(no subject)

I've been making notes for journal entries in my Palm while I'm here. Most of it's pretty prosaic, but hey, whatever. It means I'll have notes from the trip when I get back. I think I'm going to be lazy and not retype them right now.

I'm taking a break and catching up on some online stuff... That's because there's a four-hour gap between trains for Niseko, and I've definitely already missed the 8:30ish one.

Yesterday I had the first thing that I could really call an adventure. I was convinced that I'd been let off at the wrong place by the bus, and that 'Nakano' must be some other place, in addition to 'Nakano Botanical Gardens'... And neither 'botanical' nor 'garden' seem to be commonly-understood English words here, not surprisingly.

Oh -- I'm not getting very many people wanting to practice their English with me, nor many kids saying Hello, as I'd been told. Apparently it's because we're near Russia (very near, in fact) and I look just Russian enough that they don't assume I'm American. They don't much like Russians here, or so I'm told.

ravenslost, boot_slut, japlady... Missing you all. boot_slut, I think you'd really have liked the hike through Nakano whatsit. You'll have to take my word for it that "botanical gardens" is a very poor description of them.

(no subject)

I don't remember posting this one already...

Brezsny, for June 10th, says:

From an astrological perspective, last January wasn't an ideal time to make New Year's resolutions. I'd be surprised if you kept any of the promises you made back then. On the other hand, now is a perfect moment to make New Year's-type resolutions. Here are a few free samples to inspire you. 1. "I resolve to seek out conversations that are so intense and interesting that I lose track of time." 2. "While in the throes of road rage, I resolve to howl like a wolf." 3."I resolve to unashamedly pray for cash, enjoy how messy my room is, and sing along loudly with the muzak in public places."

Well, number one is taken care of. That one's easy, though. Number two is odd. I don't get really frustrated on roads these days. Three? Dunno. My room's not all that messy. I'm an atheist, so I don't pray, and I'm doing pretty well for cash (not perfectly, but well). Guess I could sing along with muzak. It's harder in Japan.

Urgh. I got lost looking for Nakano gardens yesterday, so I did a couple of hours of suburban (but very hilly) hiking, then an hour or two of hard hiking in Nakano itself, and a couple of hours before and after of normal (but decently quick) walking in a regular urban setting. All of this was with about 30 lbs of backpack. My legs aren't thrilled with me.

Yeah, yeah, boot_slut is more hard-core than I am, and carries a heavier backpack. Leave me to my wussiness. I did, at least, close out the local bar, outlasting even the Welshman, and staggered home at 4:30. *And* I was up again by 9:30.