osaka-maiko-yumebutai-minami awaji-sumoto

Saturday, the weather was sunny and the temperature was to go up to temps that we normally see in April or May!

We got up early and headed out to Awaji Island.

Last year, we visited the Northern part of the island.

This time, we visited the middle part.

They have a huge flower event going on at several large parks around Awaji Island.

We stopped at one park near the Northern part of the island called Yumebutai.

This park was in the planning stages before the 1995 Hanshin earthquake by Tadao Ando and finished shortly after the earthquake.

On the property is also a convention facility, hotel (Westin) and memorial to the earthquake victims.

Because of the cold snap last week though, the flowers were blooming but not quite in full bloom.

Still, it was nice to be out in the sun!

I loved the art displays incorporating succulents, moss and sand!

Lunch was at a tiny cafe on the property and we tried the roasted onion.

Awaji Island is known for their sweet onions.

Roasted and topped with oozy cheese and a meat sauce, this was fabulous and I want to re-create this.

We also shared a "meh" hamburger with demi-glace sauce...

After lunch, we checked out the Hyaku-daen. The 100 flower beds is divided into 4 different zones to display the different flowers during different seasons.

According to a volunteer guide, this area was also designated as a permanent memorial for the victims of the 1995 earthquake. The cascading water and flowers truly is something to see.

We then caught the bus to the Farm Park English Hill. This is where another flower event was being held.

Instead of paying the admission to get into the park, we checked out the farmers market outside. Apparently this facility just opened. There were lots of fresh veggies. There were also food stands, so Satoshi had a soft serve and I had a "meh" cream puff.

We then caught the bus to Sumoto (the area where we would be staying).

The minshuku (family operated Japanese style B&B) we stayed at was "old"...the toilets were "Japanese style"..eep!

There wasn't even wifi coverage in the area.

We had done a lot of walking and since we were off the grid, we had a nice dinner and went to sleep "early" (21:00)!

The next day was forecast for rain...stay tuned to see what we did...