Sado - Goldminen

The first of the two days off I use to do my laundry and rest after the exciting but tiring days. The next day we decide to visit the old gold mines and the accompanying small museum. On the way there, Chris can drop us off at the museum because he has an appointment nearby. The entrance fee is quite cheap at 2€ and everything is surprisingly modern. At each station, there is a small film room showing about 10-minute videos that retell the events. All scenes were filmed at the original locations and the local residents were chosen as actors. The history of the gold mines is closely related to the history of the island, as it is the reason for the cultural diversity of Sado. Due to the extraction of gold, people from all regions of Japan came to the island and brought a part of their own culture with them. After the museum, we have lunch at a restaurant nearby and then make our way to the ruins where the gold was separated from other substances. The path leads over a hill, from which you have a great view of the city and the sea. When we arrive at the mines, we look at the strange structures. They look a bit like the ones from "Castle in the Sky" and in the nearby café, where we get a lemonade, there are lots of figures from the film. A few meters away, we find a pottery shop that sells handmade pottery. The clay comes from the area of the gold mines and you can watch the craftsmen at work through a window. On the way back, we take the coastal path and then take the bus back to Hamochi. The buses run very irregularly and we only arrive at our stop at seven o'clock. So now we have to climb up the mountain in the dark. When we finally get to the top and I turn on the light in our room, I see a long, about 10 cm long creature with many legs crawling around on the edge of the tatami mat. It's a huge centipede that disappears into the crack between the floorboards. (10 cm is still small) Great. That's probably the end of sleeping.