A Relaxing Weekend

16th June, 2007

We left Himeji early Saturday morning to head to Shiraishi Island which is a small island off of Okayama. Travel time was about 2 hours and consisted of 2 trains and a ferry. We eventually reached the island and were ready for some surf, sun and sand. Well not exactly sure about the surf but sun and sand were on my list!! ☺ Steve was still sick and so he stayed at home but I went with Marie, Lauren, Jono, Jodi, Jess, Liam, Taube, Julian, Chelsea and Karen.





There were some Villas which could be hired out that slept 10 people. It was a very cute little villa. There were 5 rooms a kitchen/dining room, a living room, 2 toilets, 1 shower and an outside patio area. It was a fantastic set up. We unloaded our belongings and lazed about outside on the patio until lunchtime. The view was amazing and I was enjoying sitting out on deck chairs admiring my surroundings. Everything on the island was within walking distance so when lunchtime came we walked along the beach which was 5 minutes away from our villa to a little café.

During lunch a magician came up to us and started showing us these amazing magic card tricks. I LOVE card tricks and so I was very impressed with his selection of 10 or so tricks. We all watched in amazement at his tricks. I wish he would show me how to do them.

After the magician finished we headed to the beach. The beach itself was beautiful but the sand was kind of grainy and it hurt my feet. That didn’t stop me from jumping in and going for a swim though. The weather was perfect – just the right temperature and I figured that I couldn’t go all the way to Shiraishi Island and not go for a swim. There was this little island that looked fairly close to the shore which had a little shrine sitting on it so Marie, Julian, Jono and I decided to swim out to it. Well the distance sure was further than we thought but we made it and I was glad because it was so cool.

Next on the agenda was kayaking. The kayaks were double ones so we paired up and took the kayaks out into the ocean. Marie and I were together and our first stop was a little island that we could see from the shore. It took us about 15 minutes to kayak to it. It was pretty cool. There was nothing much on it and the rocks hurt my feet so I couldn’t stand on it for too long. We then kayaked around the island when Marie had a suggestion of changing kayaks. So we all rafted up together and one by one we changed kayaks. This was a lot harder than I thought and not everyone ended up participating. I ended up partners with Karen in the end and pretty much rowed back to shore on my own. It was ok though – I was just laughing at her.





After we finished Kayaking we went for another swim. While we were in the water a couple of Japanese people came up to us in an old style Japanese boat and asked us if we wanted a ride in the boat. Of course we jumped at the chance and hopped in. This boat had no motor and looked like hard work getting it to move. We enjoyed just relaxing and being taken for a ride but the poor Japanese boy who rowed it looked like he was working hard. We didn’t go for very long but at least now I can say that I have experienced being in one. After the boat ride it was time to head back to the villa and shower. We relaxed out on the patio while everyone showered and got ready for dinner. The sunset was absolutely magnificent and so I took a million pictures.







When everyone was finally ready we headed back to the beach for a BBQ dinner. This was my second Japanese style BBQ and I enjoyed it equally as much as the first time. What could be better than eating BBQ and drinking beer on the beach in beautiful weather on an amazing island? It was perfect.

When we had finished stuffing our faces we headed back to the villa where we played Jenga and card games. This was the best Jenga game I had ever played. Some people were a little tipsy so I didn’t think that we would be able to get very far but for some reason we just kept the tower getting higher and higher and higher. As it got higher we got more nervous. We got it to the 33rd tier before it came tumbling down. Poor Jess was the one who set it off. How fantastic is the photo Marie took of her? She must have been waiting for this shot for a long time.

The next morning I woke up to scrambled eggs on toast already cooked for me. Jono and Lauren organised the breakfast. It was just what I needed. After we cleaned up the villa Marie, Taube, Julian and I headed for a hike up the mountain. The others went for a bike ride and headed for the beach. The hike was great. I felt a lot better than the last time I went for a hike. The view of the island from the top of the mountain was wonderful. We didn’t get to go all the way to the top because we ran out of time but we went a fair way and then on the way down we stumbled across a temple. I really enjoyed hiking and next time I come I will make sure I get the chance to hike for longer.





This weekend was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it. I would love to be able to go back again. I hope that I get the chance to!! At least then Steve will be able to come.