mount osore-ooma-sai

The next morning at 6:00 we were all awaken for "o-tsutome" (literally work), and had to report to the large temple for prayers.

We then went to a smaller temple for more prayers.

At 7:30 it was time for breakfast.

More shojin ryori, I was just glad that natto wasn't on the menu.

Even though we went to bed early (well I did anyway), I had a hard time sleeping.

The fumes of sulfur would come directly through the walls with the strong winds blowing outside...*gasp*

Satoshi said that I forgot to mention that alcohol consumption is not allowed here.

Also, do not wear silver!

The sulfur fumes turned my silver ring and earrings black!

Luckily with some polishing, they returned to their shiny selves...whew!

There aren't many buses running from Mount Osore, so we caught the first one out and headed to Mutsu (about 30 minutes).

Once there, we had about an hour to wait for our next bus connection.

TIP: The thing with getting around in places where trains don't run is that you need to go by bus or taxi or drive yourself.

Bus rides in Japan can get pretty expensive as they calculate how much you owe by how far you ride.

Also, most fares need to paid in cash, if you plan to ride the bus/trains in Japan, try to have coins (not 5 yen or 1 yen, they are not accepted!) or small bills on hand.

We were feeling a little hungry and went looking for something to snack on.

There weren't many shops open around the bus terminal, but luckily we found a tiny department store called Matsukiya.

I got some pickled anzu (apricots) made by Delica Mutsu which tasted like prune mui.

There was also a tiny bakery (Tanabu Shokuryokako) across the street and I got a seafood sandwich, which turned out to be satsuma age (fishcake), mayo and bread...something my mom used to make for lunch sometimes.

Satoshi got a cream croquette sandwich.

Both sandwiches were tiny, so it was the perfect snack.

We were also happy to find a coffee machine.

From Mutsu it is about a one and a half hour ride by bus to Oomazaki.

Ooma is known for maguro (tuna), so we had maguro for lunch at Oomanzoku.

Here's Satoshi's...3 types, o-toro (very fatty tuna), chu-toro (medium fatty tuna) & akami (literally red flesh, regular sashimi grade).

He said he enjoyed this.

My 2 type (chu-toro & akami)...would have been better had the fish been thawed out a bit...

After lunch, we had some (read "lots of") time before the bus would take us to Sai.

There weren't any sights in the area, nor cafes to hang out at.

We did spend some time chatting with the Tsugaru shamisen lady, even took a short video of her playing.

An "angel" and her two children overheard us talking with the girl at the information counter and asked if she could take us to Sai.

She said it would be better than us waiting a couple hours for the bus.

If she didn't mind, we didn't mind and were grateful.

Once in Sai, we said our goodbyes and set off to find the Kawabata Ryokan.

The owner is a tiny lady who is quite hard of hearing.

After setting our things down, we went to explore the tiny town.

Dinner was a huge assortment of seafood.

I ate as much as I could and ended up giving Satoshi some too.

Another long day, with no cell service, at least we had some tv, but still turned in at about 21:00.

Tanabu Shokuryokako
1-2-22 Yanagimachi
Mutsu, Aomori
Phone: 0175.22.1480
Hours: 8:30-18:00
Closed Sundays

Delica Mutsu inside Matsukiya
1-8-8 Yanagimachi
Mutsu, Aomori
Phone: 0175.22.3126

Oomanzoku
17-377 Ooma-cho
Ooma, Shimokita-gun, Aomori
Phone: 0175.37.5633
Hours: 8:30-18:00

Kawabata Ryokan
67 O-sai
Sai, Shimokita-gun, Aomori
Phone: 0175.38.2201