Japan Trip, Day 13
Day 13, February 7
(no pictures)
I slept most of this day, actually, and I suppose it is just as well because soon it will be back to the grind at home in the store. I am getting quite a chocolate craving being here in Japan and have discovered that they do have some fine examples of my favorite confections, aka, chocolate and ice cream.
Grey and I have a rematch of Monopoly in which we both do pretty well. The game is essentially a stalemate, and he admits to taking a few pages out of my strategy book from the past couple of games. Neither of us get any houses or hotels, and we call it a game after a set time. We are separated by about $200 total, so all in all, quite good. Especially since I won.
Tomorrow I get to think more seriously about the return trip, on matters such as getting in position to go to the airport, bus fares, and hotel reservations and such. Reflecting on the last two weeks, I think it has been time well spent, and enjoyably so. I have seen two good friends that have been conspicuously absent from my life for a while. Not to mention the fact that while in Grey’s company I met a good group of his friends, who have the necessary insanity factor. Additionally, I have seen a part of the world with a culture strikingly different from that in which I live. I’ve seen a lot of touristy, historical, and scenic things, and have the requisite pictures to prove it. I’ve also, while here on Hokkaido island seen a part of Japan that is familiar in a foreign kind of way. Up here, it really almost looks like home, and the region’s inhabitants, the ones that I have met anyway, have been warm and open. It seems the city is the city, and the country is the country, no matter where you live.
Don’t get me started on the driving on the wrong side of the street bit, though. And I do look forward to being able to just throw away a piece of trash.
Speaking of driving, it has really hit me this second week, just how much I miss the freedom of driving wherever I want back home. I miss my car. I miss sitting behind the wheel and perhaps using more spirit than necessary in getting from point A to point B. Despite the slowness of the internet, I also really miss the familiarity and comfort of being at home. Grey and Brandon have been impeccable hosts and I have not at any point felt wanting or neglected, but there’s always the issue of “there’s no place like home.”
Sigh, thus begins the countdown. The plan is, tomorrow AM, call the Tokyo Holiday Inn and get a room for the night of the 9th, then later at night make our way to Obihiro so I can crash at Brett and Sarah’s. Then, in time for the 12:30 bus on the 10th, get down to the station, get checked in at the airport, fly to Tokyo, check in at the hotel, and get a good night’s sleep before my return flight across the big pond. Once I’m state-side, I don’t really care if my flight gets delayed, because I will be compensated, and everyone I have to deal with will speak English, and that will be a big weight off of my shoulders.
An interesting little accounting before I finish for the night.
After this trip, I will have flown through a total of 7 American airports:
Bangor (BGR), Portland (PWM), Boston-Logan (BOS), Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), NYC-La Guardia (LGA), Phoenix, AZ (probably PHX), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
And 5 Japanese airports:
Tokyo-Narita (NRT), Tokyo-Haneda (HND), Hiroshima (HIJ), Sapporo-New Chitose (CTS), and Obihiro (OBO)
PS - other people sound funny when they sleep.
To be continued...
(no pictures)
I slept most of this day, actually, and I suppose it is just as well because soon it will be back to the grind at home in the store. I am getting quite a chocolate craving being here in Japan and have discovered that they do have some fine examples of my favorite confections, aka, chocolate and ice cream.
Grey and I have a rematch of Monopoly in which we both do pretty well. The game is essentially a stalemate, and he admits to taking a few pages out of my strategy book from the past couple of games. Neither of us get any houses or hotels, and we call it a game after a set time. We are separated by about $200 total, so all in all, quite good. Especially since I won.
Tomorrow I get to think more seriously about the return trip, on matters such as getting in position to go to the airport, bus fares, and hotel reservations and such. Reflecting on the last two weeks, I think it has been time well spent, and enjoyably so. I have seen two good friends that have been conspicuously absent from my life for a while. Not to mention the fact that while in Grey’s company I met a good group of his friends, who have the necessary insanity factor. Additionally, I have seen a part of the world with a culture strikingly different from that in which I live. I’ve seen a lot of touristy, historical, and scenic things, and have the requisite pictures to prove it. I’ve also, while here on Hokkaido island seen a part of Japan that is familiar in a foreign kind of way. Up here, it really almost looks like home, and the region’s inhabitants, the ones that I have met anyway, have been warm and open. It seems the city is the city, and the country is the country, no matter where you live.
Don’t get me started on the driving on the wrong side of the street bit, though. And I do look forward to being able to just throw away a piece of trash.
Speaking of driving, it has really hit me this second week, just how much I miss the freedom of driving wherever I want back home. I miss my car. I miss sitting behind the wheel and perhaps using more spirit than necessary in getting from point A to point B. Despite the slowness of the internet, I also really miss the familiarity and comfort of being at home. Grey and Brandon have been impeccable hosts and I have not at any point felt wanting or neglected, but there’s always the issue of “there’s no place like home.”
Sigh, thus begins the countdown. The plan is, tomorrow AM, call the Tokyo Holiday Inn and get a room for the night of the 9th, then later at night make our way to Obihiro so I can crash at Brett and Sarah’s. Then, in time for the 12:30 bus on the 10th, get down to the station, get checked in at the airport, fly to Tokyo, check in at the hotel, and get a good night’s sleep before my return flight across the big pond. Once I’m state-side, I don’t really care if my flight gets delayed, because I will be compensated, and everyone I have to deal with will speak English, and that will be a big weight off of my shoulders.
An interesting little accounting before I finish for the night.
After this trip, I will have flown through a total of 7 American airports:
Bangor (BGR), Portland (PWM), Boston-Logan (BOS), Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), NYC-La Guardia (LGA), Phoenix, AZ (probably PHX), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
And 5 Japanese airports:
Tokyo-Narita (NRT), Tokyo-Haneda (HND), Hiroshima (HIJ), Sapporo-New Chitose (CTS), and Obihiro (OBO)
PS - other people sound funny when they sleep.
To be continued...