summers. The Takamuras live in a beautiful home close to the beach. We were warmly greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Takamura. Daiki is off studying at the University of Kobe and his sister Sachika was in junior high school. We did some catching up, chatting about our families, our stay in Japan so far and general ...

... vending machines, on the way up to the sports area(as there are almost everywhere). Going back the other, with the narrow streets all being very winding. I didn't venture very far in this direction way from the house, as on the downward side of the mountain it is almost all residential, and I didn't want to get lost. Some of the views, from this direction, were breathtaking, as many times one is just on the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley or the city. Haruna ...

... groceries, fresh produce, meat and seafood, but also clothing at the front. Next we made a quick stop at the local bakery, where baking was purchased. The presentation of pastries and aroma in the bakery were both very mouth watering. The next stop was the Daikoku house. Their house is actually partway up one of the mountains overlooking Yamaguchi. They have a two story, three bedroom home, with two toilet rooms, a shower/bath combo, living ...

... an intricate pedestrian walkway system stood above the roads; a neighboring peninsula had been connected to Shimonoseki via an underwater tunnel etc. I stopped by the fish market for some fresh sushi. If I've learned one thing from my days in Japan, it is that the best sushi and sashimi are found in the fish markets. 1,300 yens for 10 pieces, including my favorite, the Unagi (eel). Bought ...

... market, our alarm was set for 5.30am. Early the next morning we rose in the hopes that we would soon be enjoying a nice sushi breakfast at the fish market. However after we had arrived and done a quick walk around, we saw that the sushi place was closed. Oh no. Very disappointing. However@as we were already up early, it meant we could run and catch the early train for journey to Nima on the west coast that would involve 3 changes of train.

We've come to Yamaguchi for a couple of day trips. But first our kind ryokan owner took us to see the 5 storey pagoda and fireflies in the town. Both very pretty, we've not seen fireflies before. Talking of the ryokan, I did vow privately not to mention them again, but our toilet in the ryokan was stunning. Not only did it have an automatic seat action, digital read out and instruction card but...wait for ...