We slept in this morning – I was especially tired from walking all over Kyoto yesterday. After a quick breakfast we went out to Akashi to look into some possible housing situations for the every growing list of people coming over from America for our wedding.
We had a map and Kuniko’s knowledge of the area to get us to the place, but as hard as we looked we couldn’t find the place. In the end we found some nearby landmarks, but by that time we were so far away from the station that we didn’t think it would practical for people staying here. We’re back to the original plan of using the Akashi Castle Hotel.
We cut through Akashi park on the way back towards the center of town and passed the big lake in the middle. They had paddle boats cruising around in there and so on a whim we signed up for one. They had different ones – some shaped like dinosaurs, some like swans, ours was a giant helicopter. The good news for me was that I could fit inside the boat, the bad news was that my legs were WAY too long to do any serious pedaling.
We made do and patrolled the waters, narrowly avoiding other helicopters and dinosauras powered by parents and being navigated by children. The main dock would time you while you were out there, and the ride was punctuated by the announcer calling out, “Green Dinosaur, please come back, Green Dinosaur, your time is up…” Finally, after doing a lap of the lake we came back a little early got out of our floating helicopter.
From there we did some shopping at the local mall, and then headed back to my place. I had prepared food for dinner the night before, but since Kuniko had brought some delicious food I had put it on hold. Tonight we cooked it up – we had teriyaki chicken with a homemade pineapple salsa, along with some white rice and a salad. The salsa turned out really good, and the extra marination time really made the chicken tender and delicious. Yum!
Kuniko also made reservations for the weekend after Golden Week for us at a hotel in Shikoku. Shikoku is the smallest of the big four islands of Japan. I’ve never been before, and I guess there is a lot to see and eat there. Things were all booked up for Golden Week, so we’ll have to think of something else to do with our three days off.
I walked Kuniko home laden with omiyage from my Kyoto trip for her and her parents, and said goodbye at the Tsuchiyama station. We’re hoping to get together next Friday with Mr. Komori, so it won’t be long before we meet up again!
