Japan, Days 4, 5, 6 and 7

There is something about taking the train in Japan.  Everyone is quiet and reserved. All you can hear is he steady thumping of the tracks and the humming of the video players droning on about the latest advertisement trying to sell you Boss Coffee when we stop at station.  No one talks aboard a train, except for a group of American tourists silting across from me. No one looks around save for me, as everyone has their nose buried in a book, a manga, their phone or asleep.  I got on during rush hour traffic and they didn’t have the white gloved guards shoving people into the trains.  No, the people pushed themselves in.  I remember I was pushed and pulled so much that I was in the middle of the car with nothing of which I could easily brace myself.  I was at the mercy of the train’s momentum as it sped up and down along the tracks.  I wasnt going anywhere as I was held up by the mass of people who had there noses in a book, a manga, their phones or just staring off into space.  It is interesting people watching.  Some of the younger riders though, talked to one another as I found out last night.  Some school girls still in their uniforms past 11 o'clock where on the express line home, and they talked and laughed.  I dont know if that is because of the younger generation or the lateness of the hour let lax the unspoken rules of the train.

I eventually got on a shinkansen bound for Shizuoka to meet +Jim Mullins and his wife Tomoko.  It was quite a trip.  On board the shinkansen it was quite like a high class airplane.  Even though you could by your snacks and such before hand, there were ladies who wandered up and down the train selling drinks and o-bento.  It was quiet on the shinkansen, and the rules of the train seemed to apply on board.  In Yokohama, some gaijjin baseball agents or scouts came aboard.  They were from the A's and they talked amongst themselves.  Now I dont know if it was because people just didnt talk among the train ride, after all, it was just my first ride on the shinkansen.  The train ride was fantastic though.  Through many tunnels bore through the mountains, I could see the hills and valleys of Atami.  It was breathtaking.  I wish I could have taken more pictures, but the train was in and out of tunnels so fast I couldnt.

Shizuoka was beautiful.  It was still cloudy on Friday and I had just missed the rain down South.  Mully and I drove around going to the longest wooden bridge in the world (over a kilometer long), tea fields, his friend Hagiwara's place, the ruins of Tanaka Castle and finally the train station where we picked up Mrs Mully.  I also saw the small shrine that lay behind their home.

We had dinner at their favorite Italian place called Pizzeria Iola.  For a more comprehensive report, check out my food blog.  

The next day we left back to Tokyo and the Youtube Party that was taking place in Roppongi.  We drove up though the mountains taking as many tunnels as the shinkansen.  We at ate another bar before we went to the party.

 

 Then came the long ride home...