Distance walked: 8km
Breakfast was in the hotel buffet. It was their attempt at a Western buffet breakfast. It didn't quite hit the mark. The sausage was pieces of Chinese sausage and there was no bacon. There was shredded cabbage, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and corn kernels so you could make a salad (for breakfast?). The only cereal was corn flakes or all bran (labelled "all blanc").
After breakfast we piled into taxis and took a train to Hikone. Here we stopped at a supermarket to buy supplies for a picnic lunch. Next we went down to Hikone Castle. First we visited a Shinto temple where Tom managed to make a description of it not particularly informative but dull. Next we went to the castle museum (also mostly dull) and then went through the local lord's administrative offices. Here Tom managed to tell us one or two interesting things about Japanese architecture. Then we climbed up to the grounds of the castle keep and ate our lunch. Yoghurt that has been kept in the sun in a backpack for 2 hours was probably not a good idea.
After lunch we went up to the top of the keep. The stairs (ladders) were treacherously steep. We had to navigate them with our back packs on while carrying our shoes in plastic bags, plus all our rubbish from lunch. Garbage bins in the street are few and far between. Mostly you take your litter home with you - and people do.
After the keep we went to see the lord's ancestral home and have a brief scamper through his gardens (beautiful). Finally we headed back to the train and headed to our stop for the night, Sekigahara. This is the site of a pivotal battle which ended decades of civil war. You guessed it, tom managed to make a description of it dull.
We then were taken to meet a group of primary school students who wanted to practice their English on us. They introduced themselves, individually interviewed us, took it in turns to tell us about the battle of Sekigahara and then give us a quiz. Paula was beside herself. She kept exclaiming about how cute the children were. She is an aging (mid-50s) hippy. While she is a medical doctor she has a keen interest in alternative therapies. I shouldn't sneer at her. She clearly has a very generous heart and a great enthusiam for life. Her husband, Doug, runs a small movie theatre along the lines of the Westgarth cinema.
After our visit to the battlefield we settled in at our ryokan for the night. It only had the one bathroom - suitable for a couple, and two toilets - one a single and the other with two separate cubicles. John & Nola and I are in rooms in an annex while the rest have adjoining rooms in the main building. We got the best rooms. More privacy and close to the dual toilets. Handy for midnight visits. Speaking of those, I was making such a visit (warm yoghurt is definitely not a good idea) when someone else came in. They didn't realise I was there. When they left, in a fit of eco-consciousness, they turned out the light!
Dinner was shabu-shabu. First of all we cooked vegetables in the dashi broth - cabbage (again), carrots, three sorts of mushrooms and tofu. We then added another plateful of vegetables and thin slices of pork - except for Paula & Doug who are vegetarians and were therefore given fish. We finished with bowls of rice. It was filling but all a bit bland.
After dinner, even thous it was only just after 9pm, we all called it a night and headed off to bed. I had nothing to read as our luggage had been sent on ahead to the next stop and I had packed my kindle. Idiot!
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