Nara
I get up and head to Ueno to get my rail pass exchanged. It was time to get out onto the JR lines. I then head a little further into the city and go to Akihabara for some Polaroid film and Fuji 200. Ok, so my chances were thin- but I dint really expect to be told that Fuji 200 doesn’t get made anymore! Crud.
Right before I check out of the hotel, I use the bathroom. I can’t figure out what button on the electronic panel will make it flush! There are about a million buttons and none of the seem to work. I try them all. I end up sheepishly closing the lid and walking off. I feel bad.
Tokyo station is next and I hop on the Shinkansen to Kyoto. I have decided to go to Nara for the night/following day. Hopefully I can see a castle and feed some wild deer. I probably shouldn’t keep eating so much pocky…
The Shinkansen is amazing. It is so fast, yet doesn’t feel that way. Although the outside world rushes by, you get used to the speed and then it just seems normal. We fly to Nagoya in no time, without being able to see mount fuji (it was cloudy). Bugger. Next thing I know we are about to get into Kyoto.
I go straight to the local JR line bound for Nara. I don’t really want to think about Kyoto yet. Not for a while at least. Once on the train, I get cold and my facemask comes in handy. Not only do I look like Shredder from TMNT, I have a warm face to match.
By the time we get into Nara, it is fucking cold and starting to get dark. I have only a hand drawn map to guide me to the hostel that I had seen in the morning on the net. I go up the main road, shrugging off the view of the pretty lake, as I was on a mission. At this point it is getting cold and dark and my fingers are going blue. I do a few laps, enquiring at one place and then rejecting it due to it being super expensive. It is fair to say that I panic a little here. It is dark and cold and I want to sleep in a warm bed tonight. No-nojuku here. I come across a sign saying cheap accom and then a shitty map, which doesn’t nearly describe the narrow and crooked roads that is Naramachi. I ask a local to help and he points me in the right direction. Half way up the road he comes running up ‘sorry sorry!’ he then guides me back to the sign and points me in the real direction, which is the other way. From there I follow his directions and get lost again. Fuck. Panic.
Another twist and turn and I end up finding the place! All emotion is quelled by the relaxed and cool nature of Katsuro, the young guy operating the guesthouse. He shows me around his traditional Japanese house, it is awesome! Wooden sliding panels and Paper screens. I would say that it is a hundred years old for sure.
After dropping my bags, I head into the twisting roads and malls of Nara. There are a few second hand boutiques that I check out. One has a new Thrasher T-shirt!. Other items of merit include faded harley shirts and some first edition nikes (which he is trying to sell for the price of a car). I follow the laneways for about an hour purchasing woollen gloves along the way. Dinner is beef donburi and some karage.
On the way back to the guesthouse I stop to load up my pics onto my hard drive. The internet café is rad. Super nice staff and for 280Y I get half an hour internet and free drinks, which I take advantage of. 2 coffees and a grape Fanta later, I am out into the street and the moderate snow, which has started to fall. It is big, sort of how it is seen in cartoons. I end up having to double back for my usb, but end up just chilling and photo editing til it is sleep time. I will have to decide if I wanna stay another night in Nara, but at this point all things are pointing to yes.
