Thursday, August 18, 2005

La Japoneisa: EARTH CELEBRATION Day 1

EARTH CELEBRATION
Day 1 (18th August, 2005)

“You look like a sea turtle without an ocean.”

Woke up at 4.45am to wake the rest of the crew up at 5 so we could leave at 6 and get some nice rides with the workers or other early birds. Was so excited! Bo was excited as well and I believe Wayne was excited too, on the inside. Then he had a coffee and was excited on the inside and on the outside like the rest of us and with hearts singing of life and happiness we hopped down the road. On the way we stopped at Mason’s shed and found a tent. And so then all was even better than well, for now we had two tents for four people, what seemed just perfect.
And so we hopped on down until Annie, bless her goodwilled excitedness for our mission, picked us up in the Pajero and dropped us off at Oshima, where we actually stood at least some chance of getting a hitch.
And so we started walking. We walked down, and across the bridge, met Manabu on his way to work who didn’t offer to give us a lift and so politely we didn’t ask, and walked on through the tunnel until we found a wider part of the road somewhat resembling a car park where we sat down, faces turned towards the rising sun and eyes shining with expectations of adventurous happenings, and waited.



After a few minutes and few cars had passed a little white k-truck drove wildly towards us, wildly it pulled to the side and slightly surprised, slightly amazed and innerly satisfied with the course of our journey right from the beginning we sat Wayne in the cockpit, dumped our bags and tents in the back of the truck and with Bo we climbed to sit with them. Hair blowing in the wind (remembering a scene out of Bridget Jones’ Diary I attempted at tieing a scarf around my head to at least slightly remain looking like a sane human being), holding onto anything we could hold onto not to bounce out onto the road, we headed down the curvy routes which I got to know and ride on as if my own as far as Kazurabashi.

HITCH 1: Oshima -> Kazurabashi
7:25
In Kazurabashi we stood in front of the building site for a little while to see Eiji san go to work and being unsuccessful in our quest we moved further down the road where we found a car park to display our pretty black and white 方面 signs.

HITCH 2: Kazurabashi -> Ikeda
7:46 8:35

After about twenty minute overall wait we were picked by a very nice man in a black car who knew the people from Kazurabashi Hoteru where we go for an onsen and so we had a nice little chat.



Or Bo had. It had become a sort of an unwritten rule for Bo to sit on the front seat and lead the cultural and intellectual exchange while Wayne and I feebly participated from the back or went chrrrrrrrrr and rejuvenated.
All good and all happy.

HITCH 3: Ikeda -> Kobe
9:23 12:50

We were dropped at a petrol station and on a hitchhiker’s high we bravely posed on the side of the dual carriage way with our signs glued to our chests with the wind and thumbs stuck out. And we waited again. And waited some more. And then we noticed that we were standing on the wrong side of the road hitching the wrong direction >__< (doh!).
When we eventually started hitching in the correct direction I decided to cross the road for I thought that’d be a rather good idea but still, no one would stop for us. Humphr. All three of us had our own ideas about an ideal way to hitch and so for a little while we scattered alongside the road, perhaps slightly annoyed. Travelling with a couple, especially when you are not one of the couple, can imaginably become irritating at times and so perhaps the acquired space was good. And then it happened. Tralalalling down the road (in the right direction), under the burning sun and heavy backpacks Bo and Wayne, thirty metres in front of me, were approached by a man. The man, as I caught up, turned out to be a sweet guy who stopped at the next car park and walked all the 500 metre way up to us to tell us that he can take us all the way to Osaka. And we were skipping with happiness once again. This time, for a change, it was Wayne to be sat in the conversation seat and so we heard everything one can hear about all possible football clubs and teams and pitch positions in the world, about heavy metal music and all the likes and dislikes of our host and Wayne. Wayne’s yesterday-stung-by-a-big-horrid-and-ugly-bee leg was with the heat and all the walking getting more swollen and painful and so soon it was me in the conversation seat, struggling but enjoying and being praised (always good *chuff chuff*).

