I was able to spend the weekend with Akira’s family. We took the train over to Shizuoka Prefecture, and Akira’s mom picked us up at the station. She took us to Mishima Taisha, the shrine his family visits quite regularly. There were three weddings happening while we were there. Apparently getting married at a shrine is pretty unusual these days–Akira and his mom were both surprised. There was even a biracial couple, which is even rarer.
After the shrine, we made a detour to see if we could find me a pair of spandex shorts, since I’d forgotten to pack mine to wear under my dress. No luck, though, so it was off to Kakita River. Kakita River is unique in that all its water comes from springs visible right there in the river, not miles and miles upsrream in the mountains. The water is clear and clean and absolutely beautiful.
After the river, it was off to pick up Akira’s dad and head to dinner at his grandma’s house. This was my first time meeting his uncle, grandmother, and dad in person, though I’d spoken with his uncle and grandmother on Skype before. We had temakizushi, hand-rolled sushi. We each had a small pile of seaweed sheets, and there was a plate of raw fish slices and a giant bowl full of rice. You put some rice on the seaweed, put a hunk of fish on the rice, then roll it up, dip it in soy sauce, and eat it. I stuck mostly with salmon and tuna since those are the fish I’m most familiar with, but everything I tried was pretty good. (Except for the uni–sea urchin–0/10 do not recommend.)
We spent the night at Akira’s grandma’s. Her house is traditional Japanese, so you put on slippers while inside, except on tatami mats, on which you go barefoot or in sock feet. Then there’s a separate pair of slippers just for the toilet room (separate from the bath room).
On Sunday, we had breakfast at grandma’s before heading to Izu Shaboten Kouen, a sort of zoo combined with cactus farm in the mountains. I was glad I’d taken some motionsickness meds just in case–lots of corners on the way up there.
The park was decked out in Halloween stuff, with jack-o-lanterns everywhere. It’s also a dog-friendly place, with only a few off-limits areas and staff who are happy to hold your dog for you while you check out those areas.
The first thing we saw were the little monkeys that roam freely throughout the entire park. Next, the path took us to the mara enclosure. They look like overgrown rabbits, and you can buy some grass to feed them. There was a little petting area with Guinea pigs and rabbits, and an enclosed area where you could walk around with kangaroos and wallabies. After that, we saw the capybaras get their pumpkin treat. Apparently their mouths aren’t able to open very wide, so they took little bites, and they don’t like the taste of pumpkin that much, but enjoy the texture.
Up over the hill were ponies and chimpanzees, and then we came around to the cactus portion of the park. There were four large greenhouses full of cactuses of various types and origins. The most impressive were the huge, ball-shaped ones, the oldest of which was over 100.
There were also a few animals that could be viewed from the underground tunnels connecting the greenhouses. The fennec foxes were my favorite of those.
In the last greenhouse was a gift shop where you could choose a pot, pick some small cactuses, and then take them to the staff, who would arrange them and decorate them with pretty rocks. The was also a cafe where you could eat cactus-related food. I had the green curry.
After lunch we wandered the second half of the park, past the free-roaming peacocks to the capybara petting area. The capybaras obviously loved the attention, crowding around the people to get their scratches in. One was even lying on his side for a bellyrub.
Our last stop was the bird sanctuary, where we saw ibis, several kinds of ducks, flamingoes, and the bird area’s most famous inhabitant, Bill the shoebill stork. These guys have been known to bow to people in greeting, especially if you bow to them first, which explains Bill’s popularity–his greeting style is the same as the Japanese’s. However, these birds are also known to spend a long time standing still as a statue, and that’s what Bill was up to while we were there.
We’d easily spent over four hours at the park, so we decided to head back to grandma’s for dinner and some sleep.
Monday was a national holiday, so we piled into Akira’s mom’s car and headed to Hakone. There, we visited Hakone shrine, which is up a very long set of stairs in a wooded area near Lake Ashi.
After the shrine, we hopped back in the car and headed up the mountain to Owakudani, the active area of Hakone. Apparently tons of other people had the same idea, because it was bumper to bumper for quite a ways. We waited for over thirty minutes in the car before bailing and walking the rest of the way, leaving Akira’s mom to wait in traffic.
Owakudani spews volcanic gas and smoke constantly. So much so, in fact, that it was closed last year due to the sheer amount of activity. It’s open now, but the hiking trails are closed off, and those with asthma and other ailments of the lungs or heart are encouraged to stay away.
Akira’s mom caught up to us and then kindly waited in line for Owakudani’s main attraction: hot spring hard-boiled eggs whose shells have turned black in the water. Eating one is said to lengthen your life by seven years. Inside, they’re just a regular hard-boiled egg. I thought they were pretty tasty.
Driving back down the mountain was a lot quicker than going up. We took a different route this time and ended up going through seven hairpin curves in a row. Yes, seven. You can bet I was glad for my motionsickness meds again.
Fun three-day weekend over, Akira had to go back to work while I continue my travels, this time with a friend joining me.
tonikaku 