Thu Sept 29, Squid in Yobuko and Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima

Woke up in our business hotel in Saga, had continental breakfast and took a train for Karatsu. Once we got there, we asked a lady at the information desk how to get to Yobuko and she looked at the clock and told us that if we ran a block or two, we could catch the next bus, so we ran out the door and she ran after us with a couple of maps for us. It was a half hour bus ride, and when we got there we had some time to walk around the market (ichiba) and we found a good deal on some dried squid to take back with us.




When we decided to head over to Kawataro, we got mixed up and walked about 15 minutes up a hill that we didn't need to. But along the way we saw lots of bugs and a snake.




After asking for directions at the top of the hill, we walked back down and found our way there. Along the way we saw lots of squid drying on lines and a couple of spinning racks to help dry the squid out faster.



Once we got there, they still weren't open, but we were pretty close to the front of the line. Once we got in, we sat right next to a big pool where they kept a bunch of live squid, and we ordered 2 live squid lunches =) After we ate the mantle and a few of the tentacles, they took the rest away and fried it for us (everything except the eyes and the beak).






Then we walked back to the bus station and saw a huge flock of hawks along the way flying around hunting for food. We took a bus back to Nishi Karatsu, then a train back to Hakata, and then a shinkansen to Hiroshima. We got off there and I took Chika to a building called Okonomimura, where two floors are nothing but lots of little okonomiyaki restaurants. We ate at Momotaro (once of the places I went the first time I was there).



Then we went back to the station and found out that it was too late to make it all the way back to Tokyo, so we decided to go as far as we could, which was Nagoya. Chika has a cousin that lives around Nagoya so we gave her a call, but she was busy and it seems like she lives pretty far from Nagoya station, so we just decided to stay in a business hotel close to the station.