JAPANEXILE

Nearly two months behind I actual start the Tokyo post, and it�ll probably be at least 2 weeks before I even finish with Tokyo if I don�t do something about my writing style. I am cursed by the inability to shorten my thoughts, and so have a tendency to give perhaps irrelevant details. Fortunately however� my thoughts on Tokyo haven�t changed much from� my first visit � although they have in some fundamental ways. But I shall leave them for the end of the story.

�So lets get started! Something that most certainly has to be mentioned was the journey down to Tokyo. Early January is the high season for flights from Sapporo down to Tokyo (but not coming back strangely) so we had the choice of paying 30,000Yen for a flight, or finding alternative transport. Trains were an option, and an interesting one at that, definitely be able to see a lot of interesting things, albeit only through a window at high speed.� Unfortunately the cost was prohibitive again, and the multiple changes and overnight trains left too much room for mistakes. That left the ferry from Tomakomai as the only option. Tomokomai itself is 90mins away at least � already longer than the flight. Getting there is no simple task without a car either. First a bus to Toya Onsen intending on catching a connecting bus to Abuta, which didn�t show up, so thankfully Shiro came to our rescue and gave us a lift to the station to catch the train in time. Once in Tomakomai we waited around for a bit before getting a Taxi to the ferry terminal and then boarded said ferry. It seemed pretty nice inside, and I was quite excited to see what our room was like. Imagine my surprise then we step in and there are 71 other people crammed into this room like sardines.

�Most of the ferry journey was spent trying to sleep restlessly on our bed of rocks. Some relief was given in a scorching hot Onsen onboard but it short lived. Thankfully the port came into sight about 11am the next day, although I was wondering where the Tokyo Metropolis had disappeared to. We were in Oarai � a 2 hour train ride away from Tokyo, probably should have researched the ferry route slightly better. Oarai didn�t even have a train station, and the bus to the town which did filled up before we got in. Not a good travelling day so far. We shelled out for a Taxi to the train station and thankfully got on the final leg of our journey without problem. Once again we went for the cheap option and were treated to an oven like local train which stopped at nearly every station.

�In total our journey to Tokyo took 29 hours. So I will finish this post with a phrase I am sure my parents have said to me before in some form �The cheaper option is not always better, its cheap for a damn good reason�� Never again, I�m flying next time.