04-08-2006 (Part III)
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She said, "It'd be nice if Mie came back" and I tried to sympathize. Actually, I thought that she would have swung by when she was in Osaka seeing her old friends and her husbands family. I guess not. She was pretty quick to say, "you ready to head back?"-I think they had some kinda time issue, I'm not really sure- but I said, "sure, let's get out of here." We walked back down to the car but Hiromi wanted to buy something. I decided in disguise I would buy them something to return the favor. I got them some sake that was brewed locally in that area for about 1000 yen. (10 bucks)
Well, it turned out that Hiromi had also bought sake. (nice one) oh well.. They dropped me off at the nearest station, and it connected to 高松 (Takamatsu), so I ended up taking that, which paired up with a JR line a little further down. (One of the two in Shikoku) I left the Sake in the car and then at the station I said the thank yous and and goodbyes, and told them that the sake was a gift from me and to please take it and enjoy it. At this point they really couldn't run back to the car and get it so I was finally able to repay them in some small way for all their kindness- with a little more sake... She had mentioned that she was a heavy drinker anyways- I probably was a good choice in the end.
On the train I experienced a kind of wierd feeling that I guess would be called loneliness, kinda like I did that night walking back from the Onsen. The train ride was an hour of silence and stares. Talking energy just wasn't coming. The where are you from, why did you come here conversation has been done to death. I just started thinking how nice it is to meet different people, but then it sucks because you spend the whole day together, have a great time, and then it's goodbye and I will never meet you ever again. I mean, I wish I could have just chilled with her tonight- she was probably avoiding that kind of thing, bringing her mom along and all. But when you just start to get to know someone that you think is cool it's only natural that you get interested and want to find out a bit more, it makes your mind work, all the what ifs. Well, anyway, you gotta take things as they come and go, and take what you can get- they were really nice to me, even if they did just feel sorry for me or something... Overall, it was great.
So, I arrived in Takamatsu. I actually wasn't thinking of coming all this way until I saw a travel magazine in the convenience store that had a segment about all these islands off of Shikoku. A few magazines later and I found out that there are a bunch of ferries leaving from Takamatsu, going to various islands, and they are only about 580 yen or so! (about 5 bucks) The beaches were actually the real deal florida type, white sand, they looked great, but- it was already getting dark so I decided to put it off for tomorrow.
I found a WIP internet cafe!!! Thank god! All night pack, starting from 11pm and going until 5am for a mere 1,200 yen! (11 bucks! yay) Shower included! Sweet- so that's where I will be staying tonight. I had a lot of time to kill so I was just walking around the area and saw a 外人(gaijin) dude that looked kinda normal. I went up and started talking. As it turns out, he is some DJ that has been in Japan for 15 years! Jesus, how does that even work? He must be married or something. He mentioned that he had released a CD, "Drip Drop"- some techno shit that he makes on the computer, it sounded really sketch, but as we got to talking he told me that actually they are playing tonight at a nearby club and that I should come check it out. He could put me on the list. Rock! He showed me where the club was and then took my name down, said he was going on at around 9.30 pm, and that he'd keep an eye out for me. Well, well, it indeed looks like I have my plans for tonight figured out. After the show is over I can just head over and crash at the internet cafe. Sounds like a plan. Tomorrow I have to be out by l5am so, I will just kill some time, walk around, hopefully the weather will be nice. I'll check out some of the nearby temples and then start making my way to 小豆島(Shodoshima) by boat in the afternoon. When it starts getting dark I'll take the train all the way back across Shikoku, get back to the west side, then try and look for a way to hitch to 広島(Hiroshima)...I think..
Peace!
Reference：
小豆島：Shodoshima is a cool little island off the top of Shikoku. This was actually the first area in Japan to successfully grow olives. So its is also sometimes called the "Olive Island."
