This day marked the midway point of the trip. The rain had really set in in
earnest. But we piled into 8 taxis for the transit to our destination. First stop was a brief look at the 21st century art museum, a round structure with pant legs and sneakers gracing its support columns. There was also an interesting elevator on a hydraulic lift. However, we were really just killing time until the Noh museum opened. Here we got a look at some masks and robes. All very elaborate, as well as a model of a typical Noh theater. We will be h
aving a full-blown lecture and demonstration of Noh later on, so I won’t go into details just now.
From the museum we walked across the street into the Kenrokuen Garden which is said to be one of the top three gardens in Japan. I don’t know who got to decide or what the other two are. But it was gorgeous, even in the rain and the cherry blossoms were very near peak, though rain and wind were taking their toll. We strolled to the palace that had been built in 1863 for the daimyo’s mother. Sadly, we could not take photos inside. In addition to seeing the architecture, sliding screens, tatami mats, etc. There were displays around the edges of everyday items used in the household.
After putting our shoes back on, and oh, by the way, the floors were very cold, you could see why they wore those thick tabi socks and layers of kimono. But after putting our shoes back on we proceeded to stroll through
the park at a pace more leisurely than befitted the weather. Once while waiting for people to use the restroom I decided to get creative with the cherry blossoms and umbrellas. When we came to a decision point about whether to grab a taxi back to the hotel or stroll on to the fish market I decided what I wanted most was not to be miserable anymore, so I had to take a pass on the market.
After drying off for a half hour I thought I would go over to the train station for lunch (we were on our own for the rest of the day). But when I put my jacket on it was still wet and I thought, “you know, there are about four restaurants in this hotel.” So, I headed down to the Chinese restaurant where I had a lovely lunch featuring the usual Japanese starters, some egg flower soup, my entrée of sweet and sour pork, desert and coffee.
The sun finally peaked out around 2 o’clock so I decided to see if I could find the 
Buddhist Temple I had spotted on the map, not too far from the hotel. So, I walked the few blocks in the right direction it turned out and found not only the temple but this scenic graveyard. I hesitated to go in because I didn’t really know the protocol and by this time the clouds were gathering again and I was regretting the three glasses of tea I had at lunch. So, I started hurrying back to the hotel. Just as the thunder roared, a downpour started, and I thought I was going to pee my pants there in front of me appeared a lone porta-john. I ducked in and took care of business and by the time I came out the downpour had tapered off. We’ve been talking about unemployed angels at church lately, I guess one must have been watching out for me.
I met up with a couple of my compatriots for dinner. We walked across the street to a shopping mall which had restaurants downstairs. In spite of the language barrier we managed to order food and drink. I had tempura which included some crab and one of the biggest shrimps I’ve ever seen so it was well worth the 880 yen.
Haiku:
Fresh shoots of Iris
Surrounded by white petals
Transitions of spring.