HITCH 4: Kobe -> Osaka
13:13 13:43

Juji san, with utter goodness-shined-through persona, left us at the services in Kobe for there were apparently none around Osaka, but we were content enough with this development for we never even dreamt of such luck. There we took out our directories again and again we waited. We smiled at all the drivers getting out and getting in their cars in hope they shall be charmed enough to pity us enough to pick us up. Didn’t really work that well but we persisted anyway for it felt nice. And then we were lucky again when a van stopped by us and a bold smiley hippie man with no teeth but a big smile on his face nevertheless, told us he could take us to Osaka. And so once again, happily, we got on. The seven-seater was spacious and comfy and so Wayne could put up his leg and relax, Bo conversed in the front and I just sat quietly enjoying the journey. The ride that I thought was rather cool Bo found rather, hm, disconcerting and after hearing what her conversation with the driver was about I guess I would do too and I would hold onto the seats in front of me and handles around me, and with clenched teeth and firmly shut eyes wait for it all to pass.
Conversation (approx.):
Ryuji san (the driver): I spent the last three days in the hospital.
Bo: Why were you in the hospital?
Ryuji: Because my face is bad.
Bo: Ha ha! Seriously…why were you in the hospital?
Ryuji: Because my face is bad.
Bo: What is wrong with your face?
Ryuji: Eeeer…my head is bad…eer, I dunno.

The guy was up since 2am, driving, after three days spent in hospital and drinking shochu. But still, he got us to Osaka safe and he was smiley and seemed happy. All good.

HITCH 5: Osaka -> Nagoya
13:58 16:25

The sun was up and bright and we were dancing and singing (or I was) at the services full of joy, waiting expectantly for our next ride that was so definitely gonna come soon. The vibes were good. The service men were smiling and waving at us and soon enough they waved and shouted that they’d gotten us a ride!
The driver was an old man of seventy, very serious looking, very well dressed, one of those people with substance that have lots of money and of course, have to play golf. He was taking us directly to Nagoya.



On the way we stopped at another service station from which we had a view of the biggest lake in Japan and where he got us a lot of yummy goodies, specialities, sweets and a bread for a 1000 Yen. Wow! And so he drove on, and we all chatted, some more some less and as we approached Nagoya it started to rain (Birmingham of Japan Wayne called Nagoya and I remembered my last visit here, not the drunken unconscious part-since can not remember much of it-but the horrid never-ending rain that got me into that state in the first place). This man owned a house in Palm Springs, flew to Kochi by his jet and owned a car shop in Nagoya where we had to stop before he’d drop us off at Ren’s so he could change his car.



While we were all amazed looking at all the pretty cars in his shop, taking pictures in his red Pontiac, he changed the Volvo for this beautiful Mercedes Benz with leather seats and gorgeous smooth acceleration and so we reloaded and continued to Atsuta Jingu where we, saying our goodbyes, invited him to Chiiori and he gave us his meishi (business card). We finally arrived, the first part of our hitchadventure accomplished with a cherry on the cream. Our self-satisfied excitement was weaved with a respectful awe, pride and consequent feelings of bravada and grandeur when we learned, after Ren had glimpsed our posh granddad's meishi, that this man belongs to the Yakuza! I feel honoured (for surviving, I guess ^_^).

Kilometrage:
Total time: 9 hours
Costs: none

By train:
Total time:
Costs:

There was no one at home and so we piled our bags in the corner by the door, sat on the steps, talking, smoking, reading, watching rabbits on a garage roof (bizarre??), waiting for Ren to return from Tokyo to let us in. Tidlidoo tidlidoo no one was coming and so we sat and waited and sat and waited and then called Ren to find out that the door was open what Wayne claimed it wasn’t (doh!2).

Finally we got in and finally Ren arrived, with a backpack, textile bags full of various things hanging from each of his hands, a turquoise hat on his head and a huge grin on his face.


0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home