Thrills and beauty (part one)

This weekend is the start of what's called Golden Week, bank holidays with a few weekdays sandwiched in between, so depending on when the holidays fall, people can score a 10-day holiday, combined with weekends, bank holidays, and paid holidays. 

There's a suspension bridge that I've been wanting to go to, and there's also a station where steam locomotives run out of. I've been wanting to ride an SL train for a while, I get to do both in one trip.  When I looked up the trains and bus schedules, it looked like it was better to drive, so I called a friend who likes to travel to see if she'd be interested in joining me. Lucky for me, she was interested and she was free this past weekend. 

We set off bright and early, praying to the high heavens that Google map won't try to kill us or lead us astray.  The road to the SL station wasn't all that complicated, We made pretty good time. My original plan was to go straight to the suspension bridge on Saturday, stat the night at the BB, visit on Sunday, take the late morning SL, spend the day roaming around an onsen (hot springs) station, then head back on the afternoon train, then head back home. But, Mother Nature had other ideas. The forecast said Saturday and sunny on Sunday. So, we took the earlier train that was a shorter ride and come back on the train heading back to where we started. We bought a 2-day train pass that included the train fare, extra fee to ride the SL, and free access to an onsen bath facilities. 

The SL train is old. The doors are made out of wood and locked with a latch. The first 2 cars right behind the SL engine had wooden floors and trimming. The other cars were just as old but the floors were linoleum. It was like slipping into the past. The SLs running today are the same ones build in the 1930s with engineers maintaining the locomotives passing on their knowledge to the next generation. On occasion, they source parts that are no longer available through train fanatics. 

   

The ride took us along the river and tea fields. The view was great and we were oohing and aahing at the view. We even saw a bunch of carp streamers hung across the river. When we got to the last stop, there was a tree with sunglasses. We laughed so hard when we saw that. We had a bit of time before the train heading back left, so we roamed around the station. Since we were in Shizuoka, a prefecture known for growing tea leaves and Mt. Fuji, of course, there were shops selling quality green tea. I've taken a liking to "wakoucha" (Japanese black tea). Wakoucha is mild and less bitter than regular black tea. I ended up getting so much tea from different growers 

The train ride was fun. We were planning on having lunch at a restaurant that was recommended on the tourist bureau site. The homepage from the link on the site didn't say anything about reservations only. Apparently, that homepage wasn't in use anymore. I guess it was my bad for trusting that the information was up-to-date. We passed by a newly opened small shopping mall that catered to both locals and tourists. We got ourselves a simple but good lunch to tide us over until dinner. 

The beauty of driving is that it gives us flexibility to stop by any place that caught our attention. We passed by a station that had Thomas trains parked. We just had to stop by to take pics. Driving also gives you never-before-experiences. I already knew that the roads to Sumatakyo, the town where we were staying that's famous for the suspension bridge, was narrow and winding, but man, we were amazed how buses passed through some parts without a scratch. They had guides stationed to direct traffic through the super narrow parts. 

We got to the B&B. Since it was the cheapest deal offered in the area, I didn't have high expectations. The rooms were small and all they had were beds, a small TV and a stand between the beds. I was disappointed to see no fridge. The toilets and bath rooms were downstairs with the rooms upstairs. It was clear that the B&B is old, but they try their best to keep it clean and cozy. Breakfast and dinner was included. Dinner was a miso hot pot with boar meat. The miso was slightly sweet, but went well with the meat and veggies. Looking at the reviews, it looks like this is the B&B's signature dish and they've been offering this dinner for years now. As expected, the meat was tough but it wasn't gamey. Overall, it was a nice dinner. It's bad manners, but I just had to pour the soup from the hot pot over the rice. Now that was good. 

After resting for a bit after the meal, we went down to enjoy a nice soak in the natural hot spring. The water was hard water, which tends to have a slippery feel, so it's had to tell if we rinsed off all the soap. The water temp was just right and the soak was a great end after a long day of driving and enjoying the sights. One thing, tho, the water had sulfur in it and I totally forgot to take off my silver jewelry so I had fun polishing the blackened jewelry after I got home--not. 

The B&B's owner advised us to go to the bridge bright and early. During peak times, the bridge was one-way crossing, so we have to climb 300 steps and follow the hiking trail to cross back over to the other side. We were told that we could take the bridge back if we set out by 6am and be back in time for breakfast, which is served at 7:50am. The view was gorgeous! The water was a distinct blue, the mountains a luscious green, the air was fresh. Crossing the bridge was thrilling, but in an exciting and giddy way. That view was so worth the trip!! 

Apparently, there were other guests at other accommodations getting the same advice. There were people already crossing the bridge when we go there. and there were more people coming in after us. My fat out-of-shape ass was not prepared to take a 300-step hike. I wheezed my way up the steps. I must say, the view along the way was great. There was an observation deck, but all we could see were trees but a cute trolley on display. There were a couple of spots that offered a gorgeous view of the river and bridge. 

We made it back just in time for breakfast. Everything was already laid out. Breakfast was a simple fare, fried bacon and egg, salad, yogurt with muesli, thick toast with butter and homemade marmalade, orange juice and coffee. Breakfast was much appreciated after the unexpected hike up those 300 steps. We got a chance to explore the area for a bit after breakfast and before we had to check out a 9:30am. 

To be continued . . .