The journey across *half of Honshu
I woke up early to pack my remaining stuff and clean up the room I had seeked shelter in for the past two weeks. There was enough hair on the ground to give a doll a head full of hair. It is indeed very difficult cleaning up a room without a broom!
My luggage had been couriered on Friday night, so I only had my backpack and a hand carry. This was the time I regretted my decision for lugging my laptop around. We switched trains so many times I have some difficulty remembering them. The best part though was I got to ride the Shinkansen, the ever famous bullet train (shaped like a bullet, interestingly) Somewhere in the middle of the journey, our trainer who was with us beckoned us to a back window, and pointed out Mt Fuji to us, a little speck that disappeared within a minute. I can’t say how incredibly glad I am that we actually went up Mt Fuji instead of relying on getting a peek at it from the train.
Upon reaching Nagoya, we took the subway, changed trains twice until we finally reached our stop where we were picked up by the company car and a cab. One thing I have to say is that despite being on the same island, Nagoya seems worlds apart from Hiratsuka. Firstly, the people in Hiratsuka were much better looking (sharp noses, larger eyes, animated faces) whereas the people of Nagoya were rather ordinary looking. Secondly is the climate, while Hiratsuka was cool, it was not as cold as Nagoya is. Of course the most obvious difference is that Hiratsuka was a somewhat bustling place whereas Nagoya is somewhat country-ish and not as clean. Amagasaki – near Osaka (the place I visited in 2007 was the cleanest and crispest of the lot)
After putting up our heavy bags in our rooms (JC and I share an apartment unit this time) we were shown around the dorm and taken out for a group dinner. It was a Japanese-Western fusion restaurant where the food was just OK. Personally, I think the combo of JC, CK and myself have found much better food by ourselves in this country where we don’t really speak the language (we mostly order food by pointing our finger on the dish that looks nice)
Anyway, we’re not in Nagoya city as I thought but in a small town called Miyoshi. The nearest supermarket (which also housed the restaurant we went to) is about a 25 minute walk away, that is after a whole day of traveling while lugging a couple of heavy bags around!
This room is freezing. I’m gonna go and sit in the hall where the radiator is.
*Naturally, this is an exaggeration
Oooo, I envy you getting to ride on the bullet train. What was it like? Was everything a blur outside? Forgive my ignorance :D
ReplyDeleteNo you can see the view outside quite properly, but it's hard to take pictures. However, if you pass by poles (electric/telephone lines), you see the view as though you're watching some old movie frame by frame... And you can also walk in it whilst it's moving without falling over.
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