Hand written on 2010年2月17日
You've reached the number of Jen, Lily, and Caitlin. We've moved to 松山 (Matsuyama), but if you leave your name and number we might try to get back to you.
Yup! 松山 baby! I love this city! It has such a nice feel to it. It's big, but at times it feels like the small towns in Ｌake Ａrrowhead. Unlike 高松 it's bustling and busy. It's got the ocean and the mountains right nearby.
We took an express here and arrived around 1pm. The train ride was so beautiful. We went through mountains, countryside, and coast. I got to see some of 四国's taller mountains. There was still snow at the peaks. It looked like a dusting on the tree tops, even from far away.
When the train pulled in we were starving so we got some ramen. It seems to be a tradition that our first meal in every city is ramen. This ramen was 豚骨 (tonkotsu) ramen. It was kind of milky and rich in flavor. I'd never had it before. Super good, though.
With our stomachs filled, we went to catch the tram to the Youth Hostel. While we were waiting, we met a girl named Vanessa from London. She was headed for the Youth Hostel as well. She's been traveling through Japan alone after visiting a friend who recently married a Japanese fellow. She didn't know an ounce of Japanese. Brave girl. It was a good thing we ran into her, too. She had a map!
Unfortunately, though, even with a map we only knew the general location of the place. We must have looked rather lost wandering around because a woman across the street asked us if we were lost. She kindly showed us the way. She lived in Ohio from 1997-2002 with her husband, so her English was quite good. We had fun chatting with her on the way.
The Youth Hostel turned out to be up this ridiculously steep hill. Once we got to the top, the sunny day was roasting us alive.
Anyway, the hostel itself is fantastic. It has a lounge with massage chairs, a room full of manga, and a tree house outside! Our room is on the top floor, so we have a beautiful view out the balcony across the hall. The nighttime cityscape is stunning.
After dumping off our stuff and exploring the hostel, we went down to the town to scope out the 道後温泉 (Dogo Onsen). There were people walking around in yukata everywhere. They browsed the おみやげ (omiyage=souvenirs) in the shopping arcade between dips in the 温泉 (onsen). The shops are filled with citrus food stuff. Apparently 愛媛 (Ehime), the 県 (ken) that 松山 is in is famous for its citrus. We went nuts for the food stuffs. The citrus kit kat are so delicious. Also there are these soft cake balls filled with citrus creme and a medallion of citrus jelly on top... I would eat 50 in a blink if I were given them. So goooood.
When we were done with the arcade, we went over to a park we'd seen earlier. That's when we ran into Vanessa again. She'd gone to the bath and finished already, so we wandered up to this look out point at the top of the park together. You could see all the way to the sea. It was most excellent.
After that we soaked our cold feet in this public fountain. It spouted the warm waters of the hot spring that supplies the 温泉. It felt really good, but we got hungry. Jen, Lily, and I decided to introduce Vanessa to お好み焼き (okonomiyaki). She'd had it before, but never made it herself. And apparently no one ever told her that you have to put sauce on it. How bland. The place we ate at was pretty good. We sampled 4 different types: 豚玉 (pork)、海老玉 (shrimp)、たこ玉 (octopus)、and チーズ玉 (cheese).
By the time we were done eating, it was getting cold and dark so we decided to head back. The free internet and computers were too good to pass up. I typed up one of these entries, but they're so darn long, I could only get one up! I need to stop having such fun and eventful days.
Perhaps tomorrow's entry will be shorter. We'll just be chilling in hot springs all day... what could possibly happen?
Anyway, it's time to sleep.
Love until later,
Caitlin D.
By the time it was getting
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