Last day in Japan
Well, this is my last day in Japan. Senri and Martha took me on the ferry across the bay to Kumamoto. We went to the castle, climbed up the towers, went to lunch in an Italian restaurant where I had horrible pizza. We walked the arcade and looked at shops. It is so Western feeling, with kids wearing the kind of tank tops that they wear in the US and they just have a more cosmopolitan, cocky attitude. I was amazed to see how much I love the humble farming atmosphere on Shimabara. We went to the handicrafts museum. There are lots of good artisans here.
Came back to Shimabara and had a bath in a hotel. Earlier in the week, Martha and I had gone up the mountain for a bath. It seems funny to think of bathing as a social thing to do, but it is really great! This hotel is on the beach and has outside pools where we could soak and see the full moon. Cool!
Then home and packed. No way can I get everything into my suitcase. Realized that I had been wearing Toako’s pants all day! Ooops!