Day 71: January 11, 2022
Tuesday - Mie Road Trip Day 1
Good morning everyone, it's a rainy day but that won't stop us from our planned 2-day road trip to Mie Prefecture. For today's trip, we will be heading to Shima City in Mie Prefecture.
We left Kameyama Residence in Osaka Prefecture at around 9AM. The estimated travel time to our hotel in Shima City is around 3 hours and 30 minutes. For today's trip, our first stop was at the house of Mr. Toshi's daughter Ms. Akiko in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture. We dropped off the family dog, Yomogi there.
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| Ano Service Area |
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| Ano service area stamp |
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| Cremia soft creme break with my Japanese family |
From Suita City, we continued on to Ise Expressway. Since it was a long drive, we decided to have a toilet break stop at Ano Service Area. Of course, I made sure to get the service area stamp for my travel diary. Also, as a way to thank my Japanese family for this trip, I bought them Cremia Soft Cream Ice Cream.
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| Shin - Meishin Expressway to Ise City |
It took us around an hour and a half drive to reach Oedo Onsen Monogatari Ise Shima in Shima City. Upon arrival, we checked in and then brought our luggage to Room 601. The room was big and is divided into 2 smaller rooms. It also has a beautiful view of Ago Bay. While enjoying the view, I took the opportunity to practice my video-taking skills.
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| 6th-floor hallway |
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| Our room for the night |
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| One of the two rooms in 601 |
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| We unpacked our stuff |
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| The view of Ago Bay from our room |
What is the purpose of staying in an onsen ryokan if you won't make a din in the onsen right? Late in the afternoon, Mr. Toshi and I went to the designated onsen for men while Ms. Taeko, Ms. Sawa, and baby Karin went to the women's onsen area.
The onsen area has a sauna, indoor onsen, and outdoor onsen. Mr. Toshi and I stayed in the indoor onsen and talked about various stuff ranging from my life as an ALT to our future travel plans. Before finishing our onsen experience, I tried the outdoor onsen alone. I took a dip for about 15 minutes. It was a relaxing experience as I was the sole bather there and was spared from the view of nude men walking around. If you're planning to visit this place, I'd highly recommend the outdoor onsen as it has a scenic view of Ago Bay and if it's quiet, you'd hear the euphonious sound of nature.
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| Checking out the game corner and karaoke rooms |
After the onsen experience, we all went back to our room to rest and wait for the restaurant in the hotel to open for dinner. I used this time to explore and familiarize myself with Oedo Onsen Monogatari Ise Shima.
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| Dinner time at Mikuri |
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| Too many foods to choose from |
Just when I was about to go back to the room, I received a call from Mr. Toshi informing me that it was time for dinner. Since the hotel's restaurant was on the ground floor which is where I am, I just waited for them to come down and meet me there.
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| Table tennis area |
The hotel's restaurant is called Mikuri. It can cater to around 50 guests. During our stay, they offered buffet Oriental and Japanese cuisine. After dinner, we went to one of the vending machines in the hotel and bought some beverages for our usual late-night chat time. However, before heading up to our room, we decided to play table tennis first.
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| Table tennis match between me and Ryo |
Mr. Toshi and I teamed up against Ryo and Ms. Sawa. It was a fun game and I discovered that Mr. Toshi plays like a pro. After the game, we headed to the lobby where there are coin-operated massage machines. Ms. Taeko was there and she made me try going back to our room.
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| Preparing to call it a night |
That night, Mr. Toshi and I talked about everything under the sun. As I have mentioned in my previous articles, these are things that I look forward to whenever I'm here in Japan. Overall, day 1 of our Mie Road Trip is memorable not only because I got to travel again with my Japanese family but also marks my 1st visit to Mie Prefecture making it my 12th out of 47 prefectures to visit here in Japan.
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