Labarynth

October 24

   Dave took us to a port town called Onomichi. The mountains practically rise up out of the channel, so most of the town is on a steep angle. We did the temple walk through the hills. Dave is big on temples. I must admit many of them are beautiful and we really enjoyed wandering through the maze of narrow streets to find them.

Of course we got lost.

There were no street signs, and many roads ended as private driveways and yards. It was great fun. We had to press up against the walls to let scooters past. I was fascinated with the glimpses I got of peoples houses and yards - their daily life. I also liked greeting all the elderly people we passed along the way.

We took a tram up the hill for a lovely view and saw statues of naked women (much more popular than naked men here, it seems), as well as "Monkey Land" - basically a cement pit with a mound of rocks and a handful of monkeys hanging out (there are many forlorn theme parks in Japan that were built during their economic heyday but languished after the bust). We were surrounded by elementary school children in bright, matching caps all shouting "hey Mister Monkey!" and groups of business men in suits. I have no idea why the latter group was there. Maybe seeing the sights during a business trip lunch break?

We had 'famous' ramen for lunch. It seems every second town is famous for it's ramen noodle soup.