The first Roadside Station in the World, and perhaps the Best
The people of Abu have an air of hospitality, pride, and sophistication that suggests to me that it was from Abu (and not the more famous adjacent Hagi) that the Meiji Restoration began. Perhaps Hagi, being a city of sorts has had more turnover. Abu retains its tradition. The Abuians have innovative skills in that while they did not have the idea for "road(side) stations," which are semi-municipal complexes now dotted all over Japan, their's was one of the first, one of the biggest, and claims to be the birthplace. They sell local produce, with restaurants, and here a hot spa, swimming pool, and table tennis room, to encourage weary drivers and tourists to stop en route. The local produce, especially the fish, is at rock bottom prices so the locals come too. The pool is *semi* municipal, so the water is warm and the service not-supercilious (as some public employees tend to become). The "Dining Cafe 846 (Yashiro)" restaurant is very tasty, inexpensive, and what we love is the view. The "Sea Mart" road(side) station a few kilometres down the road in Hagi does not afford any view of the sea at all, whereas Abu's road (side) station has a panoramic view of the sea of Japan, dotted with islands. There is also a bell to ring, in simulation it would seem of religious facilities which usually have bells. There is a second hand and remained item shop (that shuts at 5pm) across the road. One can play table tennis for free for 30 minutes, at least if one goes to the pool as a family as we do. Extensions are inexpensive. There is a sauna in the pool. The pool is my favourite one for swimming in the whole of Yamaguchi since there are plenty of lanes. I think that the pool building may be a converted prefabricated warehouse but it has a nice arched atmosphere. There is a nice beach, at Kyogahama, with cheap showers, and campsite, and sometimes surfable waves, about 5km further West down the road.