Well, sorta, but I'll get back to that later. This is going to be the last entry from Tokyo, and most likely the last from Japan. I'm heading out of Tokyo later to a hotel in Narita, and tommorow I go from there to Narita Airport where I being my flight back to England.
Now, today I've been wondering around Tokyo doing some last bits of shopping, and that is basically where the title comes from. Haven't picked up much that seems particularly Japanese, but I have managed to fulfil most of the requests that you sent me. I've still got some time today to look for a last few things, though I'm not sure what times things shut down. Can probably pick up really souverneery (how on earth should you spell that) things at the airport or in Narita.
I'm afraid I never did get round to going to the Parasite Museum, so that will have to wait for another time.
Not really looking forward to tommorow. It will be nice to be back in England but it requires over fourteen hours on planes to get there.
Not sure there is a great deal to say in this highly unstructured entry. It's raining again. I went to Mt Fuji yesterday and couldn't even tell what direction it was in it was so cloudy.
Keep wanting to try to take some photos of Tokyo at night as it's really impressive but always end up too tired, and tonight I need to get out to Narita before it's too late. Not sure though, I might still manage something.
Other than that I think that's it. Not sure what's going to happen to the log once I'm back in England. I'll guess I might do a final entry but there won't really be much point in it after that.
Right, my prediction about frequent entries proved false. Though I've been getting frequent internet access, I find myself without a great deal to write. This is simply because I haven't really been doing a great deal of note in Tokyo. I've been spending most of my time here simply wondering around, enjoying simply being in such a big city and soaking up the atmosphere.
I'll put in an extended entry a little later. For the moment take this little bit.
Well, still in Tokyo. Still not quite sure what I'm doing here.
Didn't go and take that boat yesterday. I decided it was raining too much so just ended up wondering around the shops in Ginza again. The weather has improved today though so I think I'll go give it a try. That should take me to an apparently very nice set of gradens, then from there I'll either return to the centre or maybe go around Tokyo bay a bit more. I'll see if the weather holds and what I feel like doing.
Errr.. Sure I should have something more to write. Strangely I don't though. Maybe extend this entry later. Or just decide it's a pointless one and get rid of it.
Sorry. Not really feeling like writeing an entry at this moment. So I'll just post something saying things are going well here. My mina problem not being finding things to do but deciding what to do.
The capsule hotel was an interesting experience. It was somewhat noisy and I din't sleep brilliantly but it was pleasant enough.
I spent my first full day hopping around on the subway system and doing lots of vague window-shopping and such. Visited the Sony building and various other bits and pieces. Didn't really do a lot.
Now it's my second morning in Tokyo, after my first night in my hotel. Again, I'm really not sure what I'll be doing today. It's raining again outside. Maybe I'll take the ferry into the city today rather than the subway. Hmm...
See what happens
Right. I'm in Tokyo. Which means now is the time to put in any requests for interesting (or even dull) stuff from Japan*. I will be staying in Tokyo for the next ten nights before flying out on the 25th, so that's how long you've got (remember I'll need time to find it though).
So I came into Tokyo today on the Tubo line from Nikko, meaning I arrived at Asakusa station, somewhere in a north-easterly part of Tokyo. It was a bit daunting at first, then I got some food and quickly cheered up, realising that there isn't really any problem. It's no harder than any other Japanese city I've been in and I've managed alright with all the others up to now. I'm still in the same general area, having visited (briefly) the temple here and done a few other random bits and pieces.
I haven't got anywhere booked to stay tonight, but I'm planning to try a capsule hotel near here as I think it should be interesting to try. After that I've booked into a nearby hotel for the follwoing seven nights that gets me through most of my stay here in Tokyo even if it is a bit more expensive than I'd planned for.
Not sure what I'm planning to do with my time in Tokyo. Probably spend a fair amount of a time wondering around in a vague daze.
Oh well. Haven't done much today really, so there isn't a lot to tell you about. This place is in a good location near where I'll be staying for the next few days though and is quite nice and not too expensive so you'll probably be getting fairly regular updates till I get back.
* - I reserve the right to reffuse anything for any reason whatsoever including but not limited too:
1) Too hard to find
2) Too hard to explain at customs
3) Too expensive
4) Just can't be bothered
I'm in Nikko now, I stayed here last night and I'm staying here again tonight. Tommorow I intend to go to Tokyo and I'll spend my last ten nights in Japan there. This is worrying me as I don't actually have any idea where I am staying in Tokyo for that time. I'm just going to have to go in tommorow and hope I can work something out.
