Nikko
I wake up and gather my things. I still need to sort my money out before I get going. Bloody ‘Commonfilth’ bank card that doesn’t work at all god damn it.
Anyways, off to the onsen to bathe with about 6 old fat naked Japanese business men. Yep. I got naked with a whole bunch of old naked Jap’s. Sitting on a little stool and washing yourself in the presence of others is quite strange. I got a few weird looks from one guy, mainly because I wasn’t fat, and that I had two tattoos jumping off my skin. I rinse hurriedly and then get the fuck out of there.
In the lobby I manage to get hold of Camille on skype and we talk about our different cities. San Fran sounds a long way away. After a few minutes I need to bail in order to get this bank shit under control. The weather is perfect outside, so as I get up, I grab my board, giving me my first chance since Sydney to have a roll.
This is my first real test, or at least first test that I wasn’t a baby about. I didn’t have enough Yen to make a call, nor did I know how to withdraw funds from my bankcard as my previous attempts had failed. I emailed the bank and got no response. Bum. I panicked a little and then went to play the Australian citizen card, emailing the consulate too. No luck there either. Fuuuck man. I remember that my card had been able to buy things with the little I had in my streamline account, so I skate down the road to 7-11 and tried to buy some supplies for the upcoming trip to Nikko. ‘Cash only, arsehole’ was the rough translation that I got. So then I went for the big gun. Straight to Tobu Rail itself to see if I could get onboard with my mastercard. Computer says, yes.
I ask to use a phone and then she talks some shit about blah blah post office. At that point I realise that I might be able to withdraw cash from the ATM at the post office. So I get on my board again and push down the road. I have an hour to kill til my train. The ATM works miracles and here I go: 7-11 for supplies, karage and sweet rice for breakfast and then its saiyonara to the capsule hotel and off to Asasuka station.
The trip starts off slowly, but as it is above ground, I get so see a new side of outbound Tokyo and the start of rural Japan. A man named Suke and his son sit in my booth and strikes up a conversation about half an hour in. He tells me about his background, his commuting patterns and his children. I meet his youngest who is four years old. He enquires into my background and into my travel in Japan. He thanks me for the chance to speak English again and is off.
The trip takes a few hours and I had packed snacks for along the way. The scenery outside changes immensely, into a long run of fields and houses into towns and such. It then starts getting closer to the hills outside and then into the valleys. By the time we arrive at Nikko, we are at 540m above sea level.
I explore the town for a while and then wait for the bus to Yamuto Onsen. I have a skate in the little square of the town and nail a couple of tricks, with applauds from the locals(the tricks weren’t that special). I get chatting to a Taiwanese bloke who explains he is in Nikko with his wife to make up for missing a honeymoon with her for some reason. He minds my bags as I head for a lighter, in the thought that I will need to make a campfire, as that is my plan once I get to the onsen.
The bus ride is spectacular. We wind up hill after hill until I realise that they are mountains. Snow starts to be evident at the bottom of the hills, something I wasn’t really expecting. Here I was being gung-ho about camping in the wild of Japan, not realising that I was headed to a snow-town! The tempreture hits when I get out of the bus. It is absolutely fucking freezing. There is about 3 foot of snow in all directions. Although I should be thrilled about seeing snow for the first time, I am daunted by the sheer volume of it. It is clear that there will be no camping tonight.
I walk up a hill to see if I could find any undercover spots or miraculous snow-less ground. I cannot. I then consider breaking into an abandoned petrol station, which fails. The only spot left is the visitor information booth. I figure that that is my spot and then get organised. I eat the sushi I brought and I start to drink the weird suntory drink. It is not beer like I thought. From here I don’t really know what to do, so I get up to go for a walk. I figure I will see the town in which I am about to dwell in. In getting up, I drop my hip flask and it springs a leak. FUCK.
This nojuku is becoming NO-nojuku. I buy a Coke from a vending machine in the snow and fill the remainder of my whiskey into the bottle. After going back to the visitor information booth, I settle in only to have a bus pull up and the guy rush me out. I try feebly to communicate with him and say “my accommodation failed and I was going to sleep here. Can I sleep here”? “NO NO NO NO”. Then I realise he means he is driving back to Nikko and that I must go with him. I am stoked. The bus is going to be warm as hell. It is.
Now I am in a similar predicament, what to do about accom in Nikko. I think I might find an internet cafe or just sleep at the bus shelter. I cannot really afford too much on accommodation, so the latter makes more sense.
I try to get comfortable in the ‘Waiting Room’ of the JR station. More like the sitting room of the devil. There are no benches and the floor is the only answer. It is cold and made of granite. After taking out my pillow(my unsused clothing and towel, combined together), I realise that I had left my sleeping bag back at Yamuto-Onsen. Once again, I panic and then fall calm to the realisation of failure. I will have to get another along the line. I try to sleep to my ipod which plays Smog, Sigur Ros and Mogwai and end up getting about five hours worth of sleep.
