Heike's driving skills

6:00 a.m.! So everything as usual.

Fortunately, our rest stop was within walking distance of a Lawson. So we had a coffee and delicious muesli first. Then we continued driving.

On the beautiful route along the northern coast of Japan, we saw breathtaking landscapes. Big waves and palm trees, making us feel like we were still in Hawaii. Around 11:30 a.m., Flora needed to use the bathroom. So we stopped at the next rest area, which happened to be there. And it was another stroke of luck. The rest area was right by the sea, there was a beach and a campground. We took out our food from our refrigerator, went to the farm store and were kindly allowed to use the microwave there. We ate comfortably in the motorhome. After that, we got some ice cream and enjoyed it overlooking the Sea of Japan.

At the rest area, Heike found photos of landmarks. With head and foot, we learned that one of the most beautiful ones was nearby. So we changed our route and headed to a shrine. And this detour was really worth it. We had a great time at the shrine. One attraction here was throwing a coin into a vessel about 5 meters high. There was a small crowd of people in front of it and coins were flying through the air. Mattis and Christian managed to throw the coins into the box or onto the roof of the gate. Unfortunately, we don't know what that means. But in any case, everyone who succeeded was applauded by the small crowd.

During the drive, our navigation system took us through small country roads. This always makes Heike curse. It can happen that she has to swerve when cars are coming towards us. And she has to drive backwards for that. She doesn't like that at all. But for the rest of the family, it's always very amusing.

During the drive, thanks to the navigation system, which led us again on winding paths, we discovered a viewpoint with a small ice cream truck and hammocks. We laid down in them and enjoyed the wonderful view.

During the drive, we got a little hungry. And we also wanted to do some shopping for Easter Sunday tomorrow. When leaving the supermarket, we found a small stand where cookies were being made. An older man behind the stand was baking the cookies in a hot mold in front of him. With hands and feet, we were able to communicate to him which flavor we would like. We already knew the cookies from our first stay in Japan. Once he understood what we wanted, he took an egg and some water and mixed everything in a bucket. Then he knelt down on the floor and added some flour. He mixed everything nicely together. After that, he added some vanilla pudding to the cookie and the snack was ready. Delicious!

In high spirits, we continued. After initial hesitation, Heike doesn't let anyone else drive now. Even though the family vehemently protests, she defends her position tooth and nail. She also does not accept the argument that Heike occasionally veered into oncoming traffic. After all, everything is still going well. Another big shock was when Heike cheerfully and singing approached a railway bridge that we had to go under. Because she always drives at least 20 km/h too fast. The low height of the bridge was written in bright colors several times. Shortly before the bridge, a frame made of steel beams was built, which again proclaimed the height of 3.40 meters in large and bright letters. Our motorhome is 3.50 meters high. But Heike did not realize that. It wasn't until Christian happened to see the low height sign from behind and yelled "Stop" and pointed to the height that Heike suddenly slammed on the brakes. Now we heard Japanese people honking at us for the first time. But even this event did not deter Heike from claiming the steering wheel for herself. Her calmness in this situation may have been due to the fact that she was listening to an audiobook about meditation. She didn't want to tell us whether she had her eyes open or closed.

Finally, we reached our destination, Kyushu.

Heike was already looking forward to the rest area by the sea that Christian had chosen for her as requested. When we arrived, Heike jumped out of the motorhome and wanted to enjoy the sea. But even after thorough searching, she couldn't find it. Accordingly, Heike returned to the motorhome in a good mood. Christian just said, "I said it was nearby."

Since it was already dark, Heike hoped to see the sea the next day in daylight. We really liked the rest area because there were only a few other cars. Truck drivers usually leave their engines running all night so they can keep the heating on. That is very loud and annoying.

After a game of Uno, we went to bed in a good mood.