We are in Nikko, a mountain town north of Tokyo, right now. We are staying in a Ryokan here, a traditional Japanese inn. When we checked in yesterday, our hostess showed us our room and stayed to give us detailed instructions on how to use certain things, what to do, etc. Her English was not bad. They also have a supplementary book with pictures to further describe the etiquette of using the room and the on-sen, the public baths. Our room has its own shower and toilet, of course, but going to the on-sen is a cultural experience. The room has those sliding paper doors, and they set up futons for you at night on the tatami mats in the main room of our little apartment. It is a huge difference from our room in Tokyo Monday night, which was about the size of a walk-in closet. I can't wait to post pictures of both places. Quite amazing.
Even more of a cultural experience was our breakfast this morning, and that is the story for today. It was a traditional Japanese breakfast. I was kind of hoping for a bowl of frosted mini wheats or cocoa puffs, but this turned out to be pretty fun. There were exactly 16 different dishes, ranging from a tiny bowl shaped like a flower to a large pot with a flame under it. Some items were recognizable, like a slice of honeydew or a bowl of rice. Some were not, like something that turned out to be a savory custard, or another that turned out to be daikon mixed with something else even less pleasant than daikon. There was smoked salmon, spiralled cooked tofu in some sweet clear liquid, a super salty and shriveled little apricot, another bowl of rice with either hot water or weak tea poured over it, various dipping sauces and of course, green tea. The ladies showed us a few things about how to eat it, by miming. But there was still much left to wonder about, like whether we were supposed to combine various dishes, or eat them in a certain sequence. Who knows. We were definitely full when we left, though. Unfortunately, since we didn't expect such a spread, we didn't take our camera down with us. We did go down wearing our yukata, a light cotton kimono, and of course we have pictures of us wearing them. So get excited for that!
Now we are off to see the mausoleums of some shoguns and various other shrines and temples. Tonight we return to Nancy and Max's apartment before our big trip to Kyoto tomorrow.


