Kōriyama Shi

It was dark when we arrived last night at Hotel Listel Inawashiro and we could barely make out the silhouette of the area.

We were greeted this morning by the view of the lake and the mountains! They weren't kidding when they stated the rooms featured lakeview.

This morning we were able to appreciate more the design of this hotel built in 1993. It had dated decor and carpet, however we are impressed that there are no musty smell in the corridors and in the rooms.

We availed the buffet breakfast to make up for the dinner we had last night. They had an extensive selection of food. There were some Japanese cuisine dishes and some Western options too. We were very satisfied and ready to take on the cool climate outside.

It was very surreal for my sister and I as we experienced Hanami for the very fist time. The cherry blossoms were flying around like were in the anime scenes we've grown up watching. We were so pleased having selected this place as there were no obnoxious foreigners, mostly there were only locals enjoying the cherry blossoms viewing in their quiet, yet happy and relaxed manner. There were no tourist buses as well. We basically felt like we were locals too and it was not over crowded unlike our experience in Kyoto in which there were more humans than the scenery itself. There was an abundance of selfies and photo taking to commemorate this special experience.

It is said there are about 200 Yoshino and Weeping Cherry trees growing along the Kannonji riverbanks. The river has also been left untouched and not been adapted to suit the needs of the town and its natural curves have been respected.

After enjoying the views in the riverbanks, mom and dad decided to rest back in their room, whereas my sister and I took the free shuttle service to Inawashiro to checkout some local cafe as well as obtain some groceries and replenish our pocket money.

We braved our reluctance to try a local cafe that did not have any English sign outside their establishment, but boy oh boy it was such a wonderful, rewarding experience.

It was a quaint cafe restaurant being run by what seemed to be the grandma in Japanese shows full of warmth and strength. She readily obliged getting us a menu in English and my sister and I were touched by the effort in her menu. It was a rough translation in English. And so we did our best as well to communicate with her in Japanese. Thank goodness for Google and for our love for Japanese shows.

The Neapolitan Pasta was steaming as it arrived. It was the perfect balance of umami, piquancy and sweetness. My sister and I remembered our grandmas who always poured their hearts to their tasty meals. My sister had some delicious blended coffee and the after we finished, our tummies and souls were refreshed. By the time we left we have made her smile a few times, complimenting her meals and asking her about her business hours in rough Nihonggo, it appeared like she appreciated our efforts.

We continued on to 7-11 after stopping by a local playground that was empty but was full of Sakuras. We couldn't really pose due to the on and off rain and the unrelenting gusts.

As we checked out in the convenience store, we once more amused some local as we struggled with paying at the electronic cash register, luckily the lady was very patient with us and was also laughing and bowing with us. There was plenty of sumimasens indeed.

Our shuttle service lady was ahead of time once more and we were greeted by the sunset over Lake Inawashiro when we delivered mom and dad's afternoon tea in their room.

I finally managed to try a public onsen (public bath) before dinner. I made sure to review the proper etiquette from a YouTube video prior to my visit. It was a truly relaxing experience and I wondered what my hesitation was all about.

We decided to sleep early tonight in preparation for a visit to some more blossoms tomorrow.Okumaya devam et