This post will be much shorter than the last! Today we spent the day in Obihiro where shopping took priority and resulted in new rubber boots for some, new shoes for others, some damn fine whiskey for a few more, and lots and lots of little knick knacks for most of us from the 100 yen store.
The 100 Yen store is like a really good dollar store. Made in Japan product means high quality and there are lots of Japanese products in the 100 yen shop.
Lunch and dinner in Obihiro today were both served in traditional Japanese style restaurants which means sitting on the floor. The good news is that both places had holes under the table for our feet - whew! Lunch was good but dinner was really fun as it was a smorg that included everything you can imagine and there was a grill in the middle of every table so you could cook whatever you wanted to eat. It was basically an all you can eat in 90 minutes deal and everyone had lots of fun trying things they had never seen before. Add to that the fact that all signs are in Japanese....there was no way even to try to read what it was you were choosing. It was all good though and we left there well sated!
In between lunch and dinner we made a stop at the horse races where the fourth race had been named the Summerland Cup. We all placed our bets (based on pure science I'm sure) and then it was time for the horses to take the post. Now....I should tell you that this is like no other horse race. These are Percheron Draft horses and they're pulling a sled weighing up to one ton. They have to pull that sled over two hills and along the track to win. First horse that has their sled completely across the line is the winner. Tonight horse number 6 came in first followed very closely by number 4 and number 9 not far behind that. The really exciting news is that Carmen had bet on those 3 to place so her 500 yen bet yielded her 7100 yen! Not a bad payoff!! After the race Janet, Leanne, and the royalty ambassadors presented the prizes to the horses owner and the winning jockey. Everyone posed for photos and again....much fun was had by all.
Tonight I was back in my room just after 8:30 and here it is already 10:00 so I'm going to sign off and take advantage of an early night. Until next time....sayonara,
Darlene and Lorrie
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