Wrapping Up

Saturday, July 5
The days 'til our departure are winding down, and we took a break from our usual drive-filled travels to catch close-to-home sights and catch up with D and H.

Miki is best known for its hardware (metal tools). It's a tradition that I respect, but I'm not particularly interested. All the same, we made a visit to the Miki Hardware "Museum."

And then we got our LAST 道の駅 STAMP--Miki.
Chris and I purposefully (and ironically) decided early on that the station closest to my home would be the final stop. We received an official stamp from a 道の駅 official, which will allow us to eventually receive a certificate of completion; the official was appropriately impressed. In one year, we visited nearly one hundred road stops across the Kansai Region. Was it worth it? We were worn out as we reached the end. Many of the stations were located along distant, dangerous roads that we might not otherwise take. We were challenged by bad weather (rain and snow), paid outrageous amounts of money (expressway fees, gas, lodging, food) to make the repeated treks, and even gave up travel elsewhere in order to complete this goal. Yet the hunt for 道の駅 has also shown us sights in Japan that we might not otherwise see--untouched parts of the country like steep cliffs thickly wrapped in clouds, foamy water racing around fat boulders in a riverbed, the pop of white and yellow egg-colored daffodils along a spring road, that urged us to stand back, breathe in the country air, and appreciate life. On one drive, for instance, we sighted a magnificent stag crossing a wide and sparkling river, a first for both of us. The stations have led us to truly remarkable experiences, and I believe that in the end, we'll be thankful we did it.

Later in the afternoon, we visited Miki's famous Horseland Park. The grounds were virtually empty, and we enjoyed a quiet stroll through the stables. Many of the gorgeous beasts here are retired race horses who now work as "teachers" in riding classes.

Miki Horseland Park was used for riding competitions when Hyogo hosted the National Sports Festival in 2006.

In the evening, we drove to Okubo, where we met Dylan and Heather at Vivre for quality time together. We'll be seeing more of them when they move to Hawaii in August.

We spent the afternoon chatting over coffees before a filling dinner of ramen at Vivre. This bowl is of the Kumamoto variety, with thick chunks of fatty pork.

Though filled with oily noodles, we ate chocolate cakes for dessert, followed by a movie: Speed Racer! Though no racing fan, I loved the movie, which was filled with crazy colors, crazy driving, and a crazy monkey.

As Chris and I prepare to leave Japan, I'm growing increasingly sad over all we'll leave behind, but I'm at least grateful that we'll take these two back home.