Buddhas and Spanish Boys

I love random, crazy, interesting days and there are so many of them in Japan!

Deciding we wanted to go for a little drive, Dawn and I went to see the 500 Buddha statues just a short drive from the city. As we were driving along the windy mountain roads, we suddenly spotted three guys hitchhiking. By the time we realized they were foreigners, we had driven around the next bend.

At home neither of us would pick up hitchhikers. Japan is a relatively safe country but we don’t take anything for granted so we decided to chat with them and then decide. We waited around the bend but the next car that drove by had already picked them up.

It turns out we were going to the same place. As we walked around the Buddha statues we met the three guys again. They were from Spain and on a two-week trip around Japan. We had three new friends; Pedro, Pablo and Iago.

We hadn’t finished looking around yet and so they left us to take the bus back to the city. An hour later as we drove back we saw them at the bus stop. Deciding they gave off a good vibe we gave them a lift to the city.

The rest of the day was just as random

We took the boys to lunch and treated them to some Kumamoto specials such as lotus root and raw horsemeat. After lunch we took them to the castle and as they looked around we met a few people in the park for drinks.

· The Spanish boys joined us for a few drinks and gave Dawn and I presents from the castle.
· After the boys had left the rest of us stayed to drink and play Scrabble.
· Deciding we were sweaty and dusty we decided to go to the public baths.
· Feeling hungry and a little tipsy we went to breakers for bagel sandwiches.
· A quick game of Phase 10 and it was off to bed – a great day!