Thrills and beauty (part two)

On the way to the B&B, we saw that there were a couple of other suspension bridges that would be on our way back and the owner gave us information about the bridges we saw. Both bridges are open for crossing. The first one we visited was the Ryogoku Suspension Bridge. It was a small bridge that led to a tiny train station with a platform that was as narrow as a sidewalk. The only indication that it was a train station was a sign with the station's name on it and a bench. We just so happened to see a train heading out from the bridge and the train was pretty packed with passengers. I'm not sure how far the train goes since part of the tracks got damaged from the typhoon in September 2022 and still closed. Seeing the train was an unexpected bonus from the visit.

  

On the way to B&B, my friend saw a restaurant that served gyoza (pot stickers) made with venison and boar meat, but she didn't remember exactly where it was. Fortunately, it was right on the way to the second suspension bridge we were visiting that day. We ended up passing the restaurant since we didn't notice it in time, but out in the boonies, it's much easier to find places to make a U-turn, especially in my dinky car. Although the restaurant opens at 11:30am, they were swamped making bento boxes that were ordered by phones, so they delayed the food service til noon. We weren't in a hurry, so we decided to go kill time by the river across the street. There was a little putting green at the river but maybe it was closed since it was Sunday and nobody was playing. My friend found a nice shady spot. It was bliss, sitting in the shade, enjoying the slight breeze, listening to the water running, viewing the luscious green. It was really tempting to take a nap, but gyoza was calling us. LOL

We shared a ramen set with chashu (braised pork belly) made with boar meat, rice with grated Chinese yam, an order of boar gyoza and order of venison gyoza. Custard pudding came with the set for dessert, which was smooth and rich. Usually, ramen soup is seasoned with soy sauce, but this soup was simpler, seasoned with salt. It was light yet flavorful. The staff recommended to pour some of the soup over the grated yam and rice, then mix it all together. I'm not a fan of yam, so my friend had it and said that adding the soup enhanced the flavor. Both the venison and boar gyoza had just the right amount of ginger in it to compliment the meat. Neither tasted gamey. Actually, they were quite tasty. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch.

We set out for the second bridge, which wasn't that far away. This bridge crossed over the road and river, making it longer than the other two bridges we crossed. The written rule was to have no more than 10 people crossing at a time. Unfortunately, there are illiterate morons who cross regardless. The more people on the bridge, the more it sways. My friend stayed behind so I crossed by myself. Crossing to the other end wasn't that bad, but family with teenagers crossing behind me on the way back didn't respect the limit and just followed me. I blame the parents for not making the kids wait til a few of the people ahead finished crossing. The bridge was swaying big time. This family weren't the only morons. There was this dad carrying a baby. It looked like he was going to turn back, so I went ahead to finish crossing. This bridge is basically 2-planks wide with places that's 3-planks wide for people to take photos and let others pass. I was on the 2-plank wide part. What does the dad do? He turns around, heading towards me. I'm almost done crossing. He just went ahead and passed by me. I pity the kids who grow up with morons for parents.

As I mentioned earlier, the train pass we bought included a complimentary bath at one of the onsen bath houses. We chose to go to the one that's in a hotel since we figured it would be less crowded than the bath house with a variety of baths. I was relaxing in the chaise lounge chair at the outdoor bath and starting to doze off until the whistle from the SL train passing by woke me up. I jumped out of the chair to watch the train pass by. Since there was fencing and nets, I don't think anybody could see that I was totally naked as I watch the train from the rails.

After a nice and relaxing bath, we started our journey back home. I did an oopsie and forgot that I turned off option to use the toll roads. We were wondering why we were never directed to get on the toll roads. I didn't realize my mistake until we went a good distance and the GPS started telling us to take a winding road going uphill since it detected that there was an accident up ahead that would delay our arrival time. I found a spot to pull over, turn on the toll road option, and made our way to the toll roads. Whew! Well, at least we got a great view of Mt. Fuji, so the detour wasn't too bad. Plus, the traffic was pretty much flowing smoothly the whole time.

We had dinner at a Thai place that's near where my friend lives. She has a knack of finding great places to eat. She had Pad Thai and I had the avocado and shrimp green curry. The curry had a kick to it, but the avocado worked as a buffer. Good stuff. We headed back to her place. I was planning to stay the night, but I found that the kid needed the car the next day, so I headed home after chilling out on the couch for a bit since I have to pass through a couple of areas that get really congested on the weekends and holidays. She had a couple of cats that were super friendly and clamoring for my attention. Traffic was relatively light late at night so I made it home in good time. I put all my stuff on the floor, changed into my jammies, and crawled into bed.

It was a wonderful trip in amazing company. She is the best traveling buddy anybody can ask for.