Day 4 – 01.04: “Wait, you’ve never drunk sake?”

Though I was well rested, my shoulders were still aching badly, but I had to keep moving. I gave myself some time to actually wake up, after which I started to plan a little bit.

During all this planning I contacted Brendan, a friend of mine who had come to work in Japan just a week before I came in to the country. We went through the details on his availability and all that good stuff. When finished, I took my stuff and went downstairs to pay for my stay before my departure for Shimotsuma (下妻).

I got downstairs with all of my stuff, exchanging greetings with my lovely innkeeper, and asking how much the whole thing costed. If there is one thing that I can manage in Japanese, it’s asking how much something is. So at least I didn’t screw that up. I paid my dues with a 10000 yen note, and was surprised when the innkeeper came back with green tea, strawberries and the change I was owed. All of it was for me. I like this place.

Before leaving, there was some conversation – or rather, the woman trying to explain things, but me not understanding most of what she said – and then she decided to show me the ocean.

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