like a Magritte painting

October 26 cont. again

In Tsuwano we bought some bananas and an apple the size of my head at a corner store. This turned out to be the cheapest fruit we found in Japan, probably because we're close to the orchards. Most fruit and vegetables there seem to be uniformly gigantic and perfect. And expensive.



We rented bicycles and rode around the quiet little town. The absense of crowds and chimes and flashing lights felt good. It was so clean, with tidy little cobblestone streets filled with very expensive shops.

In the oldest part of town, the impressive old walls and gates make me feel like I was in a samurai movie and a feudal lord was going to step around the corner any minute.



The ditches along the road are filled with brightly coloured koi. Even the river was flecked with the orange and gold of carp as we rode across the bridge.

We wanted to take the lift up the side of the mountain to see the castle ruins and panoramic view, but were told that the last loop had already started. Instead, we wandered over to the Taikodani-Inari Jinja (shrine). It had vending machines lining the outside wall and 1000 red torii (gates) on the foot path up the hill. I saw several fox statues and figures in the complex.

Back in town we didn't have time for a full supper, so we stopped into a small restaurant with long benches and huge wooden beams. They had a sign out front with a picture of ice cream sundaes. It had vanilla soft serve, corn flakes, some kind of berry jam and these little, round, chewy, green rice cakes here and there. Quite tasty if a little strange in texture.

Then it was back on the train. The ride home was less interesting in the dark, but at least we caught the faster trains and napped on the way.