None of us stirred for ten hours, with Emily finally waking us at 7:15. We had a very substantial breakfast followed by a long and fruitless session on the loo. We were soon packed and made our way back to the station, opposite which was the car rental outlet. Nick drove our small car southwards out of the city. It took ages to get out past the strip mall area, where we also spotted some dear deer road barriers. In fact, the area employs deer characters in every possible situation.
The hills and low mountains of the Kii peninsula looked attractive, with a silver dusting of light snow cover. Brooding cloud added to the scene rather than detracting.
We broke the journey at Imaicho, where Nick had read in the guide book about the old town area of five hundred wooden houses and also a place where we could eat noodles. It was indeed a scenic and atmospheric district.
We spent ages roaming the streets trying to track down the restaurant; no-one seemed to know of it but most were trying to be helpful, pulling out maps and making convoluted suggestions that only served to hold us up, and in the end we got there under our own steam. It was now past noon so without further ado we went in and found ourselves in a wooden house with stone flagged floors and a raised tatami area. It was chilly in there but a wooden charcoal brazier provided relief though we could still see our breath, and then the waitress brought a heated electric fan that just about made it comfortable. Emily was a bit scared of the glowing coals; maybe I overegged my warning about sparks burning her coat or Goki. I enjoyed blowing gently to bring the grey ash to life.
I have always liked messing about with bonfires, log stoves etc. We had a bowl of kitsune soba each, and a dessert, though Emily ate most of my cheesecake. As we made our way out we discovered two old-fashioned kaleidoscopes and Emily was very taken with them.
It was time to continue with the other half of our drive to the mountain shrines area, Yoshino. It is apparently the most famous area in Japan for cherry blossom, though there were only the ubiquitous cedar trees in evidence until we climbed the final steep hill dotted with religious sites. It all looked extremely pretty with six inches of snow, which was just enough to embellish it without causing inconvenience.
Emily had dropped off five minutes from our destination so we took it in turns to browse around the hotel environs while she napped for half an hour.
Once she was awake we checked in. Our ryokan was once a temple and had plenty of character.
The staff were all really friendly and we were shown to a room that was the polar opposite of the previous night: a massive suite, super-heated, with great views over a wooded, snowy slope. It was more expensive but we got substantially more than we expected for that price on a holiday Saturday.
We wasted no time in getting out for the final two hours of daylight. We were aiming for a viewing place half an hour's walk further up the hillside so we set off, with many delays for Emily to play in the snow. After a wrong start or two we thought we had the right path and followed a winding path that lead to a small hilltop village about a mile away. On the way we passed a thicket of very tall bamboo, some quite weighed down by the weight of snow. Nick showed Emily how to make a snow angel.
Eventually she got tired and began complaining to be carried, so I, ever empathic, became fretful to get back, and in any case it was nearly dusk and a snow shower was starting. Thanks to poor maps we were not quite sure of the way back but we took a chance and discovered that we had gone the long way round and were soon back at the hotel. We looked around the lovely grounds before retiring indoors. Our hotel was formerly a temple and still has a fabulous garden with all of the necessary Japanese touches: pool with drooping cherry, sculpted pines, stepping stone paths, pom-pom azaleas, maples, mini-Fuji. The pond was iced over and all was covered in a cloak of pure white.
Back in our rooms, almost as big as our apartment back home, we all donned yukata
then Emily and I played while Nick tried out the hot baths, which he had to himself. At dinner we were served a huge meal of many courses, and I was relieved there was nothing very challenging.
Emily broke off halfway to return to our room for a huge poo, so we were very relieved. After our meal it was my turn to go in the onsen while Nick bathed Emily in the room. I had the outdoor rotemburo to myself and luxuriated in the piping hot water while gazing at the surrounding cherry trees and snow scene. Thanks to her nap, it took Emily ages to go off to sleep for the night, and as always I almost dropped off on the futon next to her.
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