We finally went to an onsen with Miyazaki. Bubbly and stuttering, as always, she pulled into the Pia parking lot in a brand new Nissan March, an updated version of the Volkswagon beetle. She rolled her old car earlier that week from not knowing that you don't slam on the brakes when you hit ice. One of the downsides of living in a warm place - you don't learn how to drive.

She really drove the message home - pardon the pun - upon arriving at the onsen; she dropped her car into an open sewer. As we were stepping out of the car Nancy heard this clunk! and scrape! and knew right away that something had happened. A crowd had already gathered and was well on its way to pulling her out of the ditch. First they propped the car up with a jack under the back tire. A few rocks and sticks under the front and she drove right out. Now when either one of us does the same, we at least know how to get out!

The onsen was awesome. It was called Kuroshio Honjin, which has something to do with the current that runs off the coast of Kochi, and was built on the top of a hill overlooking Nakatosa. It is a brand new building with at least some sense of its surroundings - untreated cedar and maple, open hearth fireplaces laid in the tatami, a lobster tank, smooth lines and raked gravel. I watched the ocean rolling up onto the rugged shoreline as I sat and soaked, forgot the laundry and the kitchen that hasn't been cleaned all week. Ahhh, heavenly.

Afterward we headed for some ice cream, but there was a big line. We decided to check out the market. At the entrance to the market area an older couple were selling cheap paintings of fish, tomatoes and people. Each picture featured some crude calligraphy which we couldn't read and came complete with a cheap wooden frame. The pictures would have looked great in grandma and grandpa's cabin. Too bad they sold it!

At the market I showed Nancy a red snapper, which are real expensive here because they come from Okinawa. They are ugly as hell, so Nancy wasn't too impressed about that. We bought some cherry tomatoes instead, which were about half of what they would have been at the supermarket. We need to start shopping at the fruit and vegetable stands more often, but the damn supermarket is so convienient. That's no excuse, I suppose. It's better to support the little guys I think. We'll have to start planning a little more, and make the extra effort.

The cake and ice cream shop was nice, too. Nancy and I both got strawberry icecream, and Miyazaki and her daughter got strawberry shortcake and strawberry cream cheese cake respectively. Nakatosa is famous for strawberries!

On the way home we stopped in at a bamboo shop. Nancy and I already been there so we didn't stay long. I like looking at the crafts though. It's amazing what you can do with bamboo. Some of the suitcases and stuff are so intricate and finely detailed, they are more like works of art than anything else. And at about $1000 a pop, you probably wouldn't want to throw your dirty socks in them anyway.

All in all, we had a really great day with Miyazaki. She's a nice lady. Next time we're going to a different onsen further up in the mountains, about an hour from Susaki. Should be fun.