Driving through Kobe

The first day of Golden Week and heavy traffic was expected. We had wanted to get an earlier start than we did, but had to pickup the rental car first and that limited us to an 8am start. The five of us and gear fit comfortably into the vehicle, and with Leigh driving off we went. The car had a nice gps navigation system, but after driving secondary roads for awhile, we tried the highway. Japans' emphasis on public transportation is reflected in it's highway system, as the biggest road I've seen so far (with the exception of bridges) were only 2 lanes, and the many tolls add up very quickly. To drive a few hours on the MassPike is $5, to drive a few hours in Japan your tolls will be more around $50.

At first we made good time, most traffic was headed towards Kyoto, and we were headed away. But that all changed as we approached Kobe and many hours of standstill traffic. After some detours, we made it onto the bridge into Awajishima. A very big bridge, with good clear views as we left the urban sprawl behind us. We stopped at the highway rest stop in Awaji for information and a snack. Being a holiday, everything was busy, the parking lot was crowded, vendors selling their food, lots of noise and people, even a ferris wheel! We found a handy tourist map listing camp sites and, leaving the highway, drove along twisted valley and coastal roads until stopping for lunch. We had udon, wheat-based noodles popular in the area. Luckily I was with some more fluent japanese speakers, as I was pretty much blank looking at the menu. The area was somewhat populated, houses and convenience stores, even here a pachinko parlor. We passed agriculture and fishing villages, shrines and old falling down houses.

Driving some more, we came to our intended campsite. It was beautiful. Gnarled pines and sandy soil, not at all crowded with plenty of space. The beach had great, wide open views to either side, and while we couldn't go swimming due to some kind of red algae in the water, the sand was mostly clear and the waves calming. We set our tents then went out to find food for dinner. On the way we found an onsen, and went in to get clean. This was a much nicer experience than where I had went in Kyoto. There were multiple tubs, one still and hot, another bubbling, a third with some kind of herbs added which turned the water blue. Also a sauna and a cold tub, the later was my favorite, and when I felt overheated, I would crouch down in the water and feel the cold, cold air exiting my lunges. Again it was somewhat busy, though not crowded, with maybe half a dozen men around us and three young boys swimming around playing in the water.

After about an hour, we met back up with the women and went grocery shopping. Tofu and the makings of a large salad, also some ice and pineapple juice to go with the rum I had brought along. We sat in the sand between our tents, then ate and drank by flashlight. Later we walked out to the beach and let our eyes adjust in the darkness.