a (british?) walk in the rain

where in the world are we?

On the 25th, it rained all day without stopping. I felt like a child who was being kept in doors against her will - when will it stop raining, mummy? Etc, I spent the afternoon hermiting in my room, making cups of tea and trying to stay out of the way.

Finally I ventured out for a tentative walk. It struck me how a rainy day made the landscape of Northern Japan looks exactly the same as England (Note: Not Wales)... I stepped in puddles and drew my coat tight around me against the cold. (I was warned not to go too far in case I catch cold. And did I have a proper coat?) The Hokkaido farm dogs watched me suspiciously as I passed. So did the famed Hokkaidan ostriches.

Apparently the eggs don't taste of anything (too big and watery)...

But the sausages are delicious. 

In the evening, my homestay father came home in a bad mood and shouted at me up the stairs - 'Erine-San! ONSEN!' My homestay mother whispered to me as I was putting my boots on hurriedly in the porch that he'd had a disappointing day - something to do with his estate agent business - and so she's making him go to the onsen to recover and wash the day away. 

She certainly knew her husband well. On the way home, he cheered up considerably and quizzed me about all the different directions a person could jump in English. Jump in? Jump on? Jump out? Jump at? Jump off? Jump up? There was a feast of crab and tuna waiting for us at home - the winnings from the Golf tournament - and whatever disappointment seemed entirely forgotten.

Youtei-San wrapped in clouds