Day 2 - Muroran - June 13

Our hotel had free full breakfast, so we went down and it was delicious! We had eggs, rice, miso soup, vegetables and fruit and pastries. We then checked out of our hotel and drove to Muroran, about a 2 hour drive through gorgeous green, jungle like hills and tunnels. We stopped along the way for drinks. The drinks here are really good, and a have a much bigger variety to choose from then back home. My favorite so far is called Calpis. It’s white, made from some kind of milk, but fruity tasting. I also had a grapefruit sports type drink that was really good. When we arrived in Muroran, we drove over the long bridge over the bay, to the south shore area and stopped at a place on the coast. We walked along the coast for a few minutes, rang he happiness bell, and went to the shop that sells bolt men, and bought some for the kids back home. Mike then took us to a beautiful coastal road that he biked a lot and stopped at few scenic overlooks. We saw a cemetery on the hillside so we stopped and walked through it. It was really pretty! He also took us down a trail to a secluded beach that he went to on a couple p-days. Then we drove to a light house, but the fog rolled in at that point and we couldn’t see anything. Mike said it’s a gorgeous view of the cliffs and ocean, so we hope to go back tomorrow if the sky is clear. We drove into the city and Mike showed us the apartment he lived in, and we stopped at some shops. We bought some chopsticks for the kids and Mike got a Japanese outfit, like lounge wear and sleep wear that he had always wanted to get. He also wanted to meet up with the Elders serving in Muroran so we called them and met them at a donut shop and bought them donuts. We visited for about 45 minutes, and then they had to leave. We went to dinner at a restaurant that served hamburger steaks with rice and we loved it. I had a stuffed cheese and mushroom steak with a brown gravy and mushroom sauce. We also all ordered strawberry milk. It had crushed strawberries on the bottom, with the delicious, creamy Hokkaido milk on the top. It was delicious! Mike said he lived 5 minutes away from the Hokkaido milk factory of Otofke. We then drove to our hotel on Lake Toya. It’s a beautiful lake with a mountain in the middle of the lake. I was so tired so climbed into bed. The boys stayed up to watch the fireworks that go off over the lake every weekend all summer long.