Finding my Name- Day 4 (Returning Home)

Finally, after 3 days we could say we are done with Tohoku (Northern Japan). We have passed through 6 prefectures and driven over 700 kilometers, but of course, we still need to drive the 300 kilometers back. The morning started out as a bust. We woke up on the sleepy coastal town of Sakata. Saw these interesting storehouses and drove to Tsuruoka. Didn't spend much time there in order to get a much needed bath at Yunosawa Onsen. But when we got there, we found out this onsen village had no onsen, which is just mind-boggling. There was one foot onsen in the middle of town, but besides that, there were only rickety hotels with an ocean view. Still needing a bath, we went to the temple nearby which slightly redeemed our onsen shock. From there we started our coastal drive and along the way, we did manage to find an onsen that was on the fourth floor overlooking the beach below. Beautiful sight!

After we finished our bath and started again, we came across the most amazing thing. We found OKEYA MACHI (Okeya Town). This block of 6 houses was all that was there of Okeya Town. Our trip came full circle. We found the place where my name came from and then finished the trip to find the town with my name on it. I thought that maybe the Japanese characters of my name was wrong because my students made fun of my name, but now I had proof that the characters exist. Ron's super Japanese led us to the nearby temple where we talk to the temple's monk about possibly finding my family crest. She said that the name Okeya died out in Edo period. How cool that I am what's left of the Edo period. According to her, if I want to find my Kamon (Crest), I need to find the hometown of my family. I'm a bit closer to finding it. I just need to go to Hiroshima. But this surprise was the best way to complete our long trip.