Got up around 9:30, and headed off in search of the onsen (hot spring). Grabbed a trolley/train from nearby to “Awara yu no machi”, and with a little discussion, got instructions on getting to the onsen nearby. I definitely got some strange looks when I entered the onsen (I guess that not that many foreigners go to Awara?), but the onsen itself was thoroughly enjoyable. Very hot, lots of steam, great decor inside, and a cool breeze, waterfalls, etc. outside. I stayed for probably around two and a half hours. All of the soaking must have softened my brain, as I decided to give pachinko another shot (perhaps I was just unlucky the first time?). Nope, lost another $13 in around 3 minutes. I had learned my lesson about pachinko, so I headed over to a local café and grabbed some ramen for lunch.

For dinner, I remembered that Nami had suggested I try “sushi on the move”, or sushi which is on a continuous moving “track” in front of you, where you simply pick off sushi that looks appetizing and eat it. Well, I took her advice, and wandered into the “Atomboy” restaurant (OK, it was a little tacky, but I loved it!). I could’ve found a nicer place had I tried, however, two things were appealing. First off, I loved the motif. Atomboy, as you may know, is known as Astroboy in North America. Oddly enough, I grew up with that show (it was on, every morning before school – I’ve seen just about every episode), so I had to go in. Secondly, it was pretty cheap. I headed back to the hostel after dinner, and gave Kevin a call to arrange to stay with him for a day in Togi. Had the entire room to myself tonight, so I just watched TV, drank pop, ate chips, and generally had a great time.