Category Archives: Travel

Day 20 – 17.04: After Long Last… Hanamiz… Shirakawago.

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I woke up at around six for the first time, but I couldn’t be bothered to get up. I got up again a bit before 7:30 and soon started hearing someone’s alarm ringing; I decided to get out of bed. Having gotten out of bed, I got my stuff and prepared to leave.

The TV room
They had a nice garden in the courtyard

Before I got out with my stuff, I was greeted by the owner; the owner spoke with an interesting Japanese American accent. He reminded me that I could leave my stuff at their storage room until I had to leave town. Thanks to his reminder, I went ahead and put myself stuff in to their storage room and headed off.

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Day 19 – 16.04: ‘Forever’ Is Such a Short Time

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I woke up fairly early in the morning, at 06:45, to the sound of the alarm I had set, but I didn’t get up. The next alarm, this time from my laptop, brought about Catastrophe (by MuryokuP) at 7:30; I finally got up and started planning.

At first I was planning to go to the islands to the north, but that plan was soon crushed as I realised that I had missed the earliest trip there, and the next one would be coming in too late for my schedule – had I not procrastinated the night prior, I would have known this.

I then started looking at train schedules through a mountain route, through Tottori station (鳥取駅), Kinosakionsen station (城崎温泉駅) and Fukuchiyama station (福知山駅) before reaching Kyoto (京都); to my disappointment, I would have to leave pretty much immediately should I want to use the route I wanted to and reach Kyoto (京都) before too late. Disappointed in not having any time to see anything in the much awaited Matsue (松江), I walked to the station.

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Day 18 – 15.04: “Forever! In Shimane!” …Is What I Wish I Could Say

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I woke up a couple of times during the morning: first when some of the other guests were leaving and the second time was an hour or so after the first one. I procrastinated a little bit after actually getting up and checked my train schedules before heading off – it was going to be tight.

Having paid my dues, I started putting on my shoes. The man asked if I knew Japanese a little – in Japanese – and wanted to talk about the usual stuff about origins, reasons for being here and my destinations. I really do appreciate when these chances arise, otherwise I’d never actually get to speak any Japanese. So we talked for a while and then exchanged farewells, the man jokingly saying something in the end, implying something along the lines of “you’ll be back.” After sharing laughs, we went our separate ways – or rather, I did; they remained in their house. Oh, and before I left, when I told them that I was going to Matsue (松江), the couple looked amazed – that is surely due to the fact that it’s a stupidly long way to go; just the way I like it.

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Day 17 – 14.04: The Truth Is Out There

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WARNING: This post WILL include images and texts that could disturb some people.

I woke after some twelve hours of sleeping, very well rested, at around 06:00. I started procrastinating after I found out that the breakfast would cost me 1000 円 until it was around 09:00. I then went ahead and threw my laundry in to the coin launderette, and then went to confirm the checkout time from the lobby – it was 12:00. I returned to my room to write a little before I went to throw my laundry to the dryer, after which I returned to continue what I had started earlier.

An hour later I got back and was amazed how an hour’s drying was still not enough to dry my stuff as well as the first time I used one of the coin dryers. Before leaving to fetch my clothes, I had decided to go out to see the A-Bomb Peace Park further to the west of the hotel. One returning of the keys later, I headed to the closest Seven Eleven to buy myself some breakfast.

It was a warm, sunny Monday morning, so I decided to eat my breakfast in the park bench by the river. I ate my meal, looking at the business men and joggers passing me and enjoyed the weather in general. After I was done, I gathered my stuff and started walking towards the park.

Had my breakfast in this park area
Domestic tourists, I assume?

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Day 16 – 13.04: Hanami Party 2014 Osaka Edition – Aftermath

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So… I blacked out last night, right? I find myself hanging out inside an underground passage like I belonged there – still drunk – right in front of the ticket gate for what I thought was a JR gate. There was no one at the ticket gate, and some people were going in, so I did too. I went to the toilet and became completely aware of the situation I was in. After I got out of the toilet and wanted to check the time, I realised that my phone was gone.

I panicked, and then saw someone in the ticket gate booth. I rushed to him to ask if my phone was seen here. When I got a negative answer, I immediately asked the man for a route to the closest police box. I walked the station for a while, asking another person for more guidance, but I ended up at a place that I didn’t know at all. I was starting to get panicked.

