Japan 6.4: Detective Conan town, Tottori Flower Park, and the Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography

   After our failed hike, we still had plenty of time before we would be allowed to check in at Misasa.  We drove out to Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, a small museum about the creator of Detective Conan/Case Closed.  It was a small place, but had nice displays.  

We drove past these swanlike street lamps.

  Just down the road was a small area dedicated to Conan shops.  We stopped in a cafe for lunch.  After, we ordered ice cream.  On top was a decorative piece that I thought was edible.  I took two small bites but still was not convinced.  Miles thought that it wasn't edible.  I couldn't really ask, because I wouldn't understand the answer.  Since it was already swallowed, I figured that I was better off not knowing.

  Next we drove to the nearby town of Kurayoshi.  It is known for its White Wall Warehouse buildings.  There were two streets that we walked up and down, admiring the buildings and looking at the shops from the outside.  As we were returning to the parking lot, we came upon a place that taught Japanese archery.  We decided to give it a go.  We watched a short video and then got to shoot five arrows each.  It was slightly unusual in that we were instructed to use the bow and arrow sitting down, which I believe was to encourage good posture while shooting.  We also were instructed to pull the the aiming arm away from the arrow before firing.  I hit the target once.  The rest went just above.

  It was time to go to our hotel for the night.  I chose Misasa, an onsen town, just near the hike.  The hotel was on the fancy side, with Japanese style rooms.  The onsen was fantastic, with an outside area.  

  Breakfast was not included with the room, but I decided to pay extra for it.  When the front desk needed to go look up the price in the back, I knew that it was unlikely to be a regular hotel breakfast.  It was an elaborate Japanese meal.  I asked if they had coffee, but it was tea only.  I tried my best to try everything, but I would not touch the fish.

  The first stop of the day was to the Tottori Flower Park.  It was much larger than I expected.  Miles was in a pretty grumpy mood at the beginning.  It was a hot day, and flowers are not particularly his thing.  

    I spotted a shimmering on a small plant and on a hunch, I walked over to examine it further.  There was this translucent insect on top.

  As we approached the dome again, Miles caught eye of two little kids holding cotton candy.  I walked over to the family and asked where they had gotten it from.  The man indicated inside the dome and to the left.  I thanked them and we walked inside.  I could not find anything to the left, and was about to give up, when the man appeared from behind us and guided us there.  He decided to go out of his way to make sure we found it.  This behavior is uniquely Japanese, and something that I have witnessed repeatedly.  Actually caring and going above and beyond to help a complete stranger is not something I am used to.

  The cotton candy was in a room with dozens and dozens of small bowls with fish in it.  Some kids were fishing out fish from a larger water source, I assume to bring home as pets.  Why this side room was here at a flower park, I have no idea.  The room itself was completely off to the side, on the bottom level, past the bathrooms.  There were a few small cotton candies being sold for just above a dollar.  We sat down as he ate the cotton candy, and it immediately transformed his demeanor into a positive one.  We did a final pass of the areas that we had missed of the park and Miles acted content.

I spent a good deal of time following this dragonfly around.

    The photography museum had interesting architecture, and was set up to view Mount Daisen nearby.  There were just a few exhibition rooms, with a focus on portraiture.  It was just ok.

  Our hotel was in the small city of Yonago.  My original trip blueprints had us staying on Mount Daisen, but the hotels were all booked this time around.  We walked to a very local ramen restaurant.  We both had ramen, with a side dish each.  I chose okonomiyaki, a pancake like dish with a topping that tasted like yakisoba sauce.  All told, it cost about $12, and was one of my favorite meals of the trip.