Days 55-61: 25-31 May 2009

LOCATION: FUKUSHIMA
MOOD: DECISIVE
LISTENING TO: SUM 41 – IN TOO DEEP

23 AND STILL RUNNING FOR THE BUS:

Today was my last day in Tokyo but I couldn't really do much. I had booked an afternoon bus that would arrive in Fukushima in the evening so that Henry could pick me up from the bus stop after work, but given that I had checked out in the morning there wasn't much I could do with my bags sitting in the hostel lobby. I passed the time by chatting with various people and working on this blog.

I left myself an hour to get from the hostel to the bus stop, a journey which involved one transfer and a walk from Tokyo central station to the bus depot. An hour seemed like more than enough time, but after I found out that one of the connections didn't exist and had to reroute I ended up running to catch the bus. I made it with five minutes to spare. I'm not sure why, but the bus that day was much more crowded than the previous time I had taken the Tokyo-Fukushima line. The bus was filled to capacity and I didn't have the luxury of putting my big backpack on the seat next to me. Instead I had to keep it by my feet, which forced them into an awkward position. This wasn't helped by the fact that I had a big Japanese dude next to me who didn't seem to appreciate the concept of personal space. He also seemed to be the only person on the bus with swine flu, given that he was wearing a facial mask and coughing incessantly.

MUCH ADO ABOUT AIR DO:

At this point I was nearing the end of the second month of my trip and I had reached a crossroads. My return ticket was for the 20^th of June, but I didn't really have enough cash to do anything more than stay with Henry and go out to nearby cities for day trips. This didn't sound terribly exciting, and given that June marks the start of summer and the monsoon season in Japan I was thinking twice about staying the course.

The only other two options were to either go for another short trip and head home, or get more money. I had done my budgeting for the trip well in advance and although things were well within limits if I was to keep travelling at that rate for another month or so I would really be getting in over my head. Besides, I was starting to feel the weariness of having been on the road constantly for two months and I was ready to make one last big push and then head home.

I eventually settled on a trip to Hokkaido, the last of Japan's four main islands and the one least affected by the onset of summer. After working through a number of different possible routes I settled on an itinerary that would see me catch a ferry from Sendai to the port city of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, then take a train to the capital Sapporo. After a couple of days in Sapporo and its neighbouring towns I would fly the budget carrier Air Do (as in Hokkaido, but still pronounced 'doo' for some reason) back to Tokyo to catch my flight home.

This involved changing my Jetstar booking, which was a pain given that I had to pay a transfer booking charge plus the difference between my original fare and the ticket I booked. To add to the pain the new ticket was priced in yen, so I somehow managed to get screwed by the exchange rate twice. Oh well, lesson learned – never trust Jetstar.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY:

Apart from figuring out my Hokkaido trip the only other major loose string to tie up during my week in Fukushima was the matter of all the stuff I had accumulated along the way. Henry suggested that I ship back a box of stuff given that it would be impossible to fit everything in my luggage. I agreed, and soon we had a box that weighed close to 30 kilos, filled with CDs, Japanese language materials and other assorted knick knacks. According to Henry's experience it should be arriving in Japan in July, around 6 weeks after I posted it.

I did get up to a few non-administrative things during the week, but I think it's easier to let the photos tell the story:

My suitcase upon returning from Tokyo. It's all a matter of priorities.

Henry attempting to huff and puff and blow my stack of CDs down with a paper fan. His fundamental mistake was stacking the CDs against the sofa.

Despite my two months of shopping I still hadn't filled up my 30kg box, so one day I decided to go to Koriyama to make some final purchases. Unfortunately this involved a 45 minute walk to Sukagawa's train station under the unrelenting sun.

Downtown Koriyama. It's the largest city in Fukushima prefecture and a magnet for the young people of the region. Having stayed in Sukagawa I can sort of understand why.

On my way to the shops I stopped to take a photo with some of the locals. They were a little stone-faced.
(A thousand apologies - I just couldn't help myself)

This skyscraper towers over Koriyama station. I'm not sure what the giant ball at the top is for though.

My 30kg box, just before we sealed it up. I was paying a small fortune in postage, so I wanted to make sure I utilised its full capacity.

I was still going to the Hotto Motto for lunch most days, and one day I decided to splash out on the deluxe box just to see what it was like.

There was a festival in town one night so Henry and I went to check it out.

There was apparently some sort of group dance competition with teams from all across the region. I think my camera, which has autofocus, had a small seizure when trying to snap this bunch of youngsters.

This group, with their solemn starting pose and traditional-looking costumes, appeared to promise a more subtle dance.

Looks can be deceiving.

Other festival-goers preferred more traditional fare. This band was playing some sort of mellow, ambient music.