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May 19

Hyotan Onsen / Fugu / Ferry to Shikoku

After breakfast at the YH, I went to check out Hyotan Onsen, one of the famous hot springs. I chose this one, of the many in the city, because it had a wide range of different styles of baths. The first one I did was a sand bath. You cover yourself with sand, and you wouldn't know it until you try it, but it's super hot. One was the Pebble Bath, a long, shallow bath with pebbles on the bottom. You walk through it and it massages your feet. Another was a small waterfall style one that you let pour on your back and muscles. Gotta love it.

My next stop was to try Fugu. This is the infamous Blowfish - if prepared wrong, it'll kill you. In old times, Fugu chefs had to commit seppuku (suicide) if they caused one of their customers to die. I don't know if this law still applies, but regardless I survived. Although expensive, this town is known for its Fugu fishing, and it is therefore much cheaper here than anywhere else. That being said, it was still around $20 (2500 yen) for a small plate of the raw Fugu sashimi, served with a small sauce made from ground Fugu innards. Not very filling, but interesting none-the-less.

After calling Jen, and not only getting to hear her new song-answering machine message, but actually getting to talk to her, I then hit the info booth again, and then went to fill myself up. I went to a place that serves Dangojiru, a type of soup made with thick dumpling noodles, with thick, light-colored broth and lots of vegetables. Around this time I've begun to realize that although trying the different foods from different parts of Japan is fun, it doesn't mean that it will always be really tasty.

I was beginning to run late, if I wanted to catch a ferry to Shikoku, so I quickly made way back to Oita over the same crappy road from the day before (there is no alternative route), and then bought my ferry ticket. I bought a beer from a convenience store before boarding: they are about 30% cheaper off of the ferry (remember this if you go!)

The ferry ride was about 4 hours, and more or less uneventful. I arrived at Matsuyama port around 8 p.m., and, through the darkness of night, road down to the city. I found a camping spot under a large bridge overpass. It was relatively quite and in a little fenced off area. Of course this didn't prevent it from being super cold, again. I got much better sleep than the last time, however.