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After Leaving Tokyo, we wanted to get off the beaten path. Instead of taking the common route into the mountains (through Takayama and Kanazawa, we headed South towards the Kumano Kodo. Because of this, we were unable to fit Hakone into our plans. Oh well... just another reason to come back.
Since it was our Honeymoon, we wanted to fit in a luxury Spa Experience. We planned a three night stay at Amanemu in Ago Bay, which allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in nature, relax in luxury, and experience a few unique cultural offerings.
To get to Ago Bay, we took the Shinkansen to Nagoya and transferred to the Kinteshu local train to Kashikojima. As we found with all trains, getting to our destination was extremely easy and there are always helpful station masters to point us in the right direction if we ever had a question. We did not purchase our Shinkansen tickets ahead of time, which ended up being stressful. For future trips we learned to purchase tickets a few days before. Going to a ticket booths instead of using machines is also helpful for the Shinkansen, because there are a lot of options that can get confusing.
Once we got to Kashikojima, we were picked up by the hotel and driven to the hotel. This started our weekend of lounging around in fluffy bathrobe, endless hotspring baths in our private indoor/outdoor tub and walks around the expansive grounds. We spent a day at the spa, having the entire place to ourselves and were able to grab some fantastic meals.
After having a fine-dining meal our first night we did end up spending the next two nights staying in our bathrobes and ordering wagyu burgers to the room. Endless Fries... and no regrets.
We spend out second day in Ise Shima exploring Ago Bay. This day was one of the highlights of the trip. We began the trip by taking a boat across the bay to a small family run pearl farm. This was essentially a hut on the waters edge with a surrounding few piers where oysters are grown and harvested for pearls. Here, we learned about the culture of farming, techniques for expediting pearl growth, and met an amazingly sweet family who runs the farm.
We were able to plant our own pearls, which will be fully grown in three years, and harvest our own. Learning about this family and their life as farmers was endearing and eye opening. As a parting gift, they allowed us to open two oysters and keep the pearls. There is a 1/5 chances of finding a perfect pearl... and we got 2! We seemed to be having some honeymoon good luck.
After leaving the farmers, we hopped back on the boat to weave our way to the ocean side of the bay, where we met an Ama diver for lunch. These ladies have been providing food for the region for approximately 3000 years by free-diving for seafood. They spend their seasons, both warm and cold diving, cooking, and providing for their families. Often working till well into their 80s, these women are extremely healthy and vigorous.
Our Diver cooked us an amazing feast of fresh seafood, so fresh that it was often squirming as it was placed on the open grill. The food was incredible, the stories of her life growing up as a diver were fascinating, and it was also harrowing to hear how culture is changing with technology and global warming. There are often doubts that this ancient culture will be able to survive the next generation.