June 20th - part two


Now that we're settled in and have figured out how to turn on the air conditioner, the next order of business is lunch. Besides, we need to get to know the neighborhood! This area, Hida, is famous for its beef and Nick has two skewers of beef with rice while the rest of us have ramen or rice with beef and vegetables. Then it's time to explore the old part of the city where the buildings have all been preserved and now house shops. Hida is also famous, apparently, for its sake! There are seven different places to taste but we only make it to two. One is also a winery (?) and we can see the huge drums for aging. One of these sakes is so tasty! The lady says it is "sake no sake" which I think means sake inside sake and must be a good thing! Anyway, she says it with gusto and we repeat it in kind and it goes back and forth for a while between the giggles!

One of the shops has wood furniture and Ginger and I fall in love with a table and four chairs that appear to be made of huge slabs of wood. The chairs are all one piece and comfortable - and they swivel! Andy is in trouble with Nick for pointing them out to us! ( :) )

There is so much to see! Nick is ready to go back to the hotel and the rest of us go on in search of a shrine that someone read about. Andy is as avid a photographer as his mom and is also great at posing! We climb a pretty steep hill and find a croquet field and the ruins of an old gate and decide to come back down and see some more of the town.

Back at the ranch we are ravenous and decide to try Suzuya, which comes highly recommended. Nick is great at locating super restaurants! We have a room in the back all to ourselves and we slip our legs under the low table and say a silent thank you for the well underneath! I order hoba yaki which is miso paste, sliced beef, vegetables, tofu and konyaku, (a gelatinous food made from arum root starch) cooked on a hoba leaf! It is on the page called Yakimono or food cooked over a flame. It turns out that I am responsible for stirring and turning the ingredients and getting them of the fire before they are over done! The same is true for everyone, although Betsy, Ginger and Andy have casserole-type dishes to tend to! Nick has a beef wonder! And Yebisu beer is good, too.

Home to negotiate the outdoor - indoor slipper ritual. We turn in our keys whenever we leave, which is a ritual in itself because the reception desk is above ground level by about eight steps. That means you have to change from your outdoor shoes to your outdoor slippers just to turn in or retrieve your key. Happiy they have a system for that. You ring the bell and someone comes down to collect or deliver your key! Betsy and I get our showers tonight so Nick and Ginger will have a clear shot at it in the morning.

We've already figured out who gets which futon so it is only a matter of moments before we are dead to the world.