We’re on our own most of today. Our guide is meeting us at 5:30 at the hotel to get us back to the bullet train for the two-hour trip back to Tokyo. We have to check out of our room by 11:00 so we have time to burn.

We made reservations for a Japanese Tea experience. We get a lesson on teahouse etiquette and then watch the girl mix the tea with all the appropriate ceremony, before drinking it. We can’t figure out how they spend so much time seated on their knees. I can barely get into that position, much less try to maintain it.

This is the “correct” way to enter a teahouse

After the tea ceremony, I had initially planned a trip to another popular Shinto shrine. We’ve seen a lot of temples and decide to adjust the plan. We find a small mall area that covers most of our shopping needs. Courtney had seen some notes about a nearby market area, so we walk over to the Nishhi (?) Market. It’s a huge area of covered streets with shops ranging from food, electronics, and souvenir items. It’s a nice way to kill some of the afternoon as we make our way back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we pick up our stored bags, and relax until the guide arrives. As we start to the train station, we encounter a protest against nuclear power. It’s looks like about 200 to 300 participants, marching down the street. This isn’t the first time in my life I’ve had to adjust plans because of the actions of a bunch of trumpets & drummers.

We board the bullet train for our trip back to Tokyo. This is an Express Train with only 3 stops before arriving in Tokyo. It’s so smooth and roomy.   In Tokyo, we make our way out of the train station and back to the Courtyard Marriott. We pick up our stored bags, and head to the rooms to adjust our luggage for the flights home tomorrow.