# TALES FROM TOKYO # Need a Room ?



On my way home from Hakuba.  Mt. Fuji in the background  :))

          If you have never been snowboarding ... then get off your arse and try it   :))


   I used to ski a lot and have considerable experience.  Then one sunny snow packed day one of the two long things attached to my feet decides to cross over.  I was going quite fast.  I not only tumbled,  I back flipped,  somersaulted and spaghettied myself in a heap on the very cold snow.  I could already feel it was bad.  I wouldn't be walking very well for some time!!

   I'd twisted my right knee!!

An old picture @ the train station of days gone by ... very cool  :)

   Next winter I tried snowboarding and haven't looked back.  It's so much easier.  I still enjoy skiing but the concept of using the board is so much more addictive  :))  Snowboarding is #%$(' COOL!!

   An Aussie mate, Sam, was working in the snow clad region of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture.  It's a famous area.  The 1998 Winter Olympics were held there.  Another mate,  Justin and a handful of his buddies were heading across from Tokyo.  Was I interested in tagging along?

                            OH  YEAH!!    :))

   Most of them were going up for 1 or 2 weeks.  I could only go for a few days.  I didn't mind,  it would be good to get out of Tokyo and spend the New Year snowboarding and partying with a bunch of mates  :))

   But first I had to get there.

   Hakuba is a fair distance from Tokyo and to get there ain't going to be cheap.  The Shinkansen  ( the bullet train  ) was out of the question ... way too expensive,  for me that is  :))   Buses are too cramped and drinking beer and walking around on them is frowned upon.  Boooooring  :)   It seemed my best and cheapest option was to do the local trains.  To get the whole way on a dodge was pushing it but lets see what happens.  At least I can drink beer and have a good laugh on the way there.

   I left early to catch the train before the sun came up.

   After half way through the journey and changing a couple of trains,  the train I was on now pulled into the station and terminated.  I had to change trains again.  I have no idea where i am,  it's in the depths of the Japanese country side ... peaceful,  beautiful and quiet  :))  Not having the ability to read Kanji can make things a bit difficult sometimes.  One of those times was now.   I'd jumped on an express train.  The ticket checker asked for my ticket!!

   You can't win them all I guess.  Still, I got away with half price.  Not bad.

   It's the end of the day now and I need to find my mates.  But first thing's first.  Need another beer  :)) 

   A telephone call later and they are on the slopes.  Time for a couple of runs before the party starts!!  :))

   Later on,  in a restaurant somewhere on a snow lined street,  I'm told by Aussie Sam that his pad is over crowded and it would be impossible to sleep there. 

   No worries.  I have my sleeping bag,  warm clothes,  heat pads and a good supply of Red Bull.  I'll find somewhere  :))

   Maybe a shop front,  or a bus stop or ... anyway,  somewhere.

   The night was pumping.  We went from the restaurant to couple of bars,  played pool,  met heaps of other people doing the beer run too,  ate more food and got sloshed. 

   We went back to Sam's pad as he had to pick up something.  As we drove through the streets I scanned for possible places to sleep.  We were just heading out of town where the rice paddies are scattered between houses when I saw the perfect place.  Well you may laugh,  but it had a door,  was all by itself and was 100% wind proof!  I asked Sam to stop the van for a minute while I checked it out.  Everyone burst out laughing.  I got back to the van and told the guys that the "excavator" would do the trick and that would be my bed for the night. 

   I grabbed my rucksack and bid farewell to all and off I trekked back through the snow to my ... interesting new bed  :))

Here she is ... my lovely excavator!!  :))

   Getting inside I shifted some rubbish around to make more space,  put the reclining chair back to make more space then pulled out my sleeping bag and set myself up.  Then I realized how compact it really was!!  The seat only went down to about a 40degree angle  :(

   It didn't matter.  Time to drop my Red Bulls into the snow so they'll be nice and chilled for the morning.

   Woke up a couple of times to reposition myself during the night but all was good and I woke up with the sun just beginning to colour the sky.  It was a peaceful way to start the day  :))

Sunrise @ "Hotel De Excavator"   :))

   A couple of Red Bulls later and I was awake with the birds. Ready for a wild day of snowboarding!

   The next night was spent celebrating the New year.  We were out until the early hours.  At about 5am I was in need of a sleep big time.  The combination of full on snowboarding,  heaps of partying and sleeping in an excavator had taken it's toll.  I went back to Sam's pad for a few hours of sleep,  to ready my body for another day of snowboarding,  in luxury!!  :))


                         Tales From Tokyo  will return ... cheers   :))