A Japanese Summer: Chapter Eight (ii)

I know it's unbelievable that I'm still on this. HAHAHA! I guess I can't afford to fly anywhere else till I finish this. That will give me enough time to fill my biggy piggy bankie. Then again, there's still the Taiwan trip after this. Maybe we'll close an eye for that. I don't wanna jinx myself for not being able to travel thanks to my procastinating ways.

So, for a crazy old recap >> Click Here!

Now on with Day 12 of our 14-day-trip.

Breakfast! Now if you look at the picture closely, you'll see Cubbie dressed in her comfy off-to-the-hot-spring yukata. That's because we just came back from a dip at the hot spring wee early in the morning way before breakfast. We actually ventured to one of the furthest onsen from the guesthouse which was totally worth it because the hot bath was.... *jeng jeng jeng*

OPEN-AIRED!

Hahaha! Don't freak out mama. I didn't get naked in public. The "outdoor" part was facing towards the view of the sea. Wait. Does that mean fisherman out there might be spying on us. Yikes. I don't know that but I do know it was indeed an experience.

And of course when we got back to our room, our futons were once again miraculously gone and were replaced by a table full of yummies! Obviously obachan is at the top of her job which was why we kinda wanna hit ourselves on our heads for not remembering to take a picture with obachan. *sadface* How ungrateful of us. *double sadface*

"Dear obachan,

Your attentive service will always be remembered by these two silly Malaysian gals. How you kindly thought us to wear a yukata and after that offered to help take a photo of us while we were still all caught up with the excitement. *blushes*

How you came appearing while we went calling you down the hallway in need of water! HAHAHA. How you make us feel like princesses and not letting our hands get dirty, offering to break and peel the crab for us. *hearts*How you secretly lay our futons down while we were away soaking in the hot springs. And how you once again cleared them away to make way for breakfast preparation.

Honestly, we were totally spoiled by you obachan. For all that, honto ni arigatou gozaimasu.

From two wacky Malaysian gals."

After breakfast, we packed up and check-out of Tsutaya Guesthouse. Though we left our luggage there as we planned on exploring the place more before catching the train. The guesthouse will then transport our luggage to a luggage centre near the train station. How convenient! Oh right, so we actually rode a cable car up to the tip of Kinosaki hill. There's pretty much nothing up there except for a view. HAHAHA.

A view that stretches out to the cove. A view that actually sees the green and blue hues of the hills and mountains.



Hahaha. Guess who took this picture?

I DID!

Ya, so I sorta superimposed myself in there since we actually took this photo each, separately with the other face blank. Boo. Here's when Photoshop and sucky Photoshop skills come in handy. =P

Fishes in the river.
Oh how clear can it be?
In a public place nonetheless,
Where else can you see...
such a scene of beauty.

I know I took this shot vertically, I took this shot during the night and now I'm taking it again. But come on... so pretty! So unreal. So... picturesque. *hearts*

Lookie! Giant Fishie!

Wait!!! If you think that's big...

LOOKIE! GIANT CRABBIE!

HAHAHAHA.

My idols endorse lip balms. LOL. Saw this in the pharmacy while I was attempting to buy a bottle of "Yoko Yoko" for mama. Hahaha! It was her request for me to get one authentic bottle from Japan, it's really not much cheaper though. And yes I did bought the lip balm and am still using it till today. 290 yen is pretty reasonably priced no? That's within RM10 for one.

One last shot before we head off. This was taken right beside the train station. They're all kettas from the different guesthouses in Kinosaki. Pretty impressive no?

Alright! We actually just travelled one stop away from Kinosaki to check into this new and simple hotel. O Hotel Toyoka is really a very new hotel. It was so new that we couldn't booked it through the hotel booking service on the web and instead ended up emailing direct to the hotel for reservation. I emailed back and forth with a certain Ayumi-san for reservation. So it was such a nice surprise when we were greeted by the said Ayumi-san right at the front desk! A young and very pretty lady who was just as delighted to meet us. We were probably the first few foreign enquiries she attended to since its opening.

What's more, do you know how the check-in process took place? HAHAHA. Exactly like how you place your order in most food outlets in Japan... Yes. Vending Machine!

FREAKING VENDING MACHINE!

You choose the room type, the number of nights you intend to stay and pay the machine! Ka-ching! A ticket appears and you take that to the reception and they give you your key and a bunch of complimentary freebies.

WOoott?!

I Love Outrageous Japan!

So once again it's back to little compact hotel room... *sobs* Bye bye luxurious Japanese guesthouse. After a short rest, a small meal we bought from the departmental store and a necessary bath, we begin our attempt in wearing the yukata. We tie, retie, reretie, rereretie our obi until... well until we have to go. HAHAHA! That's the problem of having two Virgos on the job. Dang perfectionists!

When we got to the lobby, Ayumi-san was shocked to see us all dressed up and beamed happily commenting how pretty we look. *blushes* And yes, we actually walked all the way to the train station in our yukata complete with our geta aka traditional japanese slippers. I don't think we have ever been that lady-like in our then 24 years of life. *grins* Prim and proper, walking in short little steps. HAHAHA... and actually ride the train in such a state. *shakes head*

Cubbie in her blue yukata, blue obi and a blue "kinchaku". Yes, that's the cloth pouch thingy. There you go, another Japanese word learnt.



Me!

Our shared dinner. Dah lah have to understand these two gals were travelling on a budget. Our luxurious stay the day before means a much tighter budget for the remaining part of the trip. So we shared our very first "Zaru Soba" aka Chill Soba that was eaten by dipping it into sauce. Click here for some extra knowledge. =)

And the Celebration Begins!

It's definitely on a smaller scale compared to our Bon Odori here in Malaysia but because of that the entire event seemed so much more intimate, real and authentic.

Video Time!

Clap, wave, wave, clap.

HAHAHA!

Watch the cute little girl in her cute little yukata trying to dance along. Watch how Cubbie's endearing look at the said little girl.

HAHAHA.

And of course a celebaration has to end with fireworks.
Nothing as spectacular as Disney's but I guess all the more meaningful to the people. :)

And it was this night that Cubbie took this shot.
Come on... I mean how much more spiritual can it get?



My last shot of Kinosaki Onsen as we leave the town after the celebration. T__T

*teary eyes*

Next Up: Back to Tokyo! COMIKET! Yes, that means COSPLAY!