Here's Benna at the Zoo, riding an elephant. (It really was the zoo, but seeing the elephants wasn't enough for Benna, she insisted on a ride!)
These next pictures are from the costume museum.
I described that adventure in the previous post.
We started the day on bicycles, a short ride to the Heian Shrine area. It is a huge and beautiful place, swarming with tourists. It is not that old or historically significant, but it is very popular and photogenic.
We skipped the gardens and after a short walk around the grounds in the blazing sun, headed for the 7-eleven for a snack. Amazingly, several large groups of school kids had the exact same idea, and the place was absolutely packed. We had never seen anything like it. The line reached to the back of the store. But in Japanese style, it was very orderly and efficient and within a few minutes we were eating our riceballs on the sidewalk (in the blazing sun.)
Here's a picture of some other patrons, some businessmen. Long pants, sleeves rolled up, smoking. cigarettes. What a life.
After the hot morning and a visit to the supermarket, we decided to head to Lake Biwa to cool off at the beach. We had been discussing this trip for a while, and originally we were going to go tomorrow when there is a huge fireworks display. But last night our friend Keiji cautioned us about the crowds, and some more internet research seemed to support the idea that it would be like times square on new year's eve, and we were not up for that with the girls. So, we went this afternoon. I had seen some pictures of sandy beaches, and the map showed two "waterfront park" areas in the main town, Otsu, so we packed our bathing suits and towels and some store-made noodles and hopped the train for Hama-Otsu.
We found the Lake alright, and there was a waterfront, but beach....not so much!
So, what were we to do? We made the most of it and had our snack!
As we walked around, we could see lots of preparations going on for tomorrow night's fireworks. At the train station, they had huge stockades set up. There were temporary barriers everywhere. The website said that people would be charged 4,000 yen, about $45, to get into the park area for a decent view. YIKES! The security was already tight, as you can see, here was a local cop on his cycle.....
I was serious about the fences and the admission fee, though.
We walked quite a while before we asked someone about swimming. He suggested we walk to the "Prince Hotel," which was way WAY down the shore. We had nothing better to do so we walked there. It was SUPER swanky!
We tried the old "pretend we are guests" routine, and it worked, the staff all acted really friendly and helpful, and we found the amazing huge outdoor pool. They were stacking up the reclining chairs, and we were told that it closed at 6pm, and it was like 6:15. We were devastated! Luckily (kind of...) we had stopped along the way at a "sports club" and yes they had a pool and yes there would be open swim time at 7pm and it was only 210 yen (about $2.50) for the kids. So we schlepped our tired butts back there, and tried to get in, and apparently they didn't mention that the kids are only $2.50 when accompanied by an adult, at $4.50, and neither of us wanted to swim. So I went in. Then we learned that "open swim" means "one of the lanes is open for kids!" It was adult lap swim in all the other lanes! So not exactly a ton of fun, but the girls managed to laugh for a solid hour nonstop. Also, we all had to wear these funky swimming caps, even me. I didn't have the heart to explain that I was bald!
On the (long) walk back to the train, we were treated to one of the sights of Otsu - the "Hana Biwako" or "Lake Biwa Flower" fountain. It was tough to capture on camera, but very dramatic in real life.
A long, strenuous, and somewhat expensive haul all for a short swim in a pool! But a memorable adventure, and a different view of summer in Japan.
(PS - Turns out the sandy beaches are further up the lake, like twenty more minutes on the train. Next time!)
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