Day 7 - Kugoshima-Chuo

We slept in a bit which was nice and then headed down for our free breakfast at the Toyoko-Inn. There were tons of people down there but we still managed to get miso soup, rice, sausages, pickled green and orange something and a roll. they had some gooey okra stuff but I passed on that. Coffee took a bit but we eventually got some of that too. after eating we headed back to the room so Jeff could post his first blog... which you should have read by now.

We decided today to head to Kugoshima-Chuo. The station here is super nice and brand new and there are barely people there. It was nice not having to be so attentive to where I was walking and who may be behind me had I moved to the right or left slightly. One thing we consistently notice is that trash can are hard to find yet there is no trash on the ground anywhere... The trains are also always on time. The escalators are off until you walk up and then they start to move. There are so many little energy efficient things yet everything comes in it's own packaging and plastic bags for everything. Our room key actually turn on the power in our room, so when we are gone the room is off but when you get back you plug your key in and everything comes to life... It took us a few minutes to figure that out when we first got to the room. We were just flipping switches left and right.

So anyway we hopped on the train and headed out. It was only about a 15 min ride. Jeff wanted to go see the volcano there plus it's called the Naples of the Orient. Oh and it's really hot, I actually got a slight sun burn.

We headed down to the water so we could see the volcano and I was hoping to see the aquarium. It was 1500 yen a person so Jeff pooped that idea, he didn't want to go see it for about $30 for the 2 of us... urghh! After taking pictures and waving to people on boats we headed back to the main area of town where all the shopping is. At about this time I decided that I had to pee really bad. I searched of r a toilet and once inside realized it was a squatter style toilet - HELL NO! I refused to use it. I had the grand idea that the high end shops would have more western style toilets. Wrong! I finally caved and used it but it was miserable, can't say I would recommend that. Not that you need to know this but I wasn't about to do more than pee so my bathroom stop for the day was not yet over... After we finished buying gifts for people we headed out of the shops and found this really pretty temple. We headed inside and I noticed they too had bathrooms. I decided to check and I was so pleased to see a sign that said western style and japanese style. I went into the western style and was a much happier person for the rest of the day! (Jeff was a bit annoyed with me b/c he didn't see the big deal... Oh well I found my toilet and everyone was happy again.)

For lunch we wanted sushi so we found a place and walked in. After sitting down I looked up in the book how to say "an assortment of sashimi". They guy looked really confused so I showed it to him. He said something, we stared with confused looks, he said something else, then we realized he said "Soba". Ohhhh it's a noodle shop, not sushi. A guy sitting there said the sushi place was next door - whoops! We felt so stupid but they were super nice to us. They bowed profusely and he walked us out to show us where it was. We bowed and said "Domo arigato!" Whoops!!! The sushi next door was really good. We ordered a roll and an assortment of nigiri. Delicious! We were still hungry so we ordered another roll and I figured out how to tell the guy that was our last order as he looked like he was waiting to see what else we would want. We said a few things to us and he helped with a few pronunciations. at the end of our meal we had some egg concoction to eat that I have never had. I asked him if it was "masago" he said "Hai, egg" - it was pretty good. Kind of like custard with veggies in it.

After lunch we headed out to the Ferris wheel at the station. It is the best view of the city! We weren't sure how to buy our tickets so we kind of watched people and then did what they did. We think we did it right and noone said we didn't so it was a success. Plus it seems we paid less than what the guide book said. The view was amazing, you could see everything!

After the ride we headed to a cafe to fill out our postcards. One thing that has worked here is just pointing and gesturing, it works every time. I ordered a slice of strawberry pie and 2 coffees. There was a tiny bit of confusion about the 2nd coffee b/c I pointed to the door where Jeff was supposed to be standing but he was gone so I think she thought I wanted to take the cup outside or something. I said "for my husband" and she seemed to understand and shook her head yes... but then again maybe she was just saying yes to say yes. :) The pie was so good, I was sad to have to actually share it with Jeff. HAHA!

After that we just headed back to Sendai by train and that is when we stumbled upon the tug of war event (read Jeff's post on that). Another great day!!