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| A haircut and a whole lot more! In the barber’s words “ a so, so short cut! |
I did a little research earlier this morning. I wanted to find out how many islands make up the Japan Archipelago. I consulted serveral different sources, however, I still don’t know the answer. It seems as if it’s somewhere between 3.000 and 14,500. That’s a pretty big range! I guess it all depends on how you define an island and if you’re counting high tide or low tide. There is a little more consensus on how many main islands, but still some disagreement. Some sources say four while others say five. I guess there are bigger issues to debate, but trying to find an answer kept me entertained for a few minutes.
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| I’m not sure if the small ones count as islands! |
Our port of call today was Miyazaki, which is on the southeast coast of Kyushu (which does seem to be a “main island”). The city of Miyazaki is about 40 miles from the port. It looked like a lovely city, but after several days of going at it pretty hard, we opted for a more laid back day, and one that turned out to be very entertaining.
Aburatsu is a small town located just a couple of miles from where the ship docked. We learned from the visitor information booth that it was an easy 30 minute walk to the town. There were several points of interest around the town that were easy to reach by walking. We also picked up a recommendation for a nice place to have lunch in the town.
We enjoyed walking around the small city and checking out a couple of shrines. Then the fun really kicked in.
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| Aburatsu Jinja Shrine |
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| The Gion Shrine was inside a small cave that faced the ocean |
Beth has been doing a masterful job of cutting my hair for years. I usually bring clippers with me when we travel, but this time I intentionally left them behind. We travel light, usually with just carry on luggage. Space was getting tight because we needed a little warm weather clothes for Alaska, as well as clothes for the hotter temperatures we would encounter as the cruise moved south.
Although I don’t have much, the few remaining hairs I do have were getting a little shaggy. I’ve had my hair cut a few times while traveling. In Turkey the barber used a candle to remove ear and nose hair (I’m not kidding), and in the UK I was pleased to learn I was old enough to qualify for the “Pensioners Price”. Although I had the opportunity to have my hair cut in a small town in India, when others from our group were taking advantage of the local street barber, I passed on that one. Beth has also had a little experience overseas as well. She got a very nice looking European haircut in Barcelona.
Since we had the time, and Google Maps showed there was a barber shop nearby, we decided it would be a good time for my next haircut. When we walked in, there were no customers and we were greeted by a smiling lady. She spoke practically no English and we speak no Japanese. We communicated through a series of impromptu hand signals, and I was directed to a chair. Shortly thereafter a gentleman came from the back (we assume, they were husband and wife). He seemed as kind and welcoming as her. There were more hand signals and we finally understood each other that I wanted my already short hair to be cut very short.
Well, I got what I asked for and a whole lot more! He didn’t pull out a razor, but it’s as short as you can go with clippers. In addition to the great haircut, he put some type of tonic on my head and buffed it in with a warm towel. That was followed by a head, neck and shoulder massage that was amazing. While I was being pampered Beth was enjoy witnessing the phenomenon with her new best friend, who had prepared her a cup of green tea. They were laughing and carrying on as they attempted to communicate with one another. After the haircut and massage, they served us wonderful cups of coffee, laughing and communicating a little better through Google Translate. After finishing our coffee we said our goodbyes and left smiling, me with a great haircut and massage and Beth having been entertained by the whole thing and a new friend. I’m not sure we’ll ever make it back to Aburatsu, but if we do, I know where I’m getting my haircut. Oh yeah, the cost for this experience, a little less than $7, the memories, priceless!
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| A wonderful couple! |
We finished our day in Aburatsu with lunch at a seafood restaurant that had been recommended at the visitors center. Beth had requested a “traditional” place and that’s exactly what we got. When we arrived the restaurant was packed and we were the only non-Asians in sight. We added our name to the waiting list and laughed that we’d be easy to find when it was our turn. Of course our names were the only ones written in English
Once we were seated the menu was all Japanese (a good sign that it was “traditional”). Thankfully there were a few pictures so we just pointed and hoped. While hope isn’t a strategy, in this case it worked. The food and experience was great.
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| Lobster Soup….we think! |
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| Delicious! |
As we pulled away from the dock last night we were treated to a Japanese Drum and Dance team performance. There was a small crowd on the pier waving us goodbye and yelling for us to come again. Most of them had their cell phones lit up and were twirling to the music. The guards even got in on it with large, red directional flashlights and necklaces. It was quite a scene and very fun to watch.
So often for us, it’s not about seeing the big stuff. It’s about experiences like we had today. The kind people we meet along the way are what make being a Traveling Idiot so much fun!
