I decided to drive to the ocean today. The drive from Kori to the ocean is only about 24 miles, so I said what the heck.
I headed north out of Date-shi towards the mountains. But let's face it, any direction I head, I am heading towards mountains!
My dad asked me what kinds of trees grow in Japan, and my response was "just about any kind." I have seen conifers and deciduous trees growing next to each other.
I am assuming the above are some type of bamboo tree. Or at least in that family. My Japanese is pretty much non-existence, or I would check out a book from the library.
It had rained the day/night before, so the river was high. The route I took (there and back) followed a river almost the whole trip.
There were not many places to pull off to take photos because the roads are so narrow.
I did find a cool outcropping on the other side of the road.
The drive was nice and quiet with few cars on the road.
Here is the last photo I have of the river. On my drive home, it was too dark to stop for pictures.
I wanted to call this a light house when I first saw it, but it is far too short to be one. When I got closer, I realized that it is a bathroom.
When I first pulled up to the ocean, the sky was very grey and not inviting. But the longer I stayed, the sky started to clear up.
At the end of the pier, there was a resting area where some people were fishing. I noticed the lone poles at one end of the pier first.
The fisherman was at the other end of the pier, manning a pole.
I sat and watched him for a while, enjoying the view of the ocean.
Along the beach there was a mural. Not sure what is going on, but I like the simplicity of it.
About this time, the weather took a turn for the worst; it started to rain heavily. I decided it was a good time for some ramen!
The ramen shop I stopped at translated to Ramen Sho-ya.
I ordered the beef ramen, but got the pork one instead. It was very good, even though it's not what I thought I wanted.
Not what I ordered, but what I needed.
I wandered around Soma for a while, but the rain was making it rather difficult to see, so I headed home before the weather got really bad. On the ride home, it took way longer because everyone was going rather slow.