The rainiest day of the trip as of yet. The night before we found an old onsen on an old map and decided to check it out. The night was cold despite no longer being in the mountains, and we needed to kill a little time before setting up camp to not be building our fort in mid daylight. But the onsen was closed. Not "closed" as in not open, I mean the building was shut down and dusty.
We had gambled on an onsen and lost. We were cold and now wet. Smart phones to the rescue, there was supposedly another one three more blocks down the wrong direction. We went for it anyways. And when we got there, the bathhouse was as neighborhood as you got. Very casual, no privacy, no care, and yet all warm and un-intimidating.
After an onsen dip, we made our way back to this covered patch of convinient, dry safety.
Safe! The rain never touched our camp, despite Nature's vallient effort.
A cool silhouette shot of Kyles bike fully loaded.
The rain soaked our plans in the afternoon again and we had to stay put. I think we both got a little stir crazy. It's discomforting to have the rain cancel your outdoor plans, especially when all you have are outdoor plans.
We eventually got fed up with hanging under a little slit of convinience store cover and made a decision to cut across the city and take refuge in...a mall. Not ideal but inside a building is so much better than outside. Maybe we'd catch a flick, we thought.
We were to pass the local castle along the way, so we checked it out under a light drizzle. A large stone wall? Check. Defensive architecture? Check. Mote? Check check. All traits of castles, certainly in Japan. I wish there were a little more variety in style actually, but then I had to remind myself that these buildings were not constructed for their style but for the purpose of fortitude.
After a small session of coffe and doughnuts at the mall, we got bored. That didn't take long. Neither one of us expected to hang out there all day. Instead, we jetted across the city to the local public library. Hopped up on coffe and the chance for some quiet time, we split into our seperate interests once we got to the library.
After reading enough magazines and Japanese children's books (my reading of kanji is not yet strong enough to tackle the more advance subjects) I searched and found a video section that had foreign fills to watch. The selection of videos to watch, essentially what is considered to be a summery of a country's cultural resume (if this is all you have access to), amused me.
After lunch and a long wait, the rain did eventually let up! In a very quick decision, we totally were willing to cycle to the next town to avoid being stuck in Imabari any longer. We also just wanted to get back on our bikes and get that heart pumping again! So down the Western coast of Shikoku we rode until the sun set and we found an ok place to rest our heads.
We found a beach to cater to our needs. The rain was done, so we were not in search of cover but did want a view. Down on the part of the beach where the grass and plants start to give way to small pebbles and sand, in that area where earth meets beach, we camped and listened to the local kids set off fireworks through the night in celebration of what I can only imagine.
The fireworks surprisingly lasted well into the night. I couldn't see them through the tarp of the tent, besides, my eyes were already closed. But you could hear them, and the laughter. Sleep came soon. There was nothing more to do than sleep, and greet the next day for another push through the cost on down to as far as the day would take us.
Love,
-A
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