The Pirate Coast.

Saturday 6th October. Day 72 Warm, Fine, Misty early.

Akihiro and Masako took us on an enormous motor car trip of 290 kilometres return, round the coast of Wakayama Prefecture as far as the resort city of Shirahama (White Beach).
We sped round the spectacular coast-line (which rather left the Victorian "Great Ocean Road" in the shade) on excellent roads. But the speed limit is lower in Japan, so the trip took longer than it would have taken in Victoria, unless it was a summer Sunday on the afore-mentioned G.O.R..
There were so many tunnels on the way to Shirohama, that I became fascinated by them and wrote down all their names and timed how long it took to pass through each tunnel. There were sixteen tunnels and the longest passage took three minutes (at 80 kph).

We had a lunch of fried rice, green tea, and water at a roadside cafe. Colin remembers feeling extremely tattered, whether from the emotional strain of the Kabuki, whose musical accompaniment was still re-playing in our brains, another late night, or over- indulgence in food and alcohol, who can tell, so the refreshing lunch was a "where the day really began" sort of thing.
Goodness knows how Akihiro and Masako felt, since as well as the burdens described in the previous paragraph, probably common to all, they had the responsibility of two foreigners, one of whom was large and clumsy, and both of whom were linguistically challenged; however, they were as always perfect hosts.

At Shirahama we saw the famous Senjohiki Rock Tableland, a broad, patterned ledge of sandstone sloping into the Pacific Ocean. Shirohama also has famous hot springs, but we didn't see them.
However we descended by elevator into a maze of sea level caves now a museum, but used by pirates long ago. The waves sloshed noisily in from the open sea. Ships and men were once hidden in these caves. Nowadays the clifftop above the caves is a favourite jumping off point for suicides.
When we came out of the caves, Colin told Akihiro that he was going to compose a kabuki about the caves and their pirate inhabitants.

On the way back to Sakai, after pausing twice, once for a taste sensation, ume boshi (sour plum) sofuto kuremo, and later, briefly to admire the sight of the sun setting behind an island with a hole through the middle, we visited an extensive fish market.
There was an enormous variety of fresh fish displayed for sale, also beef, chicken, pork, fruit and vegetables, rice, noodles, and so on. Also a big fish tank with enormous fish swimming inside, including two huge and ugly fugu or puffer fish. Their jaws stick out in a way which is memorable but at the same time difficult, well impossible, to describe.
Properly prepared, fugu are a delicacy, but they contain a deadly poison, and if prepared by inexpert hands, their flesh can become lethal.
It's incredible to see the variety of food available for purchase in Japan, well only compared to what's available in Queenscliff, really, but the sight of so many foods available to Japanese cooks and diners makes us think that the traditional Oz diet is very limited.

This market had a cafetaria so we had dinner there.
We ate "Tempura Udon", that is battered prawn on a bed of udon noodles with nori, onion, and fish-cake.
Masako had "Kitsune Udon" which is the same dish as ours (and Akihiro's) but with the prawns replaced by tofu. Legend and the name say this dish was a favourite of foxes.
Recalling this meal reminds me once again that Japanese food is sooooo delicious!
People were always saying, "You can't get fat on Japanese food." But we were able to prove them wrong.

We had left Sakai at 10 a.m., and were just back inside the house at 8 p.m. when Akihiro heard the distant, rhythmic cry of, "Wa Shoi, wa shoi." The sound of a procession.
It was the Rice Harvest Festival Procession. Greatly excited, Akihiro rushed everyone out of the house to a nearby vantage point to overlook the procession as it passed along the main road below.
Unfortunately, all we saw was the disappearing lights, so everyone returned to the car which dashed madly around Sakai, constantly thwarted by the approach of other arms of the procession, so that we saw the local procession twice.

The festival wagons (there were two in this particular procession), looking dangerously high and unbalanced, bore several men and banks of lanterns.
Each wagon was drawn along by two long ropes, pulled by a large number of young men clad in traditional costume of happi coat, trousers, and headband (hachi-maki).
The first wagon weighed about two tonnes, the second was much heavier. Another group of men and youths marched behind each wagon to assist at steep sections or at difficult corners. There was much good-natured rocking of the wagons by the marchers. Akihiro said there were sometimes injuries or deaths when the wagons over-balanced.
At the rear of the procession were three utilities with further support crews and huge eskies - "What was inside?" There were also rubbish bins and their contents included beer cans.
From the back of the ute in front of us, a pair of legs hung lifelessly. There was some discussion about whether they were legs or not. Colin declared they were false by the way they moved.
We all agreed - and the legs drew themselves up into the tray of the ute.

Back home we ate a supper of various foods: squids stuffed with rice, then sliced, then heated in the micro-wave; pickled fish; bread; slices of cinnamon flavoured rice paste; almond cheese!! coffee and red wine.
Noriko showed us a video of a weekend train trip she had made to Shirahama with a girl friend. The video showed Noriko and her friend travelling, seeing the sights, at an hotel, and visiting a hot spring.
This was rather funny, because the two girls were cowering in the waters, giving little shrieks and nervous giggles whenever anyone came into the bathroom.
They stayed up all night and the next day went for a taxi ride. The taxi driver made "kappa" as a hobby, but to sell to tourists.
He spent quite a long time showing the girls the little figures he had made. The screen occasionally showed two exhausted, bleary-eyed female faces, and on the soundtrack, punctuating the taxi-driver's spiel, tired voices were saying, "Sugoi, sugoi." Noriko and her friend went on to miss their train back to Sakai, and had to wait five hours for the next one. Instalment 6 is Mount Kongo.