Kakinoki James

Saturday I embarked on a trip to Korea. I woke up with a hangover from the goodbye party from the previous night. I made the mistake of drinking several (tiny) cups of sake. I know that stuff gives me hangovers, but I just keep saying yes when people offer it to me. I don’t do it because I love the stuff. The Japanese guys seem to get so happy and look proud when I drink sake and say it’s good. Personally, I’d rather stick to beer. I enjoy it just as much, if not more, I can drink more of it, and it almost never gives me a hangover. I once was able to drink some pre-bottled sake at a sake factory. That stuff was REALLY good.

Since I went to the near obligatory party instead of packing, not much was done in the way of being prepared for the trip. Having done numerous such trips it didn’t take me too long to get my stuff together. I finally got to test out some of my near gear. I have a new travel bag (it’s like a suitcase, but can be used like a backpack when you take out the shoulder straps), a photographer’s vest (love all those pockets), a compass, and some lightweight clothes designed for travelers. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with a little bit of coldness in the air. It was so nice it almost made me forget about my hangover and lack of sleep. Almost. My first leg of the trip was to drive to Yamaguchi city and leave my car at a friend’s house. It was a real nice drive and I even got to see the SL (steam locomotive) train. It’s a beautiful trail, so much so that it was used as the cover model for a calendar Japan Railroads put out a couple of years ago.

Before I dropped off my car I went to buy a film camera. The battery life and memory limitations make my nice digital camera impractical for a trip like this. I found a used 35mm camera for 2000 yen (roughly $20). Other than a real basic zoom, it has all the features of a disposable camera, but what do you want for $20? 10 rolls of film cost me the same. Not bad.

The 2^nd leg of the trip involved me getting on the train to Shimonoseki. I had to change trains at Shin-Yamaguchi station. I had agreed to meet up with another ALT going to Korea there. There was a bit of a hiccup in her plans, which caused me to wait 40+ min, but no big deal. Travel plans, much like battle plans, rarely go without a hitch when put into action. We arrived in Shimonoseki and went immediately to the ferry terminal. The place was packed. We went to the ticket counter to buy our tickets only to be told that all the berths were sold out. That really surprised me. I’ve taken that ferry 5 times before, 4 of those times during national holidays, and never had a problem getting a berth. The other ALT was only going to be able to go for 2 nights & missing 1 night made it not worth going at all for her.

# posted by Kakinoki James @ 11:51 AM