Jogging on ice

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As mentioned previously, breakfast was illegally early and to make matters worse, the culprit was late. I shared the joke with my new Japanese best friend across our mugs of hot milk, proving once again that some jokes really are universal.

Today's chopstick challenge was a fried egg, which despite first thoughts, oddly turned out to be easy once you twigged where to start. Mr Fiennes even went so far as to put his yolk on his toast but I considered this way too risky that early in the morning.

The weather had improved immensely, although a light midnight flurry of snow had dusted the scene. Weirdly, the snow looked like tiny white sugar balls ready to sprinkle on your donut. I didn't have time to try this out though as with clear skies, we ventured forth once more to explore the headland.

The bridges all looked very festive as they were adorned with tall, upright yellow flags that fluttered merrily in the breeze. We assumed they had something to do with the New Year or at least, were simply for aesthetic reasons as they were particularly jolly. It turned out however, that they were anti-owl flags. There is a rare species in the area called Blakiston's fish-owl and (must remember to check the spelling of that) the flags prevent them from flying too low over the roads and into the path of the traffic. What a neat idea and so much prettier than a great big fence!

We could hear music on our way to the lighthouse, but could not track its source. It wasn't until we parked and a dustcart reversed out, that our question was answered. Another good Japanese idea - how nice to have the weekly bin day sound like an over-enthusiastic ice-cream man!

Conditions at the Nemuro headland were the opposite of the previous day, with blue sky and a wintery sun working it's hardest. As we scanned the sea for interesting birds, the seals came to investigate and bobbed up and down enticingly. I resisted the urge to join them and we spotted one particular seal who looked decidedly unseal-like, lolling on it's back. It was a sea otter, turning slow somersaults amongst the rocks. The quest for birds stopped as all attention was centred on this endearing mammal. No matter what else happened that day, I was happy. I had seen something else on my life list - it was up there with horseshoe crabs in Cape May.

With our morning almost up, we made a quick trip to the public facilities (the automatic door was frozen but the loo paper had the all important folded point) before heading back to the Lodge to check-out. On the way, we took some photos of us in the snow and played a lightening round of our new game entitled 'Is Lisa smiling?' This is harder than it sounds as the only part visible was my eyes - judge for yourself once I upload the pictures!

The heartfelt goodbyes from the Matsuo's were extensive and our promises to return plentiful. Trying to pack the car and tog up in snow gear can be quite drawn out at the best of times but with an enthusiastic audience, it takes forever. Bowing in 4 layers of clothing is pretty tricky too.

As we drove off, I spotted their laundry hanging up in the back garden - it must have been frozen solid but I guess it saved on ironing.

Our flight back to Tokyo wasn't until 4pm so we headed to the Crane Observatory which handily, was on the same road as the airport. We picked up some trash for lunch along with some free JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken) - which we think the sales assistants gave us as they either thought we needed something sensible for lunch (nothing wrong with green bread, fondue crisps and green tea chocolate) or we were the only people stupid enough to eat it. I am happy to report we suffered no ill effects.

The drive to the observatory was slow to put it politely but the sights on the way kept me occupied as usual. The snow had made it look like a foam party had gone very wrong and there appeared to be an upsurge in the popularity of teepees. Any road-side plant worth it's salt had been affectionately covered to protect from the weather and any rampaging buffalo who happened by.

Previously, we were not aware that the humble swan was an ocean going bird but it seemed someone thought it a good shape to base a pedalo on. Nothing between us and some freezing Russian islands and you can still go out on swan pedalos - we reckoned you'd last about 3 minutes if you fell in the sea here.

By an odd coincidence, 3 minutes would also be my jogging limit if I joined in on Hokkaido and jogged as they do, on ice. Seriously, sheet ice covering the pavements and they're out in trainers and trackies!

The big daily event at the crane observatory is the 2pm feeding. The cranes are joined most days by sea-eagles and Japanese foxes so the photo opportunities were second to none. However, as a result of the awe-inspiring slowness of the traffic, we rocked up at 2:10pm. And yes, we did leave in plenty of time.

Happily, the cranes were still finishing off their lunch, accompanied by a couple of foxes and some white tailed sea-eagles - no Stella's unfortunately but beggars can't be choosers. We spent a relaxing half hour snapping away and resisting the urge to purchase the mama of all souvenirs, some crane ear-picks.

After a last wrong turn down a closed road (thank you sat nav), we said goodbye to the car at the airport and went to check in. Mark got the usual rub down and rummage through his belongings (to investigate a can of shaving gel - well he does look particularly dodgy) and then we managed to buy some medicated polos to keep his sore throat at bay. With the weather fine and sunny, we flew back to Tokyo with no problems.

We hit the subway at rush hour which was not in our plans, particularly when we were encumbered by our rucksacks. I managed to drop my bag on a business man's foot but my apologetic 'sumimasen' brought such a surprised look from him that I think he soon forgot about it. We got off at an early stop and trudged back to Hotel Edoya. A last bit of TV and we were out for the count in our futons. I quietly wondered how our backs would be after another night in the bed from hell.

Only one more blog to go my friends!
TTFN, Lisa

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