Dinner, Day 3

For our last dinner at the pension we were treated to Italian cuisine. Based on our phenomenal (and long!) meal the day before we were ready for the many courses to come. Here we go!

For the first course we had scallops and mussels with a light cucumber and tomato salsa. The white sauce around it was creamy with a little bit of dill. I've never liked scallops and have stayed away from anything in a shell, but I tried both. They were tasty!

Next came a generous serving of pasta with a fresh cream sauce. There was parsley and chunks of smoked ham throughout. This was my favorite part of the meal.

Unfortunately we both dug right into the next course without taking a picture. We had small pieces of crunchy sea bass on a bed of vegetables. We didn't realize we hadn't gotten a picture until the plate was being whisked (empty) away!

Course 4 was a tasty salad with sesame dressing. This time we had slices of radish. He brought back the waffle-cut cucumber for me after I made a comment the night before.

After the salad came pork tenderloin with a sweet brown gravy. The sweet onion made a repeat performance with a crisp asparagus (cut that day!). He also made a flat sheet of crispy potatoes. Dustin was impressed with these. We tried to explain they were similar to what we call hash browns, but gave up when the translation failed. I was so full from all the other plates (I mean, seriously, this is a lot of food!) that I gave my meat to Dustin and just finished the vegetables. I had to save room for...

DESSERT! So to start in the bottom corner we have raspberry sorbet. This is Dustin's go-to sweet treat at home so he was super excited to see it here. Next to that is a small slice of white cheesecake. Again to the right is an almond cake with fresh strawberry and kiwi. In the glass was tasty panna cotta with raspberry syrup. He also spun some sugar for me so I could experience the cotton candy/ campfire marshmallow again.

What a phenomenal meal! We were so full we didn't move for a full hour afterwards!

Mt Aso, Day 3

On our last day in Minami Aso we wanted to explore the mountains surrounding the caldera. We had spent so much time in the middle on the volcanoes that we hadn't seen the area from the other side of the valley. Our host recommended we start at a tourist center about twenty minutes away. He drove us there and helped us rent electric bicycles.

The man working at the tourist center thought it was very funny that we hiked up Mt. Aso by accident. He couldn't stop laughing. He was very nice and gave us recommendations on routes to travel that wouldn't be too steep. He let us rent the bicycles for free. Our host explained all the picture-taking for my blog. He hopes you will all come visit him in Minami Aso. He will have bicycles ready for all.

Back up into the clouds

We rode out and started climbing the mountains. Even with the help of the electric bicycles it was still a tough ride! Very steep!

Along the way we passed some falls that were worth stopping. If only to stretch our legs for a little bit.

We reached the top and were able to see the volcanic rock formations. I wish it had been a bit clearer, but then it would have been uncomfortably hot.



Dustin's battery died and these bicycles are heavy so we decided to head down the mountain and get some lunch. The local area is known for their buckwheat soba noodles. So we decided to try our hand at making the famed noodles.

The building was circular and had windows all along the outside. In the center was the prep area that we worked in.

"Add water here!"

Kneed the dough

Must not have been doing it right...

Roll it out to make a perfect square

Don't want to lose a finger

FEAST!

Our noodles weren't very even - some were fat and some were slivers. They tasted good for our first time making soba!

Zachary, remember your marble soda we had during our visit to California? They actually do have it in Japan! It was quite tasty again!

Next we set out on a long walk back towards the pension. Along the way we wanted to see the Big Cherry Blossom Tree. In the spring, it is a sight to see (as the pictures around the pension will show). During our visit the cherry blossoms had already departed, but it was still worth walking to see the 400 year old tree.

What a day! It was beautiful once the clouds cleared out.

Back at the pension our host asked us to put a pin in the map where we were from. He had many pins from Europe and the United States.

I would just like to point out that we were the second pin to be put in for Chattanooga, Tennessee!

How many more can we add to the map? :)