Still no sign of Typhoon Hagibis as we woke to bright blue sky and sunshine again. Robert got his wish and had an early morning swim and I got mine, managing to identify a hot can of coffee in the vending machine (third attempt).
The timetable for the day is currently shower, breakfast, shrine, lunch and finally campsite for the evening.
I have discovered, through one of my many internet searches, a website called The Onsen Magazine, which provides useful information and reviews on bathing facilities throughout Japan, such as opening hours and whether or not the onsen has a private/family bath, so that Robert & I can bath together and in private, rather than inflict ourselves in the nude on the general bathing public. It recommended an onsen near to the car park we were squatting in overnight, in a town called Usa, so off we went. The thing I am beginning to realise about camping is that you go to bed a lot earlier than you would normally but you also get up a lot earlier. There is no incentive to lie in an uncomfortable bunk (coffin) contemplating life and, as my family know, once I’m up…
The onsen opened at 9.00am and we walked in the door at about 2 minutes past the hour. The upside of this is that there is practically no one about, the down side is the mix of taxi Japanese and charades required for us to get across to the charming little old lady on reception, what it was we were hoping to achieve. We got there in the end, with much giggling on her part, so Lord only knows what she thinks we wanted to get up to in our private bath.
We emerged squeaky clean and while I am on the subject of cleanliness, I must mention the launderette we stumbled upon while hunting for breakfast. Many of you will be aware of my capacity for washing and, more particularly, ironing. One of the things I was a little concerned about regarding this trip was the ability to get our laundry done, so imagine my astonishment when I visited this beauty.
When I walked in to throw our onsen towels in the drier while we went for breakfast, the attendant was polishing the front of the machines. It was spotless, so much so, that you really could literally have eaten off the floor.
A quick admission here, after a run of slightly challenging Japanese breakfasts, we opted out and hit McDonalds. Bacon McMuffin Meal heaven (and the coffee is good too) in the smartest, shiniest Mcdonalds I have ever been in. We left Usa thinking it must be one of the cleanest places on earth.
Washed and fed, it was now shrine time. Back into the mountains for what turned out to be the Disneyland of shrines, with its own chairlift. I was about to march us up a mountain again (shrines always seem to be in a high place) when my trusty companion spotted a sign for a chairlift and suggested we give it a go. Much fun was had by all.
There was a half-way station, where you alighted for the shrine, another beautiful and serene environment in which to contemplate life.
Culture done for the day (after the cultural marathons that were Kyoto and Nara, I am restricted to 1 shrine &/or 1 museum a day) we headed back to the coast to a proper, bona fide RV campsite, which turned out to be another car park by the beach, but this time with a power supply for the camper. We hunkered down for the evening and, like the rest of Japan, waited to see what Typhoon Hagibis would bring.
