31st July 2012
MP3 track of the day: Riding along in my automobile - Chuck Berry
Weather: Sunny, bright and hoooot –
at least 32 degrees all day (and the air-conditioning in my car
doesn't work!)
It should have been a joyous occasion. With my bags packed I was off on another adventure only fifteen months after my last (though only for a week). It would have been, if it hadn't been for the weather. In the past week most of northern Japan has seen temperatures in the low thirties, with it barely dropping at night. This resulted in a, less than average nights sleep and a slight tiredness in my step this morning. Still my bags were packed, I was dressed and all of my departments electrical utilities (apart from my fridge) were unplugged. I did one last sweep of the house, picked up my bags and left remembering to lock the door. The time … 7:30am.
The
first part of my journey I had done many times before, and yet it
never becomes dull. Miyako – where I live – is on the east coast
of Japan whereas my destination – Akita- is on the west coast. I
therefore had to take 'route 106' to Morioka. The reason why 'route
106' is never dull is because of the terrain; as soon as you leave
the limited flat area surrounding the eastern coast, you venture
inland and are soon surrounded by huge mountains, covered in trees
and vegetation. The road follows a meandering river and the whole
area is very beautiful. Also, due to the time and the shadows caused
by said mountains, it was quite cool … and yet my windows were
fully open.
After
two hours of driving I parked my car within the city of Morioka and
did some 'jobs'. I went to the post office to check that I had been
paid (I had). Then I went to a bookstore to spend my 'book
vouchers' I'd received many moons ago. Finally, due to the heat, I
popped into McDonald's for a milkshake. It had taken an hour to
achieve these tasks and once back at my car, I opened the front door
to be greeted by a wave of heat. I put my books in the back of my
car, put my windows down and headed of as soon and as quickly as I
could.
I was
now in unfamiliar territory; all my other 'western exploration trips'
had stopped at Morioka and here I was, heading along 'route 46' to
Akita. The weather was blisteringly hot; in Morioka I had also
purchased a few bottles of water but now, I wish I had purchased
more.
I
wasn't going straight to Akita; I had set off early so I could visit
a town called Kakunodate, ninety minutes west of Morioka. My
guidebook stated that, whereas Akita had lost all of it's ancient
buildings, Kakunodate still had the feel of a feudal town (with
it's samurai and merchant quarters). I had planned on getting
there at around 10am (giving me a good six hours to sight-see)
however, with a longer stop in Morioka than expected – and
setting off from Miyako later than I had originally planned – I
arrived at 1pm.
At
first I missed the huge car park which filled acres of space to my
right, as I was busy looking at the buildings on my left. I turned
around, parked up (500 yen fee; £4) and picked up my camera.
Being so hot, my first port of call was to find somewhere shady,
purchase a drink and read my guidebook (I actually did one better
and I found an air-conditioned building). Soon I was ready and I
found myself within the old samurai quarter.
A
long straight road – with continual wooden fences on either
side – greeted me. Trees lined the streets and old traditional
Japanese gates identified the entrance to each samurai house. As I
walked up and down the street I peered through the gates, unsure if
the house was open to the public or if it was a private residence.
All buildings along the street had been kept to look authentic; wood
was certainly the material of choice.
Each
building was different, but followed a similar theme. First of all
you would be greeted by a small wooden gate; once you had climbed
over a small wooden step, you were greeted by a small garden with
trees and purposefully placed rocks dotted around (some gardens
had stone paths, others did not). The main building had a sliding
wooden / paper door and the building looked more like an ancient
Japanese shrine than a house. At the most northern end of the street
was a strange building; it didn't really fit into the surroundings,
and yet somehow it did. Firstly this building was made of stone, and
it seemed to follow a more European design (with it's
cathedral-like arches). It was secluded away from the samurai
houses and I thought it was rather interesting. Once I had got to the
northern end of the street I back-tracked back down it and crossed
onto another, shorter, street full of samurai houses.
It
wasn't until I got to Kakunodate that I realised that there were only
two streets of ancient buildings, meaning that I had completed the
'samurai quarter' in an hour (not sure what my guidebook was on
about when it said 'Kakunodate merits an over-night stay'). I
soon found myself out of the samurai quarter and into the old
merchants area; this area had all been redeveloped but, I believe,
the feel of this ancient trading area was still present. Firstly, my
guidebook stated that whereas the samurai had private gardens and
space, the merchant dwellings would have been cramped. The area did
feel cramped with narrow roads, no trees and the number of buildings
(plus traffic) was significantly more dense than within the
samurai quarter. Whats more, the samurai quarter had wide roads lined
with trees, creating shade and peace; it felt altogether more
grander. Anyway, at this point I wasn't too fussed about looking
around; it was 2pm and I was hungry.
Well
I looked around, and I looked around, but I couldn't find anything to
eat. I stopped off at a convenience store and purchased some snacks,
before deciding to leave. Kakunodate had been great, but like
everything in Northern Honshu there wasn't much to it.
I got
back to my car (noticing that I had a sun-burnt right arm …
doh!) and opened the doors. As I drove off all my windows were
down to allow the heat to escape. It was only 3pm and so I decided to
head to Tazawa-ko (Japan's deepest lake) which was about a
thirty minute drive from here.
After
driving along a beautiful but meandering forest road, I came out into
the light and saw my first glimpse of the lake. I also found out that
the area closed at 5pm; I therefore drove around the perimeter,
stopping at viewing points to get some photos. The lake was
surrounded by a ring of mountains making it very beautiful and
peaceful. There was an ancient red gate, positioned at the waterside,
which made the perfect focal point for a photo or two. I finally
stopped at a the statue of Tatsuko, to take a few photos of her
over-looking the lake. Once there, two boys were sat around the base
of the statue but, thankfully, they had positioned themselves as to
not be in the way of my photo. By now the time was getting close to
5pm. I jumped back into my burning car and drove to Akita, which was
about ninety minutes away.
Before
starting my trip I had 'google mapped' and 'street viewed' my entry
into Akita. Japan loves one-way streets (sometimes they put them
in for no apparent reason) and so I made sure that I knew my way
to my hotel. The buildings were getting bigger and the traffic more
and more dense; arriving at 6pm didn't help matters but I managed to
navigate my way to the 'Albert Hotel' without incident. The other
thing that wasn't a problem was parking; I managed to secure one of
the last parking spots within the hotel car park (for £4 per day;
slightly annoying that I have to pay … but far cheaper than I
feared).
The
hotel was quite grand and I, ringing with sweat and wearing shorts
and a t-shirt, stepped into the heavily air-conditioned reception a
little embarrassed. Still the reception staff didn't seem to care and
I was soon checked-in and within my air-conditioned room.
As I
had skipped lunch I wasn't in my room for long, and soon I was on the
streets of Akita. It was only 7pm and yet everything seemed shut; it
was slightly bizarre but, within a city of this size, I was
struggling to find somewhere to eat. I headed for the train station –
as there is always somewhere to eat there – but it still took me an
hour to find a small – but very atmospheric – Italian restaurant.
I had a pizza and coke, which cost a little more than I wanted it
too, but at least I was full.
I
returned to my hotel for a quick shower before heading to sleep.
After the rubbish nights sleep I had last night, I shall not be
getting up early and I think tomorrow will be a chilled out day.
I
just hope it's a bit cooler.
Toodle
Pip!
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