Page 229 - Adobe Photoshop PDF

and father-in-law.” He asked me, “Voluntarily?” I really enjoyed that, as
did the family when I told them.

Outside the airport, I tried to hire a taxi to take us to Kyoto.
When the taxi drivers insisted on us taking two taxis, I felt they were
WU\LQJ WR JRXJH XV , LQVLVWHG WKDW DOO WKH EDJV VKRXOG EH DEOH WR ¿W LQ WKH
trunk of the taxi. The taxi drivers said, “No – the bomb!” They opened
the trunk and revealed that each taxi ran on compressed butane which
was contained in a large round steel tank in the luggage compartment.
We therefore drove in two taxis. It was one of the most worrisome rides
,¶YH HYHU WDNHQ 7KH KLJKZD\ ZDV D ¿QH IUHHZD\ EXW WKH GULYHU ZDV
either sleep-deprived or on drugs. He would speed up and then slow
down and wander between lanes. I sat beside him and talked to him and
R൵HUHG WR GULYH EXW KH ZRXOG QRW DOORZ WKDW )LQDOO\ ZH DUULYHG DW WKH
Japanese inn and were delighted to arrive uninjured.
$IWHU VHHLQJ PDJQL¿FHQW JDUGHQV LQ .\RWR ZH ERDUGHG D VKLS

on the Inland Sea. The ship was nice and it was fun to watch Japanese
¿VKHUPHQ RQH PDQ SHU WLQ\ ERDW ¿VKLQJ LQ WKH VHD :H VWRSSHG WKDW

night at an island where we again stayed at a Japanese inn. I went out
for a walk around the residential area. Almost as though someone had
blown a signal, men emerged from their houses and walked to a com-
munal bathhouse. We had a Japanese style bath attached to our room
at our inn. The system involved scrubbing your body down with soap,
ULQVLQJ R൵ DQG WKHQ FOLPELQJ LQWR DQ RYHUVL]HG EDUUHO RI H[WUHPHO\ KRW

water. It was enjoyable.
The next day, we boarded the ship and enjoyed watching a
unique Japanese ceremony. Several young brides were on the boat and
they had large rolls of confetti, which their families on the dock held
the end of. As the ship pulled away from the pier, the confetti streamed
out and then ended as a symbol of the bride breaking away from and
leaving her family. We landed at the Shima Peninsula, part of which is a
Japanese national park. We stayed in a very pretty little Japanese hotel
VHYHUDO VWRULHV KLJK DQG ORRNHG GRZQ XSRQ D ORYHO\ ÀRZHULQJ JDUGHQ
Jean and I boarded a local bus and took a trip all around the peninsula,
the only Caucasians to be seen. It was fascinating to see how the people

225