Shirahama and Going Home

On day 10, I stored my pack in a locker at the train station in Kii-Tanabe, and took a local bus to Shirahama. My two destinations that day were the Saki No Yu open air onsen and the Shirahama Beach. 

Saki No Yu Open Air Onsen is just around the bend in this photo.  The bigger building is a public toilet.  The smaller building is where you pay - 480 yen.  There is a men's side and a women's side, with a wall between them. The whole thing is "open air". No soap is allowed because it is right on the ocean.  There were three pools of water - the top was the hottest and the bottom the largest.  The ocean water splashed into the lower pool. There was a little area at the entrance for undressing, but still in the open air.  The wind made it cold, until I got into the water.  

I stayed quite a while, then walked to a lunch place where I ate fish.  I hung out on the beach for the next couple of hours. The sand was white and very fine.

After walking along the coast, I headed to the station to take the bus back to Kii-Tanabe.  

I stayed the night in Kii-Tanabe at the same place I spent the first night. 

Day 11 was my travel home day. I managed to get on the right trains going to the airport.  When I arrived in Hokkaido, I took the train to Sapporo, then planned to take the bus to my town, but because of the snow the busses weren't running! I did get the train to my town, where I had a 30 minute walk home in the snow. 

Yes, the snow is deep.

This was my view out my kitchen window when I got home. 

It really was a wonderful vacation. Now I plan to get back to posting about stitching and other things.