As I said I've already stayed in Nikko for a night, having arrived here just after mid-day yesterday. I came here from Yamagata (my last Shinkansen ride I suspect) where I posted the last entry but I didn't actually get up to date then. In fact I think I'm slowly getting further and further behind with the log. And I think it may get even further behind as I'm not sure if I'm awake enough to write a proper entry at the moment.
I believe I got as far as my first night in Sendai in the last entry. After my one night in Sendai, I headed for the train Station where I stuck my bag into storage and caught a train for Hon-Shiogama. From there I took a boat that did a two hour tour around Matsushima bay, taking in a lot of the islands and giving me a headache with the extremely loud engine and even louder guide trying to be heard over the engine noise.
On arriving at Matsushima at the end of the tour I walked around a few of the island that are connected to the shore by bridges and then in the afternoon took another train along to Nobiru where I spent the night in a Youth Hostel.
The next day I hired a bike from the Hostel and spent the morning riding out along to the end of the peninsular and climbing up a couple of the viewpoints to look out over Matsushima bay. After returning the bike to the hostel I returned to the station and from there caught a train back to Sendai. In Sendai I managed to find myself another nights accomodation in a hotel and so spent the night there.
The next day I took a train to Yamagata and arranged two nights in a hotel there through tourist information and wrote the last log-entry in the NTT place just upstairs from it.
With my full day in Yamagata I back-tracked slightly along the line to Sendai, getting off at Yamadera and visited the temple there, climbing up the 1000+ steps to the top before returning to Yamagata for my second night.
This now gets us to yesterday, the 13th June, and the last day of my rail-pass. I used the last day to take the Shinkansen from Yamagata most of the way here to Nikko (I had to change to a local train for the last part). I arranged for two nights here in Nikko then looked around the temple and shrines here that afternoon.
It seems I have caught up after all as we now come to today. I got up this morning and took a bus up the mountain to Yumoto Onsen, from where I walked back down to Chuzenji, along the edge of the lake and and river, passing marshes and waterfalls along the way. It was a very pleasant walk and used up most of the day, getting me to Chuzenji around 3. After taking the lift to the bottom of the Kegon falls it had started to rain, so I caught the bus back here to Nikko where I am now.
It's just gone 6 here so I'm probably going to go find something to eat soon, It's still pouring with rain though (but still warm) so I'm not especially looking forward to going back out.
Getting really nervous about Tokyo as I don't have any idea where I'm staying. But I'm flying home in ten days time so there isn't much time left.
Guess I sort of should do an entry now having been through several cities since the last one (I'm in Yamagata now), though having done that non-entry makes me feel like I've done one recently. Also means unfortunatly I've lost track again of what I have and haven't told people about. It doesn't help that I keep telling individual people about parts of it.
Right, the last complete entry I did was from where? Gonna need to check aren't I? Hmm... After that weird outing into rapidly multiplying windows, I find it was even longer ago than I had realised. This could take some time....
Okay, the last complete entry you seem to have got was at the end of my nice day-trip from Morioka and just before my second night there. Oh dear. This isn't looking promising. I can hardly remember what I did that long ago. It's been all of what? A few days? Right, must give it a try though.
Now, the next morning, before setting off from Morioka I talked to Tourist Information there and arranged a night in Folkloro Tono, a JR-run hotel directly above Tono station. I then got on a rapid train heading East along the line towards Miyako. I took that train all the way to the end and wondered outside the station for a few minutes. Deciding the weather wasn't good enough to make it worth wondering down to the beach (and waiting for the next train in three hours time) I got quickly onto a local train heading south to a place I forget the name of.
It's name probably isn't of great importance though since I was only there for the few seconds it took me to check with a guard that the train on the other side of the platform to where my train had just pulled in stopped at Tono and get onboard.
That train winded through yet more mildly distracting countryside until it reached Tono just after 3 O'clock. I checked into my hotel on top of the station and then wondered off to the local museum and just strolled around the small town in the nice warm afternoon sun.
The next day I left my bag at the hotel and hired a bike to ride around a few of the outlying sights, including a small valley containing hundreds of buddhist images carved onto the rocks and a recreation of a traditional village. By O'clock I had returned to Tono and picked up my bags again, and got back on the same train I had arrived on the previous day to proceed on to Shin-Hanamaki where I joined the Shinkansen bound for Sendai. No, sorry, Ichinoseki. I keep forgetting chunks.