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Day 15 – 12.04: Hanami Party 2014 Osaka Edition

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I woke up just to remember that I was still at the Tokyu, still stuck with the awful connection. Annoyed, I went ahead and procrastinated for a while. Before leaving, I tried to do some research on the routes that would be going from the Niigata station (新潟駅) to the Tokyo station (東京駅) and eventually to the Osaka station (大阪駅), but the connection was so utterly crap that it wouldn’t even load Google Maps – GOOGLE MAPS! Pretty pissed off, I walked out of the hotel and headed for the station.

At the station I checked out the connections, and thankfully found the trains I would need to take to get to Osaka (大阪). I boarded the MAX Toki train heading for Tokyo (東京) and began passing out again. When in Tokyo (東京), I switched to a Kodama and continued on to the Shin-Osaka station (新大阪駅). I eventually arrived at Shin-Osaka (新大阪), went to the Osaka terminal (大阪駅) and after that started to find a way to get in to the Osaka Castle Park (大阪城公園).

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Day 14 – 11.04: Trains trains trains

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I woke up some fifteen minutes before our arrival at the Aomori station (青森駅). My body ached, but I still had gotten some rest somehow. The clock was around 5:40 when I stepped out of the train.

Having gotten out of the train, I started looking at the other cars, noticing that there was a more “luxurious” sleeping car with actual beds in it. I laughed a bit as I saw this, followed by some moaning due to my aching body. I moved on to plan my next move.

Small spaces separated by curtains
Sleeper train.
The sleeping spaces were quite Spartan on this car. A bit poor quality picture, though.

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Day 13 – 10.04: Through Hell and boiling mud pools

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So I woke up to a weird, awful, infernal noise that made me want to murder someone. I was just about ready to start beating up my laptop before I realised that it was the table clock that I had put to wake me up on 6:00. I closed it and started procrastinating instead of doing what I was supposed to: planning and finishing, or rather, starting the previous day’s entry. Hours went by and suddenly the clock was 9:00.

I had done some research on what I should do, but what I had had in mind previously – visiting the islands on the north western end of Hokkaido (北海道) – was just not possible at that point; the train that goes that far leaves thrice a day and takes five hours to get there. So I trashed the idea. I finally got off my lazy bum and did some research on the locales on the way back to the main island, and found Noboribetsu (登別) to be an ideal place; it had scenery AND a place called Hell’s Valley (地獄谷) a walking distance away. Having decided on that, I checked out of the hotel, but found out that it was raining.

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Day 12 – 09.04: Under the Seaaaaaaa

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After having woken up from my restful sleep, I started preparing myself for the breakfast that was to be downstairs. I took my dirty clothes with me to put in to the coin launderette and headed downstairs.

Having used a coin launderette once before now, I threw in my clothes most courageously, paid the dues and moved on to the buffet in the second floor.

The breakfast was served in a proper hotel area, and the selection was very wide – anything from croissants to fresh fish. I, being my typical self, took a stupidly small portion with a little bit of this and that. I really need to get over this “but what do others think!?” mentality; I paid for the damn thing. Having finished up my insufficient portion, I went back to my room to do a couple of things on the laptop. Soon enough I went to throw my now washed laundry to the dryer.

The half an hour went by fast, but when I came to check on my laundry, I noticed that they were all still damp. The time for checking out and moving on was so close that I just decided to pick them up and move on – I would be annoyed by my decision later on.

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Day 11 – 08.04: Holy crap, there’s snow?

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Of course the alarm that I put on the previous day didn’t wake me up; I didn’t have my earphones on in the morning – damn hindsight. The clock was around 8:30. I got my stuff and left the hotel to go to see the Morioka Castle ruins (盛岡城), now the Iwate Park (岩手公園).

Hotel Pearl City

Hotel Pearl City

The walk there was fairly short with a couple of photo worthy things. The sky was nice and cloudless, but it was nowhere near as warm as it had been a few prefectures back; it was clear that I had gone northwards. Then I reached one of the park entrances.

A phonebooth
An entrance to the park

The park entrance was a fairly long ramp to the walls of the then castle. Upon reaching the top, I was met with a wonderful sight of a snow capped mountain in the distance. After taking a couple of shots, I moved on the go around the castle, taking pictures of whatever signs there were to translate at a later date, while looking at the great sights and reading whatever English some of the signs had. After having spent an hour or so at it, I was met by a Japanese lady walking her dogs; she was interested in talking to me.

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