Trains in Japan

Trains in are very punctual. You can set your watch by them. You can time critical scientific experiments by them.

Occasionally, however, acts of God interfere with the precise timekeeping instrument that is the Japanese rail system. This happened when I was taking a Shinkansen (called the "Shink" by some gaijin, in the Japanese fashion of shortening words) from Nagoya to Okayama.

I had bought a ticket ahead of time for a Nozomi, the fastest train. Nozomis are all reserved seats, so I would be guaranteed a seat. For routes between Tokyo and southern Japan, the fastest Shink is the Nozomi, followed by the Hikari and the Kodama. The faster trains don't stop at as many stations.

A bit of trivial: Train directs are determined by whether the train is going toward or from Tokyo. If it is going toward Tokyo, it is going up (nobori), if it is going away from Tokyo, it is going down (kudari). So a Tokyo-bound train from Nagoya and one from Sendai are both going in opposite directions in absolute terms, but are both nobori trains.

After racing around like a chicken with its proverbial head cut off packing and sending my boxes and suitcase, I raced to the post office to mail a box home to the US. Then, I raced as much as one can with a small rolling suitcase in tow to the school to drop off my key, then to Okazaki Station. I made it with several minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, when I got to my platform at Nagoya for a 11:15 train, and all the boards were referring to trains that leave at around 9:00. There was a lot of rain near Tokyo (where the trains originate), and all shinkansens were delayed over two hours. I finally got on an unreserved car for Hikari going to Okayama. After a stop or two, an empty seat was available, and I arrived at Okayama two hours later than planned.

When this kind of thing happens, railroad employees hand of official excuse slips for employees to show their bosses. Fortunately, I wasn't going to work!

The second time I experienced train delays was yesterday. I was coming back from Mito, and there was an accident somewhere in the Kanto area, plus heavy rain. So the whole system from Oyama to Karasuyama was mess up. Luckily, I did make it back at around 10:00 at night.

Utsunomiya

I have fallen in love with Utsunomiya. It's ¥570 to get there -- about $5.46 at today's rate. I found that if I change trains at Hoshakuji, I have many more times that I can get there from here. There are only 5 trains that go directly either way between Karasuyama station and Utsunomiya station. I went there yesterday. A coworker had commented on a sweater I was wearing, and asked if I'd made it. I took the opportunity to ask if there was a yarn shop nearby. In Japanese, mind you!! She told me there was a place in Tokyo called Yuzawaya. I got home and googled Yuzawaya, and found there was a store in Utsunomiya. Well, I have to find this!!

So off I went. Last time, I went to Bell Mall from Utsunomiya's East exit. Today, I went out the West Exit. Directly in front of the station is a building called LaLaPlaza. I went in there and -- be still my heart!! -- there was a Yodobashi store on the 6th and 7th floors. Yodobashi is an electronics store. I've been to their stores in both Akihabara and Osaka. I went in in full Gadget Girl mode. I didn't see anything too exciting. Not like last year when I saw a 103 inch TV up close and personal. But it's good to know things like this exist reasonably nearby.

Then it was off, several blocks away to a building called LaPark, where Yuzawaya is. Before I got there, I checked out the building across the street called Parco. It also has several stories of shopping.

Utsunomiya is famous for gyoza. Call them gyoza, pot stickers, guotie or mahn du, I love them. So, in either the basement of Parco or the basement of LaPark, I had an order of gyoza. Yum!! Here's a travel hint: if you are in a department store in Japan, and get hungry, head for the basement.

Then it's off to LaPark for me! I found the store -- it's quite big. Lots of yarn! I'm not much of a summer knitter, though. But I will get myself a project before I leave. They also had beading supplies, felt stuff, drawing and painting, needle work, etc. The cross stitch kits look like American ones. They also have supplies for sashiko, which is a Japanese needlework art. I'll have to get the goods for a sashiko project as well. I also looked over quilting material.

Directly across the street coming from the station is a shrine called Futa-ara-san (二荒山). There are 94 steps up to the shrine. Japan is not for those with anything against stairs.

At Yodobashi, I had inquired about pre-paid cellphones at the au (KDDI's cellphone company) kiosk. They said I had to go to an au store. Back in Nasukarasuyama, I went to a book/CD/video store that I knew had a cellphone kiosk. Unfortunately, it was Docomo (NTT's cellphone company) and Docomo doesn't do prepaid phones. They are not very profitable. But a regular phone has a 2 year contract. au charges ¥18,900 to get out of the contract after 1 year, and I would guess that Docomo would do the same thing.But the lady there was nice enough to tell me how to get to the au shop. I really feel I live here when someone tells me a landmark, and I can say , "Yeah, I know where that is." or the Japanese equivalent. My version would be　はい、知っています。 Anyway, I found the au shop, and now have a cellphone! It's prepaid, so the caller pays all the charges. For less than $80, I got a basic phone (no camera, etc.), and ¥3,288 worth of calling time that will be available for 3 months. When my minutes are used up, or expire, I'll just buy more.

All I need is a bank account, and I will be all set up here.

Thanks for the comments, everyone!!