By the time I got to Ichinoseki it was nearly five and the Tourist Information didn't know of anywhere I could stay in the city. They did manage to make a reservation in the youth hostel at Hiraizumi. Anyway, I quickly got a local train to Hiraizumi and went to the youth-hostel (within the grounds of Motsu-ji, and run by the monks). After a pleasant night there I walked round the gardens of the temple before taking a longer than expected walk up to Chusen-ji. (Probably wrong. Really should have looked these up.)
After looking around said temple I took a bus back to the station and then picked my bag back up from the youth hostel, just managing to get the next local train back to Ichinoseki. Leaving my back in a locker I caught another local train to Geibeikei (I think), where there is a gorge that I took a trip along in a boat resembling a giant punt. After the trip got back I just missed the next train back to Ichinoseki and so was left hanging around that small town for a while.
Getting the next train got me back to Ichinoseki after five-thirty and the Tourist Information had closed so I retrieved my bag from it's locker before rejoining the Shinkansen to Sendai. The Tourist Information there quickly found me a hotel and it was from that hotels lobby the previous non-entry was posted that evening.
Right, just added a few names. Not sure if they're all right or not. May fix them properly sometime.
Sorry, but this isn't an entry, at least not a real one.
I'm standing in the lobby of my hotel in Sendai typing this but my legs are getting tired, along with the rest of me, so I'm afraid your going to have to wait a bit longer for a real entry filling you in on what I've been doing over the last couple of days and where I'm off to next.
Again I repeat, this is not an entry.
Right, not sure where this entry is going but thought I might as well get an entry in, though I suspect half of you won't have read the last one yet, the perils of getting regular updates. I had a plan for this entry, but then to my amazement the e-mail I'd been waiting for actually arrived and I find I've completely forgotten the plan. This means instead of a wonderfully well structured and interesting entry your just going to get the usual waffle.
Proceed at your own risk.
Today has been a good day. Though my accomodation here in Morioka is somewhat depressing the day has been far to good to let it get me down.
This morning I headed out and managed to get the 7:58 super-express to Kakunodate. This small town contains a nice collection of preserved Samurai houses and I spent the rest of the morning wandering around in the perfect weather. After visiting the couple of the houses and the more interesting of the two museums, I walked along the cherry-tree tunnel beside the river. Though at this time of year it was not all that impressive I have seen photographs of it in full bloom and it must be an incredible sight.
Around 1 o'clock I returned to the Shinkansen and went to Towadako, one stop back towards Morioka. From the station I took a short bus ride to Towadakohan right on the edges of the beautiful caldera lake itself (the name means Towada lake shore so you'd kinda be surprised if it wasn't right on the edge really). After eating lunch here I set out walking along the road through the forests around the lake. Though the lake was hidden from view by the trees for a fair part of the time (there was no path along the shore itself) the occasional views from areas of fields or between the trees were stunning. I walked about half-way round the lake to a well-known view point on the other side where a statue stands in the water, this took me the whole afternoon, so I caught a bus back from here to the train station and from there returned here to Morioka.
All in all it's been an incredible day with some very nice scenery and wonderfull weather. I'm planning to head round a loop of local lines out to the east coast tommorow, probably spending the nigth in Tono though I haven't confirmed anything yet. The loop comes back to the Shinkansen line so stopping at a couple of places along the way that will stretch a 15 minute Shinkansen ride out to most of two days. But the scenery along the lines is supposed to be worth it, and once I have rejoined the Shinkansen further south I should be able to make it to Ichinoseki by the end of the 7th.
Anyway. A surprisingly long entry considering it's only covering one day, but a nice day so it will do.
Right, It's the next day and I'm still in Hachinohe so this will probably be a short one (or at least short on sense) as I haven't done much since the last entry.
Right, well as I suggested I spent the night in my excessively expensive hotel (not the most expensive I've stayed at though) which really wasn't worth it. For the extra money I got a mini-bar, a slightly larger than average room and a nicer bathroom. It seems bathrooms are a major variable in hotels in Japan. Having a nice bathroom carries a significant premium.
So, I'm back at Hachinohe train station, this time with a rail-pass (had got so used to buying tickets I got a ticket to here without even thinking about it, luckily the fare here was only 180yen so not too great a waste of money).
