Our room is cozy and after some fiddling we got the Air Conditioning to work - a big deal as it is really hot! One of the best features is the cute doggie - "Gon Chan." Benna and Aleeza have to take turns loving him. The other night, a friend of the barkeeper came by with her puppy - it was a dog-love-fest. Understand that it is like a house, so the barkeeper (a young woman) and the chef (a young man) are here much of the day, they eat here and hang out here and in the evening the restaurant/bar is hopping with soft music and smoking and drinking, but it feels like you are in the living room of a house, and the guest rooms are just through a door and down the hall.
Yesterday we had an amazing day at an indoor waterpark. No pictures, but suffice it to say there were maybe one hundred guests at this place, which could easily have accommodated two or three thousand. Six hours flew by before we had to catch the (free!) bus back to town
That night we decided to follow the guidebook recommendation and sample a local dish - Morioka Reimen. Not the same as Ramen, we quickly discovered, after trying to order it at a little Ramen shop. The chef shooed us out the door and pointed us down the street to a place that was able to deal with foreigners! So, Reimen is cold and the soup is kimchee-based. Spicy and gooey. The noodles are much chewier than typical Ramen. It was...interesting. We tried it. Next.....
Morioka has interesting streets. I wish I had more time to just walk around. A major feature is the castle park, which is centrally located. Actually it was not nearly as nice as the guidebooks made it sound, but it was interesting enough to keep the kids entertained for about half an hour. The Japanese idea of a playground, it turns out, is a bleak open flat field with nothing in it. (We have been burned by this twice now!)
So today, Aleeza and Jana went to the "Morioka Handiworks Square" and hopefully they will return soon with great stories to tell and some crafts that they made themselves.
Benna and I went to the Morioka Zoo. Getting there was an adventure. We missed the bus and had to take a taxi. No biggie, but a bit expensive, so I was relieved when the admission was five bucks for the two of us! The place was absolutely deserted. I was actually afraid it was closed when we got there. We were able to explore it at our own pace, and before long I heard screeching voices and I thought "Aahhhh, children, they are the same in every country and their squeals of joy are the same in any language. I could almost convince myself that they were screaming in English. As we approached, it became clear that it was a dream - this group was from the nearby air force base, they were American kids screaming in English!
Benna liked the food - it was the Zoo plate. Hopefully it was not Zoo meat! I liked the Monkeys.
The bus ride home was OK, but Benna thought it was boring.
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