It was a fortunate moment when Barry walked into this older locally owned hotel, Urban Port in Obama and was able to secure a room for us. Our very large room with a place to eat and a balcony overlooking the Sea of Japan gave us a wonderful opportunity to enjoy local hospitality. We have stayed at many hotels in Japan, but for our convenience, we usually book on a site like Booking.com which gives us great discounts and certainty at the end of a long day of riding. However, locally owned spots like this do not have that online connection. Unlike Barry’s usual approach of not rocking the boat, when the price for a room was quoted, Barry hesitated and thanked the man but said it was a bit more than we could spend. That led to an immediate reduction in price plus he included breakfast, no cost. One would think that perhaps something was lost in translation, but we realize that his sense of hospitality extended to making us happy. Barry graciously accepted his generous offer and many bows ensued.
When we went to the dining room for breakfast, we realized that few tourists stay here. We were met by curious sidelong glances from older Japanese guests. When we checked in, we had been given a choice of a Western or Japanese breakfast and when we both ordered Japanese, his smile told us we had passed muster.
The senior owner of the hotel, attired impeccably, brought us our breakfast. It was interesting to us that my breakfast differed from Barry’s in some of the selections. Regardless, we tried everything.
Each of these delectable dishes are delicious and made by the staff. One must try everything and if it doesn’t work for me…Barry will finish it. He has nerves of steel and an iron stomach!
As we finished breakfast, the man came over to give us this gift. It is especially significant as these chopsticks are called Wakasa Chopsticks, they are made here and this area is responsible for 80% of these enamel chopsticks. A thoughtful gift.
He also gave us this rubbing which we think talks about Sumo Wrestling. The meaning got a little lost in translation, but we like it and whatever it is about, we will frame it when we get home.
This lovely woman was eating her breakfast at the next table. I could sense from her shy looks and smiles that she wanted to visit. She was born in Obama and was back for a visit. She spoke English a bit and her husband was Japanese and from New York. She had lived in many places.
The owner of Urban Port also owns a high end newer hotel next door. He has a fascination with dinosaurs and has a dinosaur museum, complete with music and moving parts on the dinosaurs. This is in a back room of the hotel.
The Hotels are side by side…we stayed in the one on the right and we had the balcony on the left corner, 5th floor. The newer hotel is on the left. They are a family affair with everyone pitching in.
This man has the beach to himself. There are a number of beaches secluded by the rocks and growth and accessible by hundreds of stone steps from where we are.
Shortly after we left the Oceanside route, we came to a Family Mart and we needed coffee. Breakfast was great but green tea just doesn’t get us going. Barry opted for the mega size. He looks happy.
We had turned off the main road to go to a Michi-no-Eki when we discovered an outdoor store that specialized in the Japanese titanium cookware company Snow Peaks. We love their products and we’re excited to find one of their stores.
After shopping at Snow Peaks we discovered that there was so much more happening. A craft fair with mini concerts was in progress in the open area, there were food trucks , small cafes, and a multipurpose hall where a drone company was having a fun event for kids and adults
What a cute ball of fluff. We think this guy has as much trouble as we do getting through a crowd. People love to find out about us and they sure loved this dog.
Another ticket machine to deal with before we can order our meal. Fortunately, a young family came to the rescue and helped Barry go through the steps to order.
Unfortunately the numbers on the picture menu did not correspond to the buttons on the ticket machine. Once you pay and make your selection you have to wait for your ticket number to be called. Once again the Japanese family came to the rescue.
This Michi-No-Eki did not have the usual Soft Cream cones, so we tried their Gelato ice cream. Very good, but we are hooked on their Soft Cream. Liked the triangular cone and mini cone that acts as a scoop.
The 30 kilometres were tough. Lots of hills and tunnels.Sunday is a very busy day on the roads with families out on an outing and of course trucks. The sidewalks weren’t in good shape so we had to ride on the road for most of the ride. We were glad to get to Our destination.
