Entries this day: A_quick_tour Bus_to_Sapporo Notes_to_self

A quick tour

10:19am JST Monday 07 February 2005

This morning came more quickly than I realized because the sliding door was closed over the windows. When Hitomi said it was 8 am, I knew something was amiss with the light, cause it ws dark.

Quick romp then zoom down to breakfast where nakai, this time dressed in yukatas, not kimonos, greeted us, and said goodbyye quite effectively, but seemed loathe to clear trays of dishes from the tables. I guess that's cause they were close to the end of breakfast, and would be giving everything a good clean soon enough.

After breakfast we proceeded to the public baths, which were more ccrowded than last night, but not too croded. Actualy not even really more crowded; it was just the locker area that was more crowded.dd

oops falling asleep.

I jut want to get one thing:

Getting into the outdoor hottub challenged my sensibilities.

The outdoor air was super cold and the bath was super hot. I felt the burn of the water boiling my skin off and cooking flesh, but the air outside was hardly bearable, with shivering wind goose pimpling my already wet body.

I was like, this is a huge conflict of interests!

I got in anyway and actually relaxed into the heat, a feat which required my feet and hands out of the water for temperature regulation as handy temperature regulators. I got out red, but not boiled. Whew.

Bus to Sapporo

10:31am JST Monday 07 February 2005

We're on the free bus to Sapporo, which left *at ten AM* which is why we had to be so speedy this morning. On the bus beside us are a couple who were being very patient as their kids behind them babbled Japanese kids stuffdd andd were They were getting a bit annoying and more rambunctious until they started to climb over the seat to irritate the mom even moree and then the ligttle one lost his grip and slipboom onto the bus walkway.

I saw it as it was happening and I had to chuckle a bit. I guess it was a bit like a mean old man chuckle "that will shut them kids up" but it doeesn't feel that way so much as look at how gently and safely you feel to learn this lesson to learn this life lesson: "Hold on when you climb."

10:37am JST Monday 07 February 2005

The seats are all padded and the floor is rubberized slip mat not concrete the fall was hands first, no blood, but a little head bump probably.

- - - -

But, get this: as I was writing, the mom put the kid in the seat where the momhad been, and I see the kid is a girl, not a boy.

How very sexist of me to feel a bit more compassion for her falling, but that's what happened. At this stage, I can only say I noticed the difference, but I don't see the root of it.

10:41am JST Monday 07 February 2005

Notes to self

10:22pm JST Monday 07 February 2005

I plan to expand this to a full blown couple of entries, but in case I don't, I'll at least have something.

We came back to Sapporo and walked around the 11 blocks featuring snow things. I got a photo with Miss Hong Kong 2004. Sweet. She was whisked away before I could get into any more trouble.

As we were nearly back to our hotel, I saw a sign indicating an observatory 450 meters away. Kick ass. Thinking I could pick something up for Miss Jackie Purdy, we headed that direction. But couldn't find anything like an observatory.

We did, however, find lots of snow, deep enough to have covered a set of bicycles that had been parked before it started.

I discovered I had the opportunity to try and fulfill one of my lifelong projects: dig a tunnel through the snow.

Things I figured out before starting:

1. Don't stand (and therefore pack down) the snow where you want to dig.

Things I figured out after starting:

1. Waterproof gloves, jacket, pants, boots are good for this type of venture.

2. Start digging away from the beaten path so people won't fall into the hole (*)

3. Have warm food available for chowing; this is not easy work.

4. Once

(*) no one slipped into the hole, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving the tunnel until morning; I smushed it into a not so deep hole before leaving.

1:48pm JST Saturday 02 April 2005

Never finished this entry, but here are pictures from digging my first hole.

Start digging.

Still digging.

Snack break.

Keep digging!

Hitomi tries out the new burrow.

Bedtime!

Breaking out!

After crunching the tunnel

Here is a map of Nakajima Park in the nearby subway station.