{"id":10952,"date":"2023-11-19T05:27:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T13:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=10952"},"modified":"2023-11-20T05:35:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T13:35:23","slug":"japan-2023-day-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=10952","title":{"rendered":"Japan 2023: Day 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Oh boy, I ate too much. But that\u2019s at the end of the day.<\/p>\n<p>Today I met my friend Yumi and since she knew about my back she suggested going to an onsen. I had no idea she\u2019d drive so far. But first, I had breakfast at the Greenberry&#8217;s just down the street from the hotel. The yogurt even had granola in it! Quite tasty.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0347.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0347.png\" alt=\"IMG 0347\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then Yumi came to get me for the hour-and-a-half drive up to Yubaru Onsen. On the way we stopped at a soba shop that\u2019s only open on the weekends and is quite popular.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0351.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0351.png\" alt=\"IMG 0351\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0348.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0348.png\" alt=\"IMG 0348\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We arrive just before opening so we got in right away but the lines formed soon after. The lady kept saying their tempura was said to be tasty and she totally undersold it. It was better than the tempura-only shops I\u2019ve been to. And it was \u201cshin-soba\u201d made from recently harvested buckwheat just two days ago!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0349.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0349.png\" alt=\"IMG 0349\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Picture from Yumi of some old guy with his soba.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473525.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473525-1.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473525\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then it was on to Yubaru Onsen. There\u2019s even a free open-air onsen there which was full of naked dudes including one who was just standing around smoking. If you zoom in (and I don\u2019t suggest it) you can see him when he was being more modest, holding a towel in front of him. But when he grabbed his cigarette he threw the towel over his shoulder. There was a woman there too but she was wearing something close to a bathing suit from the olden times.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0355.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0355-1.png\" alt=\"IMG 0355\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Yumi\u2019s picture that shows the bathing suit which looks like a green blob in the lower middle. Haha.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473528.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473528.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473528\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Yumi\u2019s picture of some old guy after getting out of the onsen and having some strawberry-flavored water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473530.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473530.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473530\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So on the way back we stopped at a city with a famous sake brewery and it was an old town with castle ruins. They were having a sake festival and I had some kuromoji ice cream. I think kuromoji is a kind of wood. Too lazy too google it right now.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473533.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473533.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473533\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was a quaint old town and since we were both sleepy after the onsen, we stopped at a random coffee shop. At first we thought it wasn\u2019t really open, even though there was a sign outside, because it was full of records and knick knacks. I had a great peach soda and Yumi said the coffee was surprisingly good. He even brought us tea and rice crackers and the whole thing only cost \u00a51000!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0361.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0361.png\" alt=\"IMG 0361\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0360.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0360.png\" alt=\"IMG 0360\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473535.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473535.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473535\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473537.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473537.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473537\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And then it was back to Okayama, where we went for yakiniku. I overate, but even worse I proved to myself that I shouldn\u2019t EVER eat garlic. Woo, the gas. The meat was awesome and the restaurant has a Showa theme. Or it sort of did. It\u2019s been around that long!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473539.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473539.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473539\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0362.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0362.png\" alt=\"IMG 0362\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We even went for dessert (where my guts started to complain) and luckily Yumi gave me a taste of her creme brulee.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"S__74473542.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/S__74473542.jpeg\" alt=\"S 74473542\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"IMG_0363.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/IMG_0363.png\" alt=\"IMG 0363\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s it for the night. Fortunately my stomach feels much better now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oh boy, I ate too much. But that\u2019s at the end of the day. Today I met my friend Yumi and since she knew about my back she suggested going to an onsen. I had no idea she\u2019d drive so far. But first, I had breakfast at the Greenberry&#8217;s just down the street from the hotel. The yogurt even had granola in it! Quite tasty. Then Yumi came to get me for the hour-and-a-half drive up to Yubaru Onsen. On the way we stopped at a soba shop that\u2019s only open on the weekends and is quite popular. We arrive just before opening so we got in right away but &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/?p=10952\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Japan 2023: Day 18<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10952"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10956,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10952\/revisions\/10956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i8u.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}