After the shower climbing tour we met up for Spanish food at Spanish Bar Sol in Ohtsu and had a nice dinner with Tomoko and Atsushi. After trying Spanish food in Nagoya, we were not so impressed, but we had a great time.
The next day my kind sister-in-law Tomoko drove us around for some sightseeing. First we stopped to see Lotus flowers at the Mizunomori Lotus Pond in the Karasuma peninsula of Kusatsu City, but only saw the flowers on the lake, not in the greenhouses. The video I took there was with my cellphone, so the quality is poor. Sorry about that. There was a huge windmill that has been shut down for safety reasons. What a waste of money! You can see more cool pictures here:
Next, in Moriyama city, we stopped at another huge garden of sunflowers, Yoko's favorite flower. From there we headed to Hachiman City and took the ropeway up to Hachiman mountain for a cool view of the south side of Lake Biwa. Then down at Himure village we had sweets at the famous Taneya sweets shop.
After that, Tomoko drove us to Ikeda Farm, a nice traditional restaurant in Higashiohmi City, , which also has a gelato shop. Here is more info about the shop:
After our late lunch we went for a dip at a nearby hotspring, Happu-no-yu. There are some pix and info here:
Our day ended with a visit to a Japanese winery, 'Hitomi Wine' in Higashiomi City, for some wine tasting. Yoko bought some wine as a souvenir for tochan-kachan (her parents). Yes, this was a grand tour, just like the last time we visited her. Thank you Tomo-chan!!