I think I'm going to go get a Shinkansen to Morioka in a while, doesn't really matter when though as I don't think I'm planning on going anywhere special and it only takes 30min on the Shinkansen. There seems to be a bit more to do round Morioka than Hachinohe and it's in the right general direction (South) so it seemed like a good next stop. Will probably spend tonight in Morioka (slow day today) then do something more interesting tommorow.
Hmm.. Enything else of importance? Or unimportance? Not that I can think of right now. Gonna go write a couple of e-mails. Will add more after that if I have any ideas.
Oh, just remembered the title and thought I might as well explain. I just bumped into another couple of missionaries on the way to the station. I seem to be meeting somewhat surprising numbers of missionaries. Not sure why. Just though it worth mentioning.
Right, your getting frequent updates now as I'm really not sure what it is I'm actually doing at the moment. As I thought I would I got the Shinkansen to Morioka where I have now reserved a couple of nights in a Minshuku. I think I'm probably going to do some walking on a platueu tommorow, though I may decide to do something else as it's quite a way to go (It takes nearly 2 hours by bus, and I don't like buses). I'm thinking I may do a loop out to the coast the day after that, passing through Tono and maybe staying the night there before either returning to Morioka and heading towards the west coast or re-joining the Shinkansen to head further south.
Right, these entries are likely to start going increasingly off-track as it's really too much effort to try to keep them on it. So please excuse me if I start ranting about random things.
Right, I keep starting this entry then realising it's been longer than I think since I last told you what I'm up to.
I last typed something in from the lobby of my hotel in Sapporo several nights ago. Since then I took a couple of trains, via Hakodate and through the extremely long Seikan tunnel to Aomori. Why? Not entirely sure. But I booked into a hotel in Aomori for a night, then having failed to work out what I was doing the next day, decided to stay for a second night as well. So with my full day in Aomori I headed up to Nebuto-no-sato where floats from the large summer festival are on display. Then, since it was pouring with rain and I was getting extremely wet, I returned to the city. After wondering around the city a little I ended up looking around one of the ships that used to take trains across the straight to Hokkaido before the tunnel was built.
So, after an exciting but extremely wet day in Aomori I come to yesterday, where I got on a train to Noheji, without really having decided where I was going. But since I was in Noheji I decided I might as well take the small line north to Mutsu on the Shimokita peninsular, which my guide book mentioned as a good base for going up what sounded like an interesting mountain, and spent the night there.
I went up said mountain today, called Osore-zan (probably not exactly, but something like that). It is in fact an exctinct volcanoe where amongst the sulphurous streams at the shore of the crater lake, the souls of the dead are said to gather while waiting to enter the Buddhist heaven. Children must wait there making piles of stones which demons come and knock over during the night. So overall a very happy place. But that is where I caught a bus to this morning and then hung around for an excessive amount of time while waiting for the bus back down.
Right, well after I got back off said damned mountain I caught a couple of trains (needed to change at Noheji again) to Misawa, where I picked up my final rail-pass which lets me use any train on JR East lines for ten days. I got the pass to start tommorow and then caught a final train for the day to Hachinohe, where I am now sitting typing this from the Tourist Information Centre. As I had hoped Hachinohe has a much larger station with a good TIC as it's now the end of the Shinkansen line. Which should also make it easy to get somewhere interesting in the morning. I have arranged a night in a rather expensive hotel (have you noticed how getting discounts on things only results in you spending more money?) for no particular reason but I'm feeling tired. I'm going to go there in a short while at which point I while try to get some idea of what I'm doing tommorow.
Now, after my last entries somewhat excited title about e-mail I find myself getting disolusioned again. It is good to have access to it once more, but having been away from it for so long, and getting to it so irregularly, I suddenly find myself once more extremely irritated about not having any. None. Not even any spam. (No this is not an invitation to send me any spam. And John, I have asked you before not to send e-mails to both accounts at once. It's just irritating). So other than that vague complaint about the fact that this does seem to be largely a lecture with no response from anyone out there, things are going well. With the pass started I'm starting to see the end of this trip looming ahead increasingly quickly. So not sure if anything will happen to the log afterwards. Liable to become a lot less interesting and a lot more random if it doesn't just fold completley. Might even have to talk to people occasionally. Weird.
Right. I warned you this could start going off track. So I'd better try and straighten it out since I need to go get a train soon. (Yes, I know. But Hachinohe station is actually miles outside the centre. I need to get another local train to go two stops in to get to my hotel).
Right. Gonna go write more e-mails. Maybe that way I'll